Ornithopter

Here's how to make an ornithopter powered by a rubber band.


You will need the following: (All my measurements are in inches.)

Wood: (Balsa works well, but i used coffee stirring sticks)

2 x 1 in.
2 x 1 1/2 in.
1x 2 1/2 in.
3 x 3 1/2 in.
1 x 4 1/2 in.
2x 5 in.

Wire: (paper clips work well)

1 x 2 1/4
2 x 2
1 x 1 1/4

Other Stuff:

Rubber Band
Super glue
Needle nosed plyers
beads
glue gun
Tissue paper (Other light materials work.)

Step 1: The Body

First, cut out all of your wood and wire, Then start Gluing together.
Take your 4 1/2 in. stick and glue on the 1 in. sticks as shown in the picture. Then glue the 2 1/2 stick across the top.

Comments

[lmendoza11]

Mine wont spin properly, and the rubber snaps. How fast must it flap for it to take flight?

[awesomecreations]

One other very important thing to test and adjust is the distance between bends on the driver and driven cranks so that they don't stop. Making a bigger ornithopter would make reducing friction easier,too.

[Emsaid]

you may need to check each pivot point and make sure there is the least friction possible, finding the right beads is important. try a thicker rubber band (not to thick, other wise it will snap you thopter) and surprisingly it doesnt have to flap very fast to take flight, it just needs constant flapping. also the lighter the materials used will make for longer flights.

[eyesee]

Can fly you

[DrJase]

Great 'ible! Am definitely going to make one (I had quite a collection of Starbucks coffee stirrers!)

Any cance of a video of yours in flight?

[лким]

Вот немного по махалётам http://xn--80ahduedo.xn--p1ai/machol_ti.html еще бы чертежи махалётов

[scientist vardhan]

awesome design
loved it!!

[Raaunak]

I have already built one, but the problem is that the rubber band is unable to turn the wooden pieces.

[Atulya Verma]

krra yaar mazedaar chiz banai hai ye .............karre launde
good frnd,,,

[pbman123]

i made this but on mine the rubberband won't spin the little things to move the wings

[Emsaid]

you might need a stiffer rubberband or make sure the hook thing can move freeely

[jid4611]

could you use popsicle sticks?

[Emsaid]

you could but the idea is to use as little material as possible so they might be to heavy but you could try, you could mybe break them in half long ways

[jid4611]

Also, in step one, is the1in piece by the line in the middle on the 4.5 in piece or at the end?

[Emsaid]

its 2.5 inches from the front like the pic shows

[sasorin]

I need help! Everytime I try and make holes in the wood, it splits. Any advice?

[ihaveguitarskills!]

try to put masking tape around the area before putting in the hole.

[Scuddestroy]

Might not be solid enough, you have to ensure the fibers stick to each other.

[Scuddestroy]

Glue the area of the wood you wish to make a hole in. Let dry. Hope this helps.

[ninja_boy1012]

what if you dont have tissue paper? what other kind of peper would you use? i dont have tissue paper. only paper towels and toilet paper. and the toilet paper is to small lol.

so if you had to choose between wax paper, tin foil, napkins, or paper towels to make the winds, what would you choose? lol. please help.   :D

[ihaveguitarskills!]

You said peper

[jid4611]

newspaper?

[dombeef]

 Plastic bags

[pie popper]

lets see... out of those i would choose wax paper, but i think plastic bags would work better, tissue paper also works great

[Emsaid]

oops! signed into the wrong account! so the above comment is actually from me

[dombeef]

Oh ok, won't wax paper be too heavy?

[Beduk]

wax paper is not heavy.But i think aluminum foil will be better since it is light and sturdier.

[dombeef]

Aluminum foil is too thin, it rips easly, and it crumples easly too

[J.A.R.V.I.S.]

you should also take into account aluminum foil is kinda heavy because it is technically metal, well... yeah, by the way thanks for the instructible! I used it for a science fair project with which wing material works better, aluminum foil (Iron Man) or plastic bag (Plastic Man) Marvel and DC collide again.

[80$man]

Hope your science fair entry did well, very clever, are you going to become an engineer? Many I ask what your findings were, foil or plastic?

Has anyone tried using a foam-alight (aka Styrofoam, expanded foam) sheet material for the wings? It should work, ample stiffness and lightweight, just need a very thin piece.

[McChubs]

Do you need 2 hook shapes for this?

[McChubs]

Thnx dude ur ibles r epic!!!

[McChubs]

The wire number 3 (make a hook shape) was hard so I just used a nail hook is that ok?

[Emsaid]

that should be fine just dont use a heavy one!

[McChubs]

I am confused, plz help. Where di the beads go, it is confusing and for step 1 the body which way does the 2 1/2 go?

[pie popper]

the beads act as bearings so they go on the wire pieces at the joints, just makes it run smoother, and for step 1 the 2 1/2 piece lays across the two 1 in sticks
that you glued on to the body, so for the confusion, this was one of my first ibles, i need to update most of them

[Emsaid]

OOPS! haha that was actually me right there ^ my sis left her acount logged on!

[Matrix-technician]

Is the width measurement 2and 1/4 inches? Your pic isn't clear enough for me to tell.

[Emsaid]

2 3/4 sorry my bad

[Matrix-technician]

thanks