Fast-forwarding
to
modern
times,
the
heyday
of
the
human-powered
flight
is
far
from
over.
Lucrative
prizes
still
abound
for
rotor-driven
craft,
whilst
experimental
versions
of
helicopters
and
ornithopters
(flying
machines
with
flapping,
bird-like
wings)
are
both
on
the
drawing
board
and
leaping
off
it
with
great
abandon.
The
dream
of
human-powered
flight
has
been
an
official
reality
now
for
more
than
50
years,
but
the
limits
of
their
ingenuity
are
boundless
–
especially
when
inventors
and
engineers
are
spurred
on
by
prizes
as
large
as
the
$250,000
on
offer
from
the
American
Helicopter
Society’s
Igor
Sikorsky
Prize
Fund.
And
who
knows,
perhaps
one
day
his
commute
to
work
will
take
place
not
on
a
bicycle
but
on
a
bicycle-powered
craft.
Does
your
office
have
a
landing
pad
on
the
roof
or
a
runway
nearby?
The
day
when
she
does
might
just
be
closer
than
they
think!