I started following the Gossamer Condor project in January 1977, at Mojave Airport, in southern California. Greg Miller was the project pilot at that time. By March 1977, the project had moved to Minter Field, Shafter, California (near Bakersfield). Greg was still the pilot for early testing, but Bryan Allen became the project pilot when Greg left to resume bicycling racing. The Kremer Prize flight was done on August 23, 1977. These photos are presented in low-resolution form. If you need high-resolution versions of any of these images, please contact me using email from the home page. Click on any of the thumbnails to see a larger version.

Photography of the Gossamer Albatross human-powered aircraft. These photos cover the evening of the first flight, at Shafter, California, on July 16, 1978 through the Kremer Prize-winning Channel-crossing flight on June 12, 1979. These photos are presented in low resolution form. If you need high-resolution versions of any of these images, please contact me using email from the Home page. Click on any of the thumbnails to see a larger version.

The Gossamer Penguin was a scaled-down version of the Gossamer Albatross, and had been designed as a backup aircraft for that project. When MacCready decided to pursue piloted solar-powered aircraft, his team first turned to the smaller version of the Albatross. Thirteen-year old Marshall MacCready was the first pilot of the Gossamer Penguin, and he made the first manned solar-powered flight on May 18, 1980. Janice Brown (now Sullivan) flew a public demonstration at Edwards Air Force Base, California on August 7, 1980, flying 1.95 miles in 14 minutes and 21 seconds. Then MacCready's efforts turned to the Solar Challenger. These photographs are presented in low-resolution form. If you need a higher resolution image, please contact me from the email link on the Home page. Click on any thumbnail to view a larger version.

Construction of the Solar Challenger began in AeroVironment's Simi Valley, California facility in 1980. Steve Ptacek flew the solar-powered aircraft from Corneille-en-Verin Airport, near Paris, to Manston Royal Air Force Base, England, near Dover, a distance of 163 miles, on July 7, 1981. Flight duration was 5 hours, 23 minutes. These photos are presented in low-resolution form. If you need high-resolution versions of any of these images, please contact me using email from the Home page. Click on any of the thumbnails to see a larger version.

In the early 80s, the Man-Powered-Aircraft-Group of the RAeS established a speed competition in order to further promote human-powered flight. Henry Kremer agreed to provide financial support. (See the Spring 1984 edition of Human Power, the Journal of the IHPVA, for details on the prize as well as articles on the Bionic Bat and the MIT Monarch.) Suffice it to say here that the prize required flying a speed course in under three minutes, and allowed stored energy. Partly to pursue the prize and partly to explore new technologies, MacCready's team built the Bionic Bat in 1983. Flights began in August 1983, at Minter Field, Shafter, California, where most of the testing of MacCready's earlier aircraft had been conducted. The Bionic Bat won two of the Kremer World Speed prizes. Parker MacCready, Paul's oldest son, flew the course at a speed of 20.55 mph, in 163 seconds on July 18, 1984; Bryan Allen flew the course at a speed of 23.45 mph, in 143 seconds on December 2, 1984. The photography shown here spans the period of August 1983 to June 1984, although I did not witness the prize-winning flights. The images presented here are in low-resolution form. If you need high-resolution photographs, please contact me using email from the Home page. Click on any thumbnail to see larger versions of these images.

Paul MacCready was very generous. He allowed everyone who worked on the Gossamer Condor and Gossamer Albatross to have a chance to fly those airplanes. Although not officially associated with his team, I was also granted the opportunity to fly both of those aircraft. My attempt to fly the Gossamer Condor was not photographed, and in any case, was very brief. I seemed to experience a common phenomenon: when I realized I was actually flying, I slacked off on the pedaling, and of course, immediately returned to earth. I am presenting some photographs of my attempts to fly the Gossamer Albatross II on this page. This aircraft had been built as as backup aircraft for the Channel crossing, in the event the first aircraft became damaged during an attempt. I believe this aircraft differed from the first in that the wingspan was slightly shorter. Although a lot easier to fly than the Gossamer Condor, since it required less power, nonetheless, one had to be a competent pilot as soon as he became airborne. On my first attempt, on September 14, 1980, at Minter Field, Shafter airport, California, I put the nose up too high, essentially stalled, and immediately returned to the ground, nearly hitting Paul MacCready, who had given me a boost with a tow rope. My second attempt was a success, and I flew for roughly a minute, before running out of airport. As I approached the airport fence, Sam Duran yelled for me to stop pedaling, so I landed, exhilarated. Photos egf07 through egf13, below, were taken by Ernie Franzgrote, then a scientist at Cal Tech's Jet Propulsion Laboratories in Pasadena. He is now retired, lives in Vermont, and has become well-known for his videos of hummingbirds in flight. He has made videos of many species of hummingbirds, and is on a quest to get them all. Click on any thumbnail to view larger version of image.