The World of Computer Software/World_Of_Computer_Software-02-385-Vol-1of3.iso/r/recumb01.zip/IHPVA.TXT

Text File | 1992-09-23 | 7KB | 160 lines

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 [phone].

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.)