Bossi-Bonomi Pedaliante
Encyclopedia
The Pedaliante (Italian
for "Pedal Glider") was a human-powered aircraft
designed and built by Enea Bossi
and Vittorio Bonomi and disputably credited with, in 1936, performing the first fully human-powered flight. The source of contention is that the flights were performed by Emilio Casco - a pilot with exceptional physical endurance such that sustainable flight was not considered feasible for a typical person. Incorporating a catapult launch, the aircraft successfully traveled 1 km (0.62 mi) as part of an Italian competition.
heard of an airplane which had successfully flown while powered only by a 0.75 kW (1 hp
) engine. This prompted Bossi to calculate the minimum power that a manned aircraft would need to fly. The calculation yielded a value of approximately 0.70 kW (0.94 hp), which convinced Bossi that Human-powered flight
might be possible.
During a trip to Philadelphia, Bossi tested the speed at which a glider would take off under tow. The experiment consisted of hiring a professional bicyclist to tow a glider
. A spring scale
was attached to the tow line to sense the force exerted by the bicyclist. This same experiment procedure was later repeated as part of the development of the Gossamer Condor
and the Gossamer Albatross
. The results confirmed that a speed at which the necessary lift could be obtained was indeed attainable.
A second experiment conducted during a trip to Paris
involved a propeller
-driven bicycle
designed by Bossi. The test rider achieved a speed of 37 km/h (23 mph), but one drawback was noted: the gyroscopic
effect of the propeller generated so much torque
that the bicycle became unstable. Bossi concluded, erroneously, that a successful human-powered aircraft would therefore require two counter-rotating propellers to cancel out the effects of torque – similar to the design of a helicopter
. In light of these findings, Bossi decided to design an aircraft incorporating this difficult requirement.
In 1933, the Frankfurt
Polytechnische Gesellschaft (Frankfurt Polytechnic Society) offered a prize to promote human-powered flight. During this period, many German
activities were copied by Italy, and in 1936 the Italian government
offered an equivalent contest: offering 100,000 lire
for a 1 km (0.62 mi) human-powered flight made by an Italian citizen. Bossi was aware that he could not receive the prize due to his American citizenship
, but he opted to attempt to win it, anyway.
for "Pedal Glider" – so named because it utilized conventional glider configuration and construction. The high-winged streamlined monoplane
design was introduced in 1937 and had a wing span
of 17.7 m (58 ft), an area
of 23.4 m² (252 ft²). It featured two laminate
d balsa
wood
propellers – each approximately 2 m (6.2 ft) in diameter
. The plane had an aspect ratio
of approximately 13.4 and a structural factor of 457.9 ft-lb3/2. The airfoil
consisted of an American NACA
0012-F1. The control surface
consisted of a conventional rear rudder
, elevator
, and a pair of wing spoilers
– all activated by a divided control yoke
. The pilot sat semi-upright, and a bicycle chain transmitted the power from the pedals to an overhead transverse shaft that was bevel
-geared to the two propellers, which extended from the wing on each side of the fuselage
. Its empty weight was 97 kg (214 lb), of which the wings made up 45 kg (99 lb) of the weight.
Vittorio Bonomi, an Italian sailplane
manufacturer, was contracted to build the plane. The wooden airframe was originally specified to have an empty weight of 73 kg (160 lb), with an overweight contingency of 9.1 kg (20 lb). While this design would have been feasible, the Italian Air Ministry required that the plane satisfy the same structural requirements of an engine-powered aircraft. This requirement prompted the plane’s empty weight to increase to nearly 100 kg (220 lb) – a significant amount of additional weight.
in the Italian Army
and a very strong bicyclist. After several weeks of trials in early 1936, Casco took off in the Pedaliante and flew approximately 91.4 m (300 ft) completely under his own power, marking the first achievement of an aircraft obtaining and sustaining flight completely via human power. Although subsequent calculations have verified that this flight was physically possible, most agree that it was Casco’s considerable physical strength and endurance which performed the accomplishment; not a feat which could be attained by a typical person.
It was decided that additional thrust was necessary. In response, the propellers were increased in size by about 0.3 m (1 ft), resulting in a diameter of approximately 2.25 m (7.4 ft). Whereas this increase in propeller length brought a corresponding increase in thrust, the position of the fuselage prohibited any further increases. Despite the additional thrust, the team still found the plane to be too heavy to travel the 1 km (0.62 mi) the contest demanded. However, the German HV-1 Mufli (de)
(Muskelkraft-Flugzeug), a human-powered aircraft built by Helmut Hässler & Franz Villinger (de)
, traveled 235 m (770 ft) on its debut flight in 1935 and attained a distance of 712 m (2,335 ft) in 1937 utilizing a tensioned cable launching system
.
