A "sulky" Wayne Rooney arrives at his Bangkok hotel, saying nothing to the medianor to the many fans gathering to welcome his Manchester United team.
By Terry Fredrickson
A Canadian team has finally won a cash prize on offer for 33 years for creating a human-powered helicopter. It works, but don't expect to ever see one like it on sale.
Note: I'm leaving for the USA in a few hours, so most stories you see from me over the next three weeks or so are previously-published stories. They are good ones though and I think you will enjoy them.
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Finally, a human-powered helicopter
Thirty-three years ago, the American Helicopter Society offered an $10,000 rewardto anyone who could build a human-powered helicopter.
Specifically the challengewas to create a flying machine that would be able to reach a height of three meters, fly for 30 seconds by human power alone, and stay in a 10 by 10 meter area.
Despite raising the award to its current$250,000, no-one has been able to accomplishthis feat– until now.
A Canadian team from the University of Toronto finally snatched the prize this week.
The winning vehicle is called the Atlas, and was designed by a team of about 20 students and young professionals. They formed a company named AeroVelo with its first missionto win the cash prize.
The Atlas doesn't look like a helicopter. Since it is human-powered, it is extremelylight just 55 kilograms – but it spans a sprawling49.4 meters.
AeroVelo co-founder Cameron Robertson, 26, said the aircraft is designed to be ridden by someone 160 pounds or less. It also requires a fairly strong pedaler, requiring about one horsepower to operate when the average person could probably manage a half horsepower, he said.
The winning June 13 flight was pedaled by team leader Todd Reichert, 31, an aerodynamicsexpertand competitive speed skater.
Watch the winning flight here:
Adapted from an AFP agency story
Vocabulary
accomplish: to achieve something - ทำได้สำเร็จ
aerodynamics: the qualities of an object that affect the way it moves through the air - กลศาสตร์ที่เกี่ยวกับการเคลื่อนไหวของอากาศและก๊าซ
challenge: something that needs a lot of skill, energy, and determination to deal with or achieve - สิ่งที่ท้าทาย, การท้าทาย
current: of the present time - ปัจจุบัน
expert: someone who has a particular skill or who knows a lot about a particular subject - ผู้เชี่ยวชาญ
extremely: very; to a very high degree - อย่างมาก, อย่างยิ่ง
feat: an action or a piece of work that needs skill, strength or courage - ความสำเร็จ,ความสามารถ,ฝีมือ
mission: an important piece of work that a person or a group of people has been given to do - ภาระกิจ หน้าที่
operate: to use or control a machine or make it work - เดินเครื่อง
pedal: to push the pedals of a bicycle round with your feet - ถีบจักรยาน
professional: a person who does a job that needs special training and a high level of education - ผู้เชี่ยวชาญในวิชาชีพ,ผู้มีวิชาชีพ
reward: something given in exchange for good behaviour or good work, etc - รางวัล
snatch: to take or get something quickly - คว้า
span: to stretch right across something, from one side to the other - ก้าวข้าม
specifically: in a detailed and exact way - เฉพาะ, เฉพาะเจาะจง
sprawling: built over a wide area in a way - เกี่ยวกับพื้นที่กว้าง
