Editing MacCready Gossamer Albatross

{{Short description|Human-powered aircraft developed by American aeronautics company AeroVironment}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:MacCready ''Gossamer Albatross''}}
{{Infobox aircraft
|name           = ''Gossamer Albatross''
|image          = Gossamer Albatross II in flight.jpg
|image_caption        = The ''Gossamer Albatross II'' at [[Dryden Flight Research Center]] in 1980
|aircraft_type           = [[experimental aircraft]]
|national_origin = [[United States]]
|manufacturer   = [[AeroVironment]]
|designer       = [[Paul MacCready]]
|first_flight   = 1979
|introduction   =
|retired        =
|status         = ''Gossamer Albatross'' I - [[Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center]], Virginia, USA<br>''Gossamer Albatross II'' - [[Museum of Flight]] in [[Seattle, Washington]], USA
|primary_user   =
|more_users     =
|produced       =
|number_built   = 2
|program cost   =
|unit cost      =
|developed_from = ''[[Gossamer Condor]]''
|variants =
|developed_into = ''[[Gossamer Penguin]]''
}}

The '''''Gossamer Albatross''''' is a [[human-powered aircraft]] built by [[United States|American]] [[aeronautical engineer]] [[Paul B. MacCready|Dr Paul B MacCready]]'s company [[AeroVironment]]. On June 12, 1979, it completed a successful crossing of the [[English Channel]] to win the second [[Kremer prize]] worth £100,000 ({{Inflation|UK|100000|1979|fmt=eq|cursign=£|r=-3}}).<ref name="Gossamer Albatross ECN-12665">{{cite web|title=Gossamer Albatross ECN-12665|url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/multimedia/imagegallery/Albatross/#.VRPll_ysXXo|publisher=NASA|access-date=March 26, 2015}}</ref>

==Design and development==
The aircraft was designed and built by a team led by Paul B. MacCready, a noted American aeronautics engineer, designer, and world [[Gliding competition|soaring champion]]. ''Gossamer Albatross'' was his second human-powered aircraft, the first being the ''[[Gossamer Condor]]'', which had won the first Kremer prize on August 23, 1977, by completing a {{convert|1|miles|km|adj=on}}-long figure-eight course. The second Kremer challenge was then announced as a flight across the English Channel recalling [[Louis Blériot]]'s crossing of 1909.

The aircraft is of "[[canard (aeronautics)|canard]]" configuration, using a large horizontal stabilizer forward of the wing in a manner similar to the [[Wright brothers]]' successful ''[[Wright Flyer]]'' aircraft and powered using pedals to drive a large, two-bladed propeller. The ''Gossamer Albatross'' was constructed using a [[carbon fiber]] frame, with the ribs of the wings made with expanded [[polystyrene]]; the entire structure was then wrapped in a thin, transparent plastic ([[BoPET|mylar PET film]]). The empty mass of the structure was only {{convert|71|lb|kg|abbr=on}}, although the gross mass for the Channel flight was almost {{convert|220|lb|kg|abbr=on}}. To maintain the craft in the air, it was designed with very long, tapering wings (high [[aspect ratio (wing)|aspect ratio]]), like those of a glider, allowing the flight to be undertaken with a minimum of power. In still air, the required power was on the order of {{convert|300|W|hp|abbr=on}}, though even mild turbulence made this figure rise rapidly.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gossamer Albatross|url=http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?object=nasm_A19810428000|publisher=[[Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum]]|access-date=March 26, 2015}}</ref>

==The crossing==
[[File:Gossamer Albatross II cabin.jpg|thumb|left|The cabin of the ''Gossamer Albatross'', [[Armstrong Flight Research Center]], April 1979]]
Just before 6 am on June 12, 1979, amateur cyclist and pilot  [[Bryan Allen (cyclist)|Bryan Allen]] powered the ''Albatross'' to the rehearsed speed of 75 revolutions per minute and took off from a point near [[Folkestone]], England. The Channel conditions and lack of wind were ideal for the crossing.

However, problems soon began to affect the aircraft and pilot. Allen's radio failed for a while and he was only able to communicate with the accompanying boats by hand and head movements. In addition, Allen's water supply had been estimated for a two-hour flight, but headwinds delayed the crossing and his supply ran out. Without adequate water, Allen suffered from dehydration and leg cramps.

With increasing headwinds, concern grew that the flight would have to be called off. With the coast of France still unseen, an accompanying boat maneuvered in front of the ''Albatross'' to hook it to safety. However, for the hooking procedure, Allen had gone a little higher and found less air turbulence, so he continued to pedal the aircraft and see if progress could be made. With a calming surface wind, Allen continued, and landed on a beach at [[Cap Gris-Nez]] in France. Allen completed the {{convert|22.2|mile|adj=on|km|abbr=on}} crossing in 2&nbsp;hours and 49&nbsp;minutes, achieving a top speed of {{convert|18|mph|kph|abbr=on}} and an average altitude of {{convert|5|ft|m|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gossamer Albatross|url=https://www.avinc.com/about/gossamer_albatross/|publisher=AeroVironment, Inc|access-date=March 26, 2015}}</ref>{{failedverification|date=October 2023}}

==Versions==
[[File:Gossamer Albatross II at the Museum of Flight.JPG|thumb|The ''Gossamer Albatross II'' at the [[Museum of Flight]] in Seattle]]
MacCready's team built two Albatrosses; the back-up plane was jointly tested as part of the [[NASA]] Langley/Dryden flight research program in 1980 and was also flown inside the [[Houston Astrodome]], the first ever controlled indoor flight by a human-powered aircraft. The ''Gossamer Albatross II'' is currently on display at the [[Museum of Flight]] in [[Seattle, Washington]].