Incorporating a catapult launch to a height of 9 m (30 ft), the Pedaliante made a flight on 13 September 1936 which traveled several hundred meters. On 18 March 1937, at Cinisello airport
near Milan
, the plane was launched at a height of 9 m (30 ft) and Casco successfully pedaled the craft for its full 1 km (0.62 mi). This set a world record for human-powered flight, but as a catapult launch was not permitted in the rules of the competition, the Pedaliante did not win the prize for which it was designed. The plane was retired the following year having made a total 80 flights – 43 without the assistance of a catapult launch. At the time, the Mufli and the Pedaliante were the most advanced Human-powered aircraft ever built.
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
for "Pedal Glider") was a human-powered aircraft
Human-powered aircraft
A human-powered aircraft is an aircraft powered by direct human energy and the force of gravity; the thrust provided by the human may be the only source; however, a hang glider that is partially powered by pilot power is a human-powered aircraft where the flight path can be enhanced more than if...
designed and built by Enea Bossi
Enea Bossi, Sr.
Enea Bossi, Sr. was an Italian-American aerospace engineer and aviation pioneer. He is best-known for designing the Budd BB-1 Pioneer, the first stainless steel aircraft; and also the Pedaliante airplane, disputably credited with the first fully human-powered flight.-Personal life:Enea Bossi was...
and Vittorio Bonomi and disputably credited with, in 1936, performing the first fully human-powered flight. The source of contention is that the flights were performed by Emilio Casco - a pilot with exceptional physical endurance such that sustainable flight was not considered feasible for a typical person. Incorporating a catapult launch, the aircraft successfully traveled 1 km (0.62 mi) as part of an Italian competition.
Early development
In 1932, Enea BossiEnea Bossi, Sr.
Enea Bossi, Sr. was an Italian-American aerospace engineer and aviation pioneer. He is best-known for designing the Budd BB-1 Pioneer, the first stainless steel aircraft; and also the Pedaliante airplane, disputably credited with the first fully human-powered flight.-Personal life:Enea Bossi was...
heard of an airplane which had successfully flown while powered only by a 0.75 kW (1 hp
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
) engine. This prompted Bossi to calculate the minimum power that a manned aircraft would need to fly. The calculation yielded a value of approximately 0.70 kW (0.94 hp), which convinced Bossi that Human-powered flight
Human-powered aircraft
A human-powered aircraft is an aircraft powered by direct human energy and the force of gravity; the thrust provided by the human may be the only source; however, a hang glider that is partially powered by pilot power is a human-powered aircraft where the flight path can be enhanced more than if...
might be possible.
During a trip to Philadelphia, Bossi tested the speed at which a glider would take off under tow. The experiment consisted of hiring a professional bicyclist to tow a glider
Glider aircraft
Glider aircraft are heavier-than-air craft that are supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against their lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Mostly these types of aircraft are intended for routine operation without engines, though engine failure can...
. A spring scale
Spring scale
The spring scale apparatus is simply a spring fixed at one end with a hook to attach an object at the other. It works by Hooke's Law, which states that the force needed to extend a spring is proportional to the distance that spring is extended from its rest position...
was attached to the tow line to sense the force exerted by the bicyclist. This same experiment procedure was later repeated as part of the development of the Gossamer Condor
Gossamer Condor
-See also:-Further reading:*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...
and the Gossamer Albatross
Gossamer Albatross
-See also:-Further reading:*Allen, Bryan. Winged Victory of "Gossamer Albatross". National Geographic, November 1979, vol. 156, n. 5, p. 640-651...
. The results confirmed that a speed at which the necessary lift could be obtained was indeed attainable.
A second experiment conducted during a trip to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
involved a propeller
Propeller (aircraft)
Aircraft propellers or airscrews convert rotary motion from piston engines or turboprops to provide propulsive force. They may be fixed or variable pitch. Early aircraft propellers were carved by hand from solid or laminated wood with later propellers being constructed from metal...
-driven bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
designed by Bossi. The test rider achieved a speed of 37 km/h (23 mph), but one drawback was noted: the gyroscopic
Gyroscope
A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the principles of angular momentum. In essence, a mechanical gyroscope is a spinning wheel or disk whose axle is free to take any orientation...
effect of the propeller generated so much torque
Torque
Torque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....
that the bicycle became unstable. Bossi concluded, erroneously, that a successful human-powered aircraft would therefore require two counter-rotating propellers to cancel out the effects of torque – similar to the design of a helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
. In light of these findings, Bossi decided to design an aircraft incorporating this difficult requirement.
