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aerohydro · 24 September 2008, 01:51 AM

Hello All

I've been fortunate enough to stumble across some news about a new human-powered ornithopter project. It's being undertaken by UTIAS (the University of Toronto's Institute of Aerospace Studies), this is the very same concern that was behind the engine-powered piloted ornithopter which made a short flight in 2006.

Here's an article that I found:

A larger version of it can be found here. I did some sleuthing and contacted one of the students involved in the build; apparently there had been delays with constructing the ornithopter over this past summer and it now probably won't be completed until the build team re-assembles in summer 2009. Here's a photo showing the progress made to date:

A larger image can be found here. This project is probably the best chance yet to acheive man's oldest dream, being that to fly like a bird. I'm not aware of any other human-powered ornithopter project that's come under the aegis of a university, with all the resources for funding, personnel, and professional kudos that comes with that. The newpaper article supplies some technical details about the ornithopter:

Span - 30 metres - 98.5 feet
Weight - 37 kilograms - 81.5 pounds
Speed - 27 km/h - 16.75 mph
Power - 241 watts - 0.33 hp
Cost - CAD267,600 - if it flies, then it's absolutely priceless

I really, really, hope that they succeed.

Paul

PS: I know that - technically - that this posting isn't about "Pioneer Aviation" and should be in another one of the Aerodrome's forums, but this project is is too simply close to this thread's subject matter to worry about such things!

24 September 2008, 01:51 AM	#153 (permalink)
aerohydro Forum Ace Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Christchurch, New Zealand Posts: 918	A new ornithopter project Hello All I've been fortunate enough to stumble across some news about a new human-powered ornithopter project. It's being undertaken by UTIAS (the University of Toronto's Institute of Aerospace Studies), this is the very same concern that was behind the engine-powered piloted ornithopter which made a short flight in 2006. Here's an article that I found: A larger version of it can be found here. I did some sleuthing and contacted one of the students involved in the build; apparently there had been delays with constructing the ornithopter over this past summer and it now probably won't be completed until the build team re-assembles in summer 2009. Here's a photo showing the progress made to date: A larger image can be found here. This project is probably the best chance yet to acheive man's oldest dream, being that to fly like a bird. I'm not aware of any other human-powered ornithopter project that's come under the aegis of a university, with all the resources for funding, personnel, and professional kudos that comes with that. The newpaper article supplies some technical details about the ornithopter: Span - 30 metres - 98.5 feet Weight - 37 kilograms - 81.5 pounds Speed - 27 km/h - 16.75 mph Power - 241 watts - 0.33 hp Cost - CAD267,600 - if it flies, then it's absolutely priceless I really, really, hope that they succeed. Paul PS: I know that - technically - that this posting isn't about "Pioneer Aviation" and should be in another one of the Aerodrome's forums, but this project is is too simply close to this thread's subject matter to worry about such things!