Following the Course of Legend

The ancient Greek character of Daedalus, the inspiration behind the human-powered flight project, "is the archetype engineer of western civilization," reads a passage in the project's feasibility study. "In a world where technology and the liberal arts are often regarded as distinct cultures," the study continues, "it is refreshing to be reminded that they share common roots." In this spirit, the Daedalus group recruited Yale Classicist Sarah Morris to help retrace the route that the mythical aviator flew.

According to Morris, the Daedalus myth appears to have originated in the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations sometime before 1300 B.C. Daedalus is said to have been a Greek craftsman who fled to Crete after being accused of murder. Running afoul of King Minos, Daedalus is imprisoned in the Labyrinth, which he himself had constructed. He escapes by building wings of wax and feathers and flying to the mainland. "Through Daedalus," asserts the team in its feasibility study, "we follow the tradition of the original Olympics, which included both athletic and mental challenges."

Following Daedalus himself is somewhat more difficult; various versions of the story have him landing as far away as Sicily, 300 miles from Crete. "Just about wherever we want to fly, Sarah says she can justify," Glenn Tremml reports. The team ended up choosing a "nowhere to nowhere" route, taking off from a deserted airport and landing on an empty beach, because the barren scene would be similar to what Daedalus himself would have faced. Notes Tremml: "Our own image of the myth has become very important to us."