The Region - News from Jan. 16, 1987

A chill wind swept the desert around Edwards Air Force Base, halting tests of the super-light Eagle pedal plane which designers believe will set a new distance record for human-powered flight. The weather conditions did not bode well for the Daedalus Project’s plans to complete testing and try for the record before the end of January, when the students and professors must return to MIT for the next academic semester. Winds up to 17 m.p.h. were likely for up to five days, authorities said. A try at setting a new distance record has been tentatively set for Wednesday at Edwards. Project manager John S. Langford, 29, emphasized that breaking the 22-mile distance record was less important than gathering performance data to be used in designing another plane to fly 69 miles from Crete to the Greek mainland, the route the mythological Daedalus was said to have taken on wings of feathers and wax in a tale 35 centuries old.