Aero Velo Inc

“Led by Todd Reichert and Cameron Robertson, the team of AeroVelo Inc. designed and built two successful human powered aircraft that have received international acclaim. Their unique ornithopter and helicopter have pushed the limits of human potential in history-making flights and established the company’s reputation in aviation engineering and innovation.”

AeroVelo Inc. is represented by its two principals, Todd Reichert, Ph.D., and Cameron Robertson, P.Eng., who both hold degrees from the University of Toronto.

The AeroVelo story is one of the most remarkable accomplishments of Canadian aeronautical engineering in the history of manned flight. The AeroVelo team was the first to accomplish two of the seminal feats of human powered flight: the first flight of a human powered ornithopter in 2010, followed by the first flight of a human powered helicopter in 2013.

At the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, Todd Reichert and Cameron Robertson, who were engineering students at the time, began in 2006 to develop an ornithopter – an aircraft that would fly by flapping its wings. They intended to design and build a lightweight aircraft that could be human powered by a single pilot. Named the “Snowbird,” the aircraft was developed over a three-year period with a team of U of T graduate and undergraduate engineering students.

In addition to the complexities of the technical design, Todd and Cameron needed to raise $300,000 for construction of the Snowbird. When finished, it weighed only 42.6 kilograms (94 pounds), but had a wingspan of 32 meters (105 feet), comparable to a Boeing 737 or a wartime Avro Lancaster bomber. On August 2, 2010 at the Great Lakes Gliding Club in Tottenham, Ontario, and piloted by Todd Reichert, the Snowbird maintained altitude and airspeed for 19.3 seconds. After 52 test flights, the Snowbird set the world record for the first-ever human powered ornithopter (HPO) flight and achieved the first-ever human powered aircraft flight in Canada. The success is recorded in the Guinness World Records book.

The flight of the HPO was certified as a “first” by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the world-governing body for air sports and aeronautical world records. For that accomplishment, AeroVelo was awarded the Trans-Canada (McKee) Trophy in 2011 by the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute.

Following success of the HPO flight, Reichert and Robertson formed AeroVelo Inc., a company for engagement in projects that inspire creativity and challenge the norms of conventional design, offering engineering students unparalleled design experience and education. AeroVelo then set its sights on the Sikorsky Competition with development of a human powered helicopter (HPH), named the “Atlas.” Established in 1980 with a $10,000 prize, the Competition was not won until the accomplishment of the AeroVelo flight 33 years later. The challenge to win the prize was to maintain a human powered flight of at least 60 seconds, reaching an altitude of three meters and controlling flight within a 10 meter by 10 meter area.

In addition to designing the Atlas, it was necessary to raise $200,000 to fund the project. Drawing on their HPO experience, Reichert and Robertson faced challenges that included designing rotors, implementing lightweight composite materials, and developing a mechanical system that one man could use to make an HPH fly. Ultimately, the completed Atlas had rotors at four “corners,” weighed 55.3 kilograms (122 pounds) and had a diagonal span of 46.9 meters – nearly 154 feet! Each rotor blade was 10.2 meters (33.5 feet) in length, thus the diameter of each rotor was 20.4 meters or 67 feet.

The award-winning flight occurred indoors at the Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan, Ontario and again the power was provided by Todd Reichert aboard a modified bicycle frame.  To develop the strength he needed to make the helicopter fly, he trained to reach the fitness and strength level of a national track cyclist.

The award-winning flight of the Atlas was witnessed by Andrew Sayer, Vice President – Americas Region, of AHS International. He has stated that, “I know that the winning flight was no chance event. This was a remarkable achievement made possible by a special kind of out-of-the-box thinking, the application of innovative analysis and engineering design, the formation of a highly motivated and effective team, and ultimately of sheer determination to succeed.”

Chris VanBuiten, Vice President, Innovations of the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, has stated that, “AeroVelo advanced our community’s understanding of rotor aerodynamics, lightweight composites, and aeroelasticity through rigorous scientific analysis and test. It has been inspiring to see a team of young engineers prove the time-honoured tradition that ingenuity and innovation can overcome the most significant of obstacles.”

Test flights began in March 2013. In winning the Sikorsky prize, obstacles to be overcome went beyond the technical aspects, including flights that failed to meet the criteria for the prize. Two major mid-air breakups resulted in damage that each took five weeks to repair. Finally, on the last day of a long round of testing, with only minutes to go before their time was up for the space available at the Soccer Centre, the dream of human powered helicopter flight was realized.

The Igor I. Sikorsky Human Powered Helicopter Competition, which had been increased in value to $250,000, was awarded to AeroVelo Inc. in 2013 by The American Helicopter Society (AHS) International, for the flight of June 13 that year. As well, in 2013, AeroVelo Inc. received the J.A.D. McCurdy Trophy from the Air Force Association of Canada in recognition of achievements in the field of civil aviation in Canada.

Having attained their lofty goals of building and flying a human powered ornithopter and a human powered helicopter, Todd Reichert and Cameron Robertson continue to pursue other projects. As stated at the web site of AeroVelo, “Our mission at AeroVelo is to inspire the public and youth, tackle the impossible, and challenge conventional design by doing more with less.” Their current project is “Eta,” the name given to their fourth fully-enclosed and aerodynamic two-wheeled speedbike. With it, they hope to establish a record as the world’s fastest human powered vehicle. The goal is to reach a speed of 140 km/h on a level surface, having already attained 125 km/h in in 2014, just short of the record speed of 133 kilometers per hour.