In 1933, the Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
Polytechnische Gesellschaft (Frankfurt Polytechnic Society) offered a prize to promote human-powered flight. During this period, many German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
activities were copied by Italy, and in 1936 the Italian government
National Fascist Party
The National Fascist Party was an Italian political party, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of fascism...
offered an equivalent contest: offering 100,000 lire
Italian lira
The lira was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. Between 1999 and 2002, the Italian lira was officially a “national subunit” of the euro...
for a 1 km (0.62 mi) human-powered flight made by an Italian citizen. Bossi was aware that he could not receive the prize due to his American citizenship
United States nationality law
Article I, section 8, clause 4 of the United States Constitution expressly gives the United States Congress the power to establish a uniform rule of naturalization. The Immigration and Naturalization Act sets forth the legal requirements for the acquisition of, and divestiture from, citizenship of...
, but he opted to attempt to win it, anyway.
Aircraft design
Bossi’s plane was named the Pedaliante, ItalianItalian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
for "Pedal Glider" – so named because it utilized conventional glider configuration and construction. The high-winged streamlined monoplane
Monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...
design was introduced in 1937 and had a wing span
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
of 17.7 m (58 ft), an area
Area
Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...
of 23.4 m² (252 ft²). It featured two laminate
Laminate
A laminate is a material that can be constructed by uniting two or more layers of material together. The process of creating a laminate is lamination, which in common parlance refers to the placing of something between layers of plastic and gluing them with heat and/or pressure, usually with an...
d balsa
Balsa
Ochroma pyramidale, commonly known as the balsa tree , is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is a large, fast-growing tree that can grow up to tall. It is the source of balsa wood, a very lightweight material with many uses...
wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
propellers – each approximately 2 m (6.2 ft) in diameter
Diameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...
. The plane had an aspect ratio
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
of approximately 13.4 and a structural factor of 457.9 ft-lb3/2. The airfoil
Airfoil
An airfoil or aerofoil is the shape of a wing or blade or sail as seen in cross-section....
consisted of an American NACA
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics was a U.S. federal agency founded on March 3, 1915 to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958 the agency was dissolved, and its assets and personnel transferred to the newly created National Aeronautics and...
0012-F1. The control surface
Aircraft flight control systems
A conventional fixed-wing aircraft flight control system consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction in flight...
consisted of a conventional rear rudder
Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
, elevator
Elevator (aircraft)
Elevators are flight control surfaces, usually at the rear of an aircraft, which control the aircraft's orientation by changing the pitch of the aircraft, and so also the angle of attack of the wing. In simplified terms, they make the aircraft nose-up or nose-down...
, and a pair of wing spoilers
Spoiler (aeronautics)
In aeronautics, a spoiler is a device intended to reduce lift in an aircraft. Spoilers are plates on the top surface of a wing which can be extended upward into the airflow and spoil it. By doing so, the spoiler creates a carefully controlled stall over the portion of the wing behind it, greatly...
– all activated by a divided control yoke
Yoke (aircraft)
A yoke, alternatively known as control column, is a device used for piloting in most fixed-wing aircraft.- Principle :The aviator uses the yoke to control the attitude of the plane, usually in both pitch and roll. Rotating the control wheel controls the ailerons and the roll axis...
. The pilot sat semi-upright, and a bicycle chain transmitted the power from the pedals to an overhead transverse shaft that was bevel
Bevel
A beveled edge refers to an edge of a structure that is not perpendicular to the faces of the piece. The words bevel and chamfer overlap in usage; in general usage they are often interchanged, while in technical usage they may sometimes be differentiated as shown in the image at right.-Cutting...
-geared to the two propellers, which extended from the wing on each side of the fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
. Its empty weight was 97 kg (214 lb), of which the wings made up 45 kg (99 lb) of the weight.
Vittorio Bonomi, an Italian sailplane
Glider (sailplane)
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...
manufacturer, was contracted to build the plane. The wooden airframe was originally specified to have an empty weight of 73 kg (160 lb), with an overweight contingency of 9.1 kg (20 lb). While this design would have been feasible, the Italian Air Ministry required that the plane satisfy the same structural requirements of an engine-powered aircraft. This requirement prompted the plane’s empty weight to increase to nearly 100 kg (220 lb) – a significant amount of additional weight.
Flights
Bossi and Bonomi enlisted Emilio Casco to pilot the Pedaliante. Casco was a majorMajor
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in the Italian Army
Italian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
and a very strong bicyclist. After several weeks of trials in early 1936, Casco took off in the Pedaliante and flew approximately 91.4 m (300 ft) completely under his own power, marking the first achievement of an aircraft obtaining and sustaining flight completely via human power. Although subsequent calculations have verified that this flight was physically possible, most agree that it was Casco’s considerable physical strength and endurance which performed the accomplishment; not a feat which could be attained by a typical person.
