Fifty years after the 1961 groundbreaking flight, senior lecturer 'Dr Alex Forrester' would lead a team of engineering undergraduate students at the university with the ambition of re-entering the human powered aircraft (HPA) space. The Southampton University Human Powered Aircraft (SUHPA) would incorporate new technologies and manufacturing methods. Two years later in 2013, the aircraft was rebuilt with the aim to break the HPA world speed record - with efforts documented as part of this programme.
In archive footage, on November 9th 1961, an aircraft powered solely by the physical effort of the pilot 'Derek Piggott' who completed an unassisted takeoff - for the first time ever. The Southampton University Man Powered Aircraft (SUMPAC) was designed and built by postgraduate students at the university, and completed around 40 flights before being retired to Solent Sky Museum after a crash rendered the aircraft irreparable.