In 2010, the Snowbird, a human-powered ornithopter created by a University of Toronto team, became the first HPO to sustain flight. The HPO project at U of T has a great YouTube feed of its various flights since, though it seems largely dormant today. HPO Team News | Human Powered Ornithopter Project (via Lifelines)
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Ornithopters, aircraft that fly by flapping their wings, are a staple at birdman rallies the world over, inevitably resulting in the pilots of such craft plunging headlong into the drink. Now, more than 500 years after Leonardo da V... Read Post
Over half a millennium ago, Leonardo da Vinci sketched the first human-powered ornithopter. For centuries since, engineers have attempted to build a human-powered aircraft with flapping wings. Now, a University of Toronto PhD candid... Read Post