# To Phoenix

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The **Phoenix** was a [human-powered aircraft](/source/Human-powered_aircraft), designed and built in the 1980s by the British architect Frederick To. It was notable for being an inflatable [tailless](/source/Tailless_aircraft) design and for its low airspeed.[1][2]

Taking inspiration from Daniel Perkins' work with the *[Reluctant Phoenix](/source/Perkins_Reluctant_Phoenix)*, Fred To wished to resolve issues with storage and crashibility that previous human-powered aircraft had suffered from. To this end, the Phoenix was designed to have a simple layout, be easily stored, and be robust enough to survive accidents without damage.[1]

## Design and development

The *Phoenix* was a flying-wing configuration, with a rectangular wing planform. A reflex aerofoil, based on a Wortmann 15% aerofoil, but increased to 20% thickness was used. An aspect ratio of 6 was selected as that was considered to be the practical limit for pitch stability for such a design. The wing was built up using polyester film, and was constructed using a series of conjoined tubes running the full span of the wing. The wing was also skinned using polyester film, with a series of curved riblets applied at intervals across the span helping to maintain the desired aerofoil cross-section. When fully deflated, the wing could be folded down and stowed onto a car's roofrack.[1]

Downturned [winglets](/source/Wingtip_device#Winglet) at each wingtip provided directional control. The fuselage was constructed from carbon-fibre tubing, with the pilot seated in an upright cycling position and powering the tractor propeller via a chain drive. Control was by [elevons](/source/Elevon) and rudders in the winglets. These were operated by [RC servoes](/source/Radio-controlled_model) controlled by the pilot.[3][4]

## Flight tests

Initial flight tests were conducted in August 1981 at sportgrounds in [Chiswick](/source/Chiswick), [West London](/source/West_London), when a series of three towed flights took place. During the last of these flights, the aircraft crashed from a height of 25 ft (7.6 m), without any damaged being incurred. The first human-powered flight took place on 28 March 1982, at the [London Docklands](/source/London_Docklands), with Ian Parker acting as pilot. Further flights were made that day, all of about 20 seconds duration. It was noted that the *Phoenix* took a long time to reach flight speed, which To determined was due to the air mass contained within the inflatable wing being some 200 lb (91 kg).[1][5]

Contemporary articles mentioned that To was designing a smaller, hybrid-powered inflatable HPA, with it weighing 60 lb (27 kg) spanning 50 ft (15 m) and flying at 15 mph (24 km/h).[2][6]

## References

1. To, F.E. (June–July 1985). "Phoenix: A Polyester-Film Inflatable Man-Powered Aircraft". *Aerospace*. London, UK: Royal Aeronautical Society. pp. nk. [ISSN 2052-451X](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/2052-451X)

1. Kocivar, Ben (March 1982). ["Inflatable pedal plane"](https://books.google.com/books?id=QFYKqzNP8FwC&dq=%22%22fred+to%22+phoenix+popular+science&pg=PA70). *Popular Science*. New York, NY: Times Mirror Magazines, Inc. pp. 70–71. Retrieved 12 January 2025.

1. Sigler, Dean (16 December 2013). ["Alternative Energies"](https://www.kitplanes.com/alternative-energies-21/). *Kitplanes*. Retrieved 12 January 2025.

1. ["The 50th Anniversary of Human-Powered Flight"](https://www.a-e-g.org.uk/the-50th-anniversary-of-human-powered-flight.html). *Aircraft Enthusiast's Group*. Retrieved 12 January 2025.

1. ["Human Powered Flight - Early 80s"](https://www.humanpoweredflight.co.uk/page/human-powered-flight-early-80s). *Human Powered Flight*. Retrieved 12 January 2025.

1. Taylor, John W. R. (ed.) (1982). *Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982-83*. London: Jane's Publishing Co. Ltd. pp. 518–519. ISBN 0710607482.

## External links

- [Fred To's Youtube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@insultantable/videos)
- [2010 RAeS lecture by Fred To: Inflatable Structures and their Application to Human Powered Flight](https://www.humanpoweredflight.co.uk/hpfMedia/media/7/2010-RAeS-HPFG-lecture-1.zip)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [To Phoenix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Phoenix) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Phoenix?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.