On July 13, the students on the Gamera human-powered helicopter team from the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering completed their scheduled summer flight session with a new unofficial flight duration of 12.4 seconds. If verified by the National Aeronautic Association, this new time will shatter the team’s previous 4.2-second U.S. national record set in May.

Between the May flights and yesterday’s, the students enhanced Gamera’s cockpit and transmission and added LEDs to its landing gear that turn on when the vehicle is off the ground. Judy Wexler, the biology student who piloted the record-setting flight in May, was also on board in the most recent session.

“Our students demonstrate the combination of technical expertise and determination to succeed that will bring continued technological progress to our nation and our world,” stated Clark School Dean Darryll Pines. “During these flight tests they faced formidable obstacles when Gamera suffered its first significant structural problems, but they worked through the night to repair these and the next day achieved our best flights. Their spirit fills me with pride.”

The team plans further flights in the fall to move closer to winning the Sikorsky Prize, established by the American Helicopter Society in 1980. The prize requires a flight of one minute, during which the vehicle attains an altitude of three meters at some point and remains within a 10 square meter area. No team has yet come close to winning the prize, now valued at $250,000.

Low-res video available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzuXMbtSIpk

About Gamera

“Gamera” is the name of a giant flying turtle in Japanese science fiction movies, and was selected as the name for the Clark School vehicle because the University of Maryland’s mascot is the diamondback terrapin and because the team wanted to give homage to the Nihon University team. Detailed information about the craft may be found athttp://www.agrc.umd.edu/gamera/index.html.

About the Gamera Team

For more than two years, a team of 50 Clark School graduate and undergraduate students has worked on the design, construction, and testing of the Gamera human-powered helicopter. For the names of team members, seehttp://www.agrc.umd.edu/gamera/team.html.

About the Sikorsky Prize

The Sikorsky Prize was established by the American Helicopter Society, International, to inspire teams and individuals to advance knowledge of helicopter flight and to honor helicopter pioneer Igor Sikorsky. The prize has never been awarded to date. For more information about the Sikorsky Prize, see http://www.agrc.umd.edu/gamera/sikorsky-prize.html.

About the A. James Clark School of Engineering

The Clark School of Engineering, situated on the rolling, 1,500-acre University of Maryland campus in College Park, Md., is one of the premier engineering schools in the U.S., with graduate and undergraduate education programs ranked in or near the Top 20. In 2010, the Clark School was ranked 13th in the world by the Institute of Higher Education and Center for World-Class Universities in its Academic Ranking of World Universities. Three faculty members affiliated with the Clark School were inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 2010.

The school, which offers 13 graduate programs and 12 undergraduate programs, including degree and certification programs tailored for working professionals, is home to one of the most vibrant research programs in the country. The Clark School garnered research awards of $171 million in the last year. With emphasis in key areas such as energy, nanotechnology and materials, bioengineering, robotics, communications and networking, life cycle and reliability engineering, project management, intelligent transportation systems and aerospace, the Clark School is leading the way toward the next generations of engineering advances.

Visit the Clark School homepage at www.eng.umd.edu.