University of Toronto ornithopter takes off31 July 2006

Sustained flight of ornithopter

Professor Emeritus James DeLaurier achievedsomething in early July that has fascinatedhumankind throughout much of history. DeLaurierand a team of students at the University of TorontoInstitute for Aerospace Studies achieved sustainedflight by a piloted ornithopter – an airplane withflapping wings that are mechanically operated –something dreamed of by Leonardo da Vinci,among others.

“He though about it carefully,” said DeLaurier ofda Vinci’s design for an ornithopter. “He put aremarkable amount of thought into it but waslimited by the materials of his time.”

The concept of an ornithopter differs from standardfixed-wing aircraft because when flying its wingsflap up and down in a manner similar to that ofbirds in flight. “It’s an ancient dream, achievingflight with flapping wings,” said DeLaurier, aprofessor of aerospace engineering at U of T since1974, who retired this summer.

With the help of his current research team of fourstudents, test pilot Jack Sanderson and a fewother volunteers, DeLaurier achieved his lifelongdream of flying a full-scale ornithopter July 8 atDownsview Park. Equipped with a 24-horsepower

engine and a model airplane turbo booster, theornithopter flew for 14 seconds at an averagespeed of 88 km/h, in the process travelling a third ofa kilometre.

“It was sustained flight; no one can question that. Itreceived help from the booster jet but the majorityof the thrust was from the flapping wings,”DeLaurier said. “When it did fly we were prettyhappy. I was just hollering with joy.”

He said it also felt like a great burden ofresponsibility had been lifted from his shoulders. “Ihad committed myself to seeing this through but theproject was always held together on a shoestringbudget.”

The flight ended due to a stress-related failure inone section of the left wing. The ornithopter’s noseand front wheel were damaged during landing.

Project Ornithopter began in 1986 when DeLaurierwas able to turn his hobby of building model-sizedornithopters into a research project housed atUTIAS. Though the project had many stops andrestarts over the years, by 1995 it had produced theornithopter that flew at Downsview Park.

Years of testing and debugging then followed andDeLaurier estimates that 50 to 60 students haveworked on the ornithopter during the life of theproject. “It’s a great educational experience for thestudents. They get the experience of working in ateam and they also get the hands-on experience ofworking on an actual aircraft,” said DeLaurier,noting several graduate students have done thesiswork on research topics related to ornithopter flight.

Jennifer Elliott, a third-year aerospace engineeringstudent, said the project is a good combination oftheory and practical application. “When we do allthe theoretical work in the classroom, it shows methe practical results. We see how those calculationsare used in real-world applications,” Elliott said.

Todd Reichert, completing his master’s degree in

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aerospace engineering, said there’s a lot of hardwork involved in getting an aircraft to fly for the firsttime and the ornithopter project has been one ofmany challenges. “At the same time, it’s been anawesome experience. Aerospace is a lot of workingwith computers, so it’s exciting to be doingsomething where you’re actually out in the realworld testing something you helped build,” Reichertsaid.

DeLaurier hopes to receive funding to repair theornithopter and continue with the research project.In the meantime, the ornithopter is on display at theToronto Aerospace Museum in Downsview Park.

Source: University of Toronto

APA citation: University of Toronto ornithopter takes off (2006, July 31) retrieved 7 July 2018 from https://phys.org/news/2006-07-university-toronto-ornithopter.html

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