It was decided that additional thrust was necessary. In response, the propellers were increased in size by about 0.3 m (1 ft), resulting in a diameter of approximately 2.25 m (7.4 ft). Whereas this increase in propeller length brought a corresponding increase in thrust, the position of the fuselage prohibited any further increases. Despite the additional thrust, the team still found the plane to be too heavy to travel the 1 km (0.62 mi) the contest demanded. However, the German HV-1 Mufli (de)
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
(Muskelkraft-Flugzeug), a human-powered aircraft built by Helmut Hässler & Franz Villinger (de)
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, traveled 235 m (770 ft) on its debut flight in 1935 and attained a distance of 712 m (2,335 ft) in 1937 utilizing a tensioned cable launching system
Catapult
A catapult is a device used to throw or hurl a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive devices—particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. Although the catapult has been used since ancient times, it has proven to be one of the most effective mechanisms during...
.
Incorporating a catapult launch to a height of 9 m (30 ft), the Pedaliante made a flight on 13 September 1936 which traveled several hundred meters. On 18 March 1937, at Cinisello airport
Cinisello Balsamo
Cinisello Balsamo is a comune of c. 74,000 inhtabitans in the Province of Milan in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about 10 km northeast of Milan downtown....
near Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, the plane was launched at a height of 9 m (30 ft) and Casco successfully pedaled the craft for its full 1 km (0.62 mi). This set a world record for human-powered flight, but as a catapult launch was not permitted in the rules of the competition, the Pedaliante did not win the prize for which it was designed. The plane was retired the following year having made a total 80 flights – 43 without the assistance of a catapult launch. At the time, the Mufli and the Pedaliante were the most advanced Human-powered aircraft ever built.
Specifications
- Empty weight = 97 kg (213 lb); 45 kg (99 lb) of which was attributed to the wings
- Wing spanWingspanThe wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
= 17.7 m (58 ft) - AreaAreaArea is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...
= 23.4 m² (252 ft²) - PropellerPropeller (aircraft)Aircraft propellers or airscrews convert rotary motion from piston engines or turboprops to provide propulsive force. They may be fixed or variable pitch. Early aircraft propellers were carved by hand from solid or laminated wood with later propellers being constructed from metal...
= 2-2.25 m (6.2-7.4 ft) diameterDiameterIn geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...
; made of laminateLaminateA laminate is a material that can be constructed by uniting two or more layers of material together. The process of creating a laminate is lamination, which in common parlance refers to the placing of something between layers of plastic and gluing them with heat and/or pressure, usually with an...
d balsaBalsaOchroma pyramidale, commonly known as the balsa tree , is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is a large, fast-growing tree that can grow up to tall. It is the source of balsa wood, a very lightweight material with many uses...
woodWoodWood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression... - Aspect ratioAspect ratioThe aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
= 13.4 - Structural factor = 457.9 ft-lb3/2
- AirfoilAirfoilAn airfoil or aerofoil is the shape of a wing or blade or sail as seen in cross-section....
= American NACANational Advisory Committee for AeronauticsThe National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics was a U.S. federal agency founded on March 3, 1915 to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958 the agency was dissolved, and its assets and personnel transferred to the newly created National Aeronautics and...
0012-F1 - Control surfaceAircraft flight control systemsA conventional fixed-wing aircraft flight control system consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction in flight...
= Conventional rear rudderRudderA rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
, elevatorElevator (aircraft)Elevators are flight control surfaces, usually at the rear of an aircraft, which control the aircraft's orientation by changing the pitch of the aircraft, and so also the angle of attack of the wing. In simplified terms, they make the aircraft nose-up or nose-down...
, and a pair of wing spoilersSpoiler (aeronautics)In aeronautics, a spoiler is a device intended to reduce lift in an aircraft. Spoilers are plates on the top surface of a wing which can be extended upward into the airflow and spoil it. By doing so, the spoiler creates a carefully controlled stall over the portion of the wing behind it, greatly...
- all activated by a divided control yokeYoke (aircraft)A yoke, alternatively known as control column, is a device used for piloting in most fixed-wing aircraft.- Principle :The aviator uses the yoke to control the attitude of the plane, usually in both pitch and roll. Rotating the control wheel controls the ailerons and the roll axis... - Pilot position = Seated semi-upright
- Power transmission = A bicycle chain transmitted the power from the pedals to an overhead transverse shaft which was bevelBevelA beveled edge refers to an edge of a structure that is not perpendicular to the faces of the piece. The words bevel and chamfer overlap in usage; in general usage they are often interchanged, while in technical usage they may sometimes be differentiated as shown in the image at right.-Cutting...
-geared to the two propellers, extending from the wing on each side of the fuselageFuselageThe fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
.