The Gossamer Penguin was a solar-powered experimental aircraft created by Paul MacCready 's AeroVironment . MacCready, whose Gossamer Condor in 1977 won the Kremer prize for human-powered flight, told reporters in June, 1980 that "The first solar-powered flight ever made took place on May 18." The testing ground was at Minter Field outside of Shafter, California .
19-468: The Penguin was a three-quarter scale version of the Gossamer Albatross II ; it had a 71-foot (22 m) wingspan and a weight, without pilot, of 68 pounds (31 kg). The propeller was driven by an AstroFlight Astro-40 electric motor, powered by a 541 watt solar panel, consisting of 3920 solar cells. Initial test flights were performed using a 28–cell, NiCad battery pack instead of
38-507: 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 22.2-mile (35.7 km) crossing in 2 hours and 49 minutes, achieving a top speed of 18 mph (29 km/h) and an average altitude of 5 ft (1.5 m). MacCready's team built two Albatrosses;
57-455: A popular place to collect fossils, which are mainly from the Jurassic period. Common fossils include bivalves , gastropods, and wood. In the sandstone layers with small pebbles, one can find the teeth of fish and reptiles. Sometimes, larger ammonites are found in the sandstone. The cape is a migration bottleneck, making it a popular strategic spot for birdwatching and surveying. It offers
76-700: A solar panel. The test pilot for these flights was MacCready's 13-year-old son Marshall, who weighed 80 lb (36 kg). The official pilot for the project was Janice Brown, a charter pilot with commercial, instrument, and glider ratings who weighed slightly less than 100 lb (45 kg). She flew the Penguin approximately 40 times before a 1.95-mile (3.14 km) public demonstration flight at NASA 's Dryden Flight Research Center on August 7, 1980. Data from MacCready, Lissaman, Morgan, and Burke 1983 General characteristics Related development Gossamer Albatross The Gossamer Albatross
95-464: 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
114-474: A well-known vantage point for viewing both birds migrating across the Channel, and birds migrating along the coastline. The proximity of the cape to England resulted in the frequent destruction of the nearby village of Audinghen in wars between England and France . On the top of the cliff are the ruins of an English fortress, built by Henry VIII at the beginning of the 16th century. The English called
133-524: Is a human-powered aircraft built by American aeronautical engineer 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 (equivalent to £639,000 in 2023). The aircraft was designed and built by a team led by Paul B. MacCready, a noted American aeronautics engineer, designer, and world soaring champion . Gossamer Albatross
152-437: 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
171-571: The Battle of Gris-Nez and Blanc-Nez occurred, wherein a British flotilla with strong numerical superiority pursued Dutch ships that were following the coast while trying to get into the harbour at Ambleteuse . Expecting an attack of this type, Napoleon had stationed a battery of 300 guns on the cape, and a barrage from this force obliged the British vessels to withdraw. Gabriel Auguste Ferdinand Ducuing and his men died on May 25, 1940, while defending
190-647: The Gossamer Albatross , MacCready was later awarded the Collier Trophy . Data from MuseumofFlight.org General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Cap Gris-Nez Cap Gris-Nez (literally "Cape Grey Nose"; Koap Zwartenesse in West Flemish ) is a cape located in Audinghen , a commune of
209-647: The Pas-de-Calais département in northern France . Part of the Cote d'Opale , it is classified as a protected natural area . The cliffs of the Cape are the closest point of France to England , 34 km (21 mi) from their English counterparts at Dover . Gris-nez translates to "grey nose" in French and is a corruption of the archaic English "craig ness." It is derived from colloquial Dutch "grey cape"; officially,
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#1732775475720228-455: The Dutch name was Swartenesse ("black cape") to set it apart from Blankenesse "white cape" ( Cap Blanc-Nez ) to the northeast. The element -nesse is cognate to English -ness , denoting "headland", as in, for example, Dungeness or Sheerness . The cliffs of Cap Gris-Nez are made of sandstone , clay , and chalk . They are mainly grey in colour, which gives the cape its name. It is also
247-633: The approaches to both Calais and Boulogne , and they were protected by large concrete blockhouses as well as other lesser defensive sites. One of the Todt Battery blockhouses now houses the Atlantic Wall Museum. Units of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division liberated the area in September 1944. The cylindrical concrete lighthouse at Cap Gris-Nez dates from 1958. It is 31 metres (102 feet) tall and replaces an earlier structure that
266-704: 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. For his work on
285-458: The fort 'Blackness', a translation of the Dutch name Swartenisse. Napoleon stopped at the cape on July 1, 1803, while making an inspection of the coast around Boulogne-sur-Mer and of his invasion troops . He envisioned setting up a cross-channel optical telegraph with a semaphore on the cape. The first semaphore of this line was installed on the cape in 1805 without waiting for the planned French invasion of England. On July 18, 1805,
304-630: The semaphore, and a commemorative stela was later placed on the cape to commemorate this sacrifice. Later, the Nazis built a blockhouse inside the Tudor ruins. The locality has a cluster of World War II bunkers, part of the Atlantic Wall intended to rebuff the anticipated allied invasion. There are two heavy artillery sites: Grosser Kurfürst Battery, formerly with three 170 millimetre guns, and Todt Battery , with four 380 mm guns. These covered
323-461: 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 ( mylar PET film ). The empty mass of the structure
342-553: 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 1-mile (1.6 km)-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 " configuration, using a large horizontal stabilizer forward of
361-534: Was only 71 lb (32 kg), although the gross mass for the Channel flight was almost 220 lb (100 kg). To maintain the craft in the air, it was designed with very long, tapering wings (high 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 300 W (0.40 hp), though even mild turbulence made this figure rise rapidly. Just before 6 am on June 12, 1979, amateur cyclist and pilot Bryan Allen powered
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