International Human Powered Vehicle Association A Quest for Innovation A streamlined recumbent bicycle, Gold Rush, has gone 65 mph under human power alone. A man-powered airplane, Daedalus, has flown 72 miles across the Aegean Sea. Pedal-powered hydrofoils are challenging Olympic rowing records. These striking achievements have been the focus of one organization - The International Human Powered Vehicle Association (IHPVA). In the past, sports vehicles - bicycles and rowing shells in particular - have been restricted in their design, to ensure that athletics were primary. These restrictions have inhibited improvements in engineering. The IHPVA provides an unlimited forum where inventors may test and evaluate new machines through races, symposia and contests. The result? Spectacular increases in speed and performance. On LAND The world's fastest human powered vehicles race each year in the IHPVA's International Human Powered Speed Championships. In 1980, spectators were shocked when the Vector tandem tricycle achieved a speed of almost 63 mph. In 1985, ten different vehicles achieved speeds in excess of 50 mph. By the spring of 1986, the Gold Rush had claimed the $15,000 Dupont prize for human-powered speed with a record of 65.484 mph. It's commonly recognized that the bicycle is the most efficient means of transportation on earth. The IHPVA's Speed Championships clearly demonstrate that streamlined enclosures can triple that efficiency at higher speeds and can also provide a comfortable means of practical daily transportation for many. Rules for IHPVA events are quite simple: Anything goes as long as the vehicle is powered solely by its rider(s). Such design freedom has resulted in the most technologically advanced vehicles ever built. Why do we need 200 horsepower automobiles to go faster than 55 mph when backyard cycle builders are producing sileng, pollution free, inexpensive and health-promoting vehicles to do the same thing? IHPVA members may be producing the commuting vehicles of the future. In the AIR Flight under his own power is one of man's oldest dreams. In recent years this has become a reality. In June, 1979, the Gossamer Albatross (designed by IHPVA president Paul Macready) was pedalled across the English Channel. In May 1988 the culmination of 4 years of work by MIT engineering students took place when the Daedelus craft was pedaled 74 miles across the Aegean Sea in just under 4 hours. These events and others, such as a human-powered helicopter competition and development of an ornithopter (flapping wing) aircraft, have been covered in IHPVA publications. ALL-TERRAIN Engineering students have for years regarded the Kinetic Sculpture events as a challenge and a lot of fun. Those interested in developing transportation alternatives, especially in and for Third-World countries, forsee a more practical application to those vehicles that can traverse sand, mud, and water. An increasing interest in the practical use of human-powered vehicles in a variety of situations has led to hundreds of intriguing designs which come together to compare and compete at events around the world. On WATER The current Olympic 2000 meter record for a single scull is 6 minutes, 52.46 seconds - about 13mph. Many other designs for human-powered water craft have been tried over the years - from aquatic tricycles to human-powered submarines. Until recently, however, it appeared that the traditional rowing shell would be hard to beat. Propellers may be the answer. Oars only deliver about 65% of a rower's energy into moving the board forward. Water propellors can be almost as efficient as an airplane propellor (about 85%). Two pedal powered hydrofoils reached speeds of more than 15 mph over 100 meters in August 1990. The Dupont Company has issued a $25,000 prize for the first human powered watercraft to reach an average speed of 20 knots (about 23 mph) for 100 meters. Will the winning design be a hydrofoil? A hovercraft? A flapping-wing watercraft? Or a design that has yet to be tested? You'll read about what has been done - and ideas on what could be done next - in the pages of IHPVA publications. And more... Solar powered vehicles. Vehicles powered by a combination of human energy and a supplementary source. Rail-cycles. The IHPVA has become a clearinghouse for information on many kinds of alternative energy sources. (The above text was copied from an IHPVA brochure.) (Membership application follows.) Get up to speed...Join the IHPVA - Membership application The International Human Powered Vehicle Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting improvement, innovation and creativity in the design and development of human powered transportation--as well as encouraging public interest in physical fitness and good health through exercise. If one of your goals is to help develop and/or promote new forms of energy-conserving, non-polluting transportation, or if you are simply interested in keeping up with the latest developments, become a member of the IHPVA. Membership entitles you to: *6-8 issues a year of HPV News, a newsletter to keep you abreast of the latest developments and news of upcoming events. *4 issues of Human Power, a quarterly technical journal. *Discounts on books, papers and other items of interest to HPV and cycling enthusiasts. Dues/Contributions: $25 (USA, Can., Mex.) $_____ $30 (All other countries) $_____ Contributions amount $_____ $1 Mastercard or Visa $_____ Total amount enclosed $_____ Please send check or money order (U.S. funds only) to: IHPVA P.O. Box 51255 Indianapolis, IN 46251-0255 USA Name _________________________________________________________________ Membership # _____________ (if renewal or address change) Age________ Name of business (if applicable)______________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ City___________________________ State/Prov.___________________________ ZIP/Postal Code_______________________________________________________ Country_______________________________________________________________ Phone (home)_________________________ (business)______________________ ___ New Member ___ Renewal ___ Address Change If you do NOT wish to be included in the next update of the IHPVA membership roster, provided to members only, initial here ______ For VISA or Mastercard, a $1 U.S. transaction fee will be charged. Please complete the following credit card information and sign. Charge orders can be faxed to (317)876-9478. VISA or Mastercard Number ____________________________________________ Expiration Date _____________ Signature _____________________________ All payments must be in U.S currency. All foreign payments should be charged to VISA or Mastercard accounts, or made by postal money order or by a foreign draft drawn on a U.S. bank with identification numbers. Please contact us if you are unable to pay by any of these methods. (The above text copied from IHPVA brochure.)