Modern Practical Ornithopters???

[rippingtons_fan]

What would it take with today’s technology to build and fly a practical ornithopter? (Flown by a human pilot of course.) Has anybody ever come close?

[First_Amongst_Daves]

@rippingtons_fan

What would it take with today’s technology to build and fly a practical ornithopter? (Flown by a human pilot of course.) Has anybody ever come close?

I asked a similar question a day or so ago but it seems to have disappeared.

[Whack-a-Mole]

Doesn’t seem that ornithopters are terribly practical as a manned flying machine but it has been done.

Q: Has anyone flown a manned ornithopter?
A: Yes. The first successful manned ornithopter flight that we know of took place in Germany in 1942. Adalbert Schmid designed this ornithopter, which was able to take off under its own power and fly for extended periods under full control.

SOURCE: http://www.ornithopter.org/

More info on various attempts: http://www.ornithopter.org/manned.shtml

[Santos_L_Halper]

@First Amongst Daves

I asked a similar question a day or so ago but it seems to have disappeared.

This one?

I guess it depends on your definition of practical. They can be made to fly, but engineering the wings to flap up and down seems to be a lot more work than just having a propeller push the plane. Watching the video of one operating I couldn’t help expecting to see the wings snap right off.