Composite materials (also called composition materials or shortened to composites) are materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties, that when combined, produce a material with characteristics different from the individual components. The individual components remain separate and distinct within the finished structure. The new material may be preferred for many reasons: common examples include materials which are stronger, lighter or less expensive when compared to traditional materials. 

Control of a slow flying, lightweight airplane demands a high degree of skill as well as a pilot who can generate sufficient power to take off and stay airborne. The AHS Sikorsky Prize has only recently been won by a team of engineers at the University of Toronto after more than 30 years of design attempts. 

The concept of a human powered flight competition first came about as a way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first human powered flight, when Derek Piggott flew Sumpac, Southampton University’s Man Powered Aircraft, back in 1961. Dr Bill Brooks FRAeS, chairman of the Society’s Human Powered Flight Group, said, “We felt it was important to bring together leading technical experts and aviation enthusiasts to discuss the advances in design, methods and materials in order to encourage wider participation in human powered flying.”