Sikorsky Prize

Kenneth Huff and friends have hit Kickstarter to help fund a bid to snag the yet-to-be-claimed Sikorsky Prize for human-powered helicopter flight.

The Atlas helicopter is the latest human-powered helicopter to compete for the Sikorsky Prize.

The tweaks and modifications made to Gamera II since June's new national record for human-powered helicopter flight have resulted in the team breaking the 60-second barrier and reaching an altitude of over nine feet, although not in the same flight.

The National Aeronautic Association has confirmed a new national record of 49.9 seconds for human-powered helicopter flight for the Gamera II flight on June 21.

Gamera II pilot Kyle Gluesenkamp has smashed last year's human-powered helicopter flight time of 11.4 seconds by a considerable margin, and now begins the anxious wait while the NAA validates his new record of 50 seconds.

The Gamera human-powered helicopter team at the University of Maryland's Clark School of Engineering has announced the first test flights of a redesigned craft which is hoped will smash existing records and claim the elusive Sikorsky Prize.