Polniak LP Dedal

The LP Dedal human-powered aircraft was the project of Leon Polniak, a Franco-Polish engineer based in Kraków, Poland. Dedal is Polish for Daedalus.

Development
Inspired by the Kremer prize, Polniak began the design of the aircraft in 1966, and construction commenced in 1967. Construction reportedly involved 6,000 hours.

The Dedal was a wire-braced parasol-wing monoplane of conventional configuration, and fitted with a tractor propeller. The fuselage was of the pod-and-boom type. The wing planform was located immediately above the fuselage, attached by a single pylon. The wing consisted of six panels, all of constant chord, with the two outermost panels set at a substantial dihedral angle. The pilot sat in a conventional cycling position, and powered the tractor propeller via a belt drive. The aircraft was primarily constructed from pine and balsa.

The aircraft was due to fly in 1972 but, according to Jane's all the world's aircraft 1973-74, when it was 50% complete, it was damaged while being transported, with Polniak then deciding to build an improved version, the LP Dedal-2.