Atlas human powered helicopter

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In 1980 the American Helicopter Society helped create the Igor I. Sirkorsky Human Powered Helicopter Competition.  To win the prize a human powered helicopter would have to be built.  It would have to fly for 60 seconds and reach an altitude of 3 meters while remaining in a 10 meter square.

In 1989 students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo built Da Vinci III which flew for 7.1 seconds.  On June 13, 2013 the AeroVelo team from the University of Toronto flew the Atlas Human-Powered Helicopter for 64.1 seconds and reaching an altitude of 3.3 meters.

The Atlas has four rotors and measures 47 meters (154 feet) across, but only weighs 119 pounds.  The results have been verified and the AeroVelo team has been declared the winner of the $250,000 prize.

Read more about the AeroVelo team here.