• Question: Is there any way for a human to fly without an engine?

    Asked by anon-230141 to Sarah, Isaac, Hira, Elena, Anisha, Alex on 11 Nov 2019.
    • Photo: Alex Leide

      Alex Leide answered on 11 Nov 2019:

      There are some human powered flying machines, but they look hard work! Normally by pedalling like on a bike to spin a propellor.
      Or you can use a glider, like a plane with extra long wings and no engine, where you are pulled along a runway until you take off, then the wind keeps you in the air. I would love to try it!
      There are some wing suits where you jump out of a plane or off a high building, spread your arms and legs to make your body into a wing, then glide around. They are like a flying squirrel. There are some cool videos of this on youtube but it looks scary.

    • Photo: Anisha Wijeyesekera

      Anisha Wijeyesekera answered on 12 Nov 2019:

      I guess you can fly by falling (like skydiving out of an aeroplane)

    • Photo: Sarah Knight

      Sarah Knight answered on 12 Nov 2019:

      What Alex said! Gliding, hang gliding and paragliding all rely on the wind to keep you in the air (either in the air or using a specially-constructed frame or suit). So a bit like flying, but you can’t really propel yourself — you need the wind. That said, some paragliders are very good at finding the right bits of the wind to keep them up, and can glide for several hours over long distances!

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