Alistair Cooke devoted some of his ''[[Letter From America]]'' broadcast of 15/17 Jun 1979 to Allen's achievement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b040by88|title = BBC Radio 4 - Letter from America by Alistair Cooke, John Wayne obituary, 1979}}</ref>

==Prizes==
For his work on the ''Gossamer Albatross'',  MacCready was later awarded the [[Collier Trophy]].<ref name="Gossamer Albatross ECN-12665"/>

==Specifications==
[[File:Gossamer Albatross.svg|right|400px]]
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=MuseumofFlight.org<ref name="Gossamer Specs">[http://www.museumofflight.org/aircraft/maccready-gossamer-albatross-ii MuseumofFlight.org], Referenced May 19, 2010</ref>
|prime units?=imp

|crew=One (pilot-engine)
|capacity={{convert|145|lb|adj=on}} useful load
|length m=
|length ft=34
|length in=0
|length note=
|span m=29.77
|span ft=
|span in=
|span note=
|height m=
|height ft=16
|height in=0
|height note=
|wing area sqm=
|wing area sqft=488
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=19.5
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb=70
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=
|gross weight lb=215
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight kg=
|max takeoff weight lb=
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=

|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Human
|eng1 type=
|eng1 kw=
|eng1 shp=
|eng1 note=
|power original=

|more power=

|prop blade number=
|prop name=
|prop dia m=
|prop dia ft=
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|prop note=

|max speed kmh=
|max speed mph=18
|max speed kts=
|max speed note=
|max speed mach=
|cruise speed kmh=
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|cruise speed kts=
|cruise speed note=
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|stall speed kts=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed kts=
|never exceed speed note=
|range km=
|range miles=35
|range nmi=
|range note=
|combat range km=
|combat range miles=
|combat range nmi=
|combat range note=
|ferry range km=
|ferry range miles=
|ferry range nmi=
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|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=
|ceiling note=
|g limits=
|roll rate=
|glide ratio=
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
|lift to drag=
|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading lb/sqft=0.44
|wing loading note=
|disk loading kg/m2=
|disk loading lb/sqft=
|disk loading note=
|fuel consumption kg/km=
|fuel consumption lb/mi=
|power/mass=
|thrust/weight=

|more performance=
}}

==See also==
{{aircontent
|related=
*[[MacCready Gossamer Condor|MacCready ''Gossamer Condor'']]
|similar aircraft=
*[[Musculair]]
*[[SUMPAC]]
|lists=
|see also=
}}

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}
===Further reading===
{{refbegin}}
*Allen, Bryan. "Winged Victory of ''Gossamer Albatross''". ''[[National Geographic Magazine|National Geographic]]'', November 1979, vol. 156, n. 5, p.&nbsp;640-651
*Morton Grosser. ''Gossamer Odyssey: The Triumph of Human-Powered Flight''. MBI Press, 2004; Dover Publications, Inc., 1991; Houghton Mifflin Co., 1981
*Morton Grosser. ''On Gossamer Wings''. York Custom Graphics, 1982
*Ciotti, Paul. ''More With Less - Paul MacCready and the dream of efficient flight''. Encounter Books, 2002. {{ISBN|1-893554-50-3}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commonscat|Gossamer Albatross}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20030225070114/http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/Albatross/HTML/ECN-12604.html NASA's page on ''Gossamer Albatross II'']
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20030308202721/http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/Albatross/Small/ECN-12604.jpg NASA image of ''Gossamer Albatross II'']
*[http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/udvarhazy/artifacts_air.cfm List of displayed aircraft at Udvar-Hazy center]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060625040623/http://www.museumofflight.org/Collection/Aircraft.asp?RecordKey=F102A92F-77BF-4200-97E3-5B9ABEDA83EF ''Gossamer Albatross II'' at Seattle Museum of Flight]
*[http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-054-DFRC.html Shows various MacCready and Aerovironment aircraft, including ''Gossamer Penguin'']
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928153337/http://www.donaldmonroe.com/gossamer_albatross_photography ''Gossamer Albatross'' photography by the team's photographer, Don Monroe]

{{AeroVironment aircraft}}

[[Category:AeroVironment aircraft]]
[[Category:Canard aircraft]]
[[Category:Human-powered aircraft]]
[[Category:Single-engined pusher aircraft]]
[[Category:1970s United States experimental aircraft]]
[[Category:Individual aircraft in the Smithsonian Institution]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1979]]
[[Category:High-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft with fixed bicycle landing gear]]