Quite An Accomplishment For Someone Who Had Never FLown Before

A lot of us have made jokes about airplanes being held together with twist-ties, tin foil, and gum, but a Dutch teenager has actually built and flown one made out of balsa wood, polyurethane, and rip-resistant foil. He'd read all the books, studied construction techniques, and recently made his first flight in (on) his human-powered airplane.

Gossamer Albatross

Patterned after the Gossamer Condor and The Gossamer Albatross, Jesse van Kuijk began actually building his project in 2006, according to Der Speigle online, but his research started long before that. He became interested in human powered flight when he read about the Albatross and Condor, and exchanged e-mails with Albatross pilot Bryan Allen. He continued building the airplane while in college at Delft, returning home to the small town of Budel every weekend to work on his aircraft.

Gossamer Condor

His first, and so far only flight, came August 9th. He managed to get only 5 feet off the ground and about 35 feet down the runway before the bicycle chain driving the propeller slipped, and he returned to the ground.

But he flew, in an aircraft he designed, built, and powered himself. An impressive feat by anyone's standards. Congratulations.

FMI: www.ihpva.org/air.htm