It's an exciting time for pedal-powered vehicles – Europe's biggest pedal-powered aircraft meetup, the BHPFC Icarus Cup, is just a week away. The aircraft are heavier-than-air (i.e. can't use helium balloons for lift) and can only stay aloft with the pedalling effort of some very dedicated pilots (no batteries, motors, or engines!). The competition runs from the 4th of July to the 12th in Hampshire, England, and will feature as many as seven pedal aircraft – Europe's biggest gathering in years.
If you'd like to join us to spectate, there are airside safety rules and proper procedures you must adhere to – for example, you must not enter the active airfield without prior authorisation or accompaniment by knowledgeable party. These are outlined on the BHPFC's official website: https://bhpfc.co.uk/icaruscup2026/. An online safety pre-briefing is set for Monday 29th June, 6pm BST. Flights tend to happen very early in the morning so we appreciate it most if people attend the evening safety briefings and camp out the night with us, rather than getting lost unannounced and airside at 3am (please don't do this). Each morning and evening we check to see if the weather is suitable for flying since it could be too windy to operate the aircraft safely. In any case, hang out with us in the Lasham gliding clubhouse and with our aircraft during the day, we're all very excited to share our sport with you!
The aircraft featured is Aerocycle 301, filmed in 2024 at Manston International Airport.
Europe's biggest pedal-powered aircraft competition is next week
byu/curious-fletcher inbicycling
by curious-fletcher
15 Comments
Does the plane get destroyed landing? The landing gear looks inadequate.
Is there any launch mechanism to actually get airborne, or is that all handled by the pilot’s power too? I would guess just getting into the air is very difficult.
I wonder if they can attach an e-bike motor to keep it afloat
Do they ride clipless pedals? And what gear ratio?
I wonder how much faster and higher a Tour de France rider would have that thing flying.
Bicycle too high
So, would this be a good bike for commuting to work?
This is really putting your life on the line!!
If I stop pedaling I’ll die!
Does it rely on ground effect or is it able to climb higher?
Seatpost too high!
We need power meter data.
These are so cool. So as long as the pilot can maintain roughly 300W, the plane stays aloft; I wonder what’s the longest flight? I’m assuming the pilots are all semi-pro P/1/2 types who could take them quite far. Is there a way to watch the event online? Didn’t they fly these over the sea along a route near Greece which sort of stood in for a plausible Icarus route?
how does this guy measure a meter?
The Wright brothers would be ecstatic