The Flying Scrooge: Ornithopter of Household Items

Step 11 Test Fly and Trim

Wind up your ornithopter and test fly it. Wind it clockwise and counterclockwise to see which direction gives you smoother movement.

Here's my second test flight:

If your ornithopter zooms upwards and stalls, try adjusting the tail boom down a bit. If it still stalls, you may need to tape a coin to the front of your 'thopter.

If it turns in a slow circle, you can tape a piece of wire to the wing tip on the outside of the turn. I left my wing spars long, and so I just cut off excess from the wing tips on the inside of the turn to fix that.

Experiment with different arm lengths (you know, the adjustable arm) and different rubber bands. I found that two or three narrow rubber bands gave me more consistent torque than one thick band (and also lasted longer).

Now go play with it! My daughters love watching this thing.

*Update*

I've added a couple pictures to show where to attach the rubber band (actually, I use four regular rubber bands at once) and where you wind it up.

Comments

[bbhat]

Great plans. will the bamboo sticks work on a 2-winged ornithopter, it being heavier when compared to balsa??

[Mexicoman]

Royalestel, You said you couldn't find Ornithopters on the internet. I noticed many. You might try again. Additionally, look up "Wakefield models +airplanes" on Google for some exciting, fast, and long flying rubber powered models. They commonly will do 20-40 minutes on a single winding plus glide and thermal time. Really interesting airplanes. I didn't see any props, but when I was a young man, we made them with auto-fold props that would lay alongside the fuselage when the engine [rubber] quit. Much less parasitic drag under glide. They make an interesting project that will absolutely amaze your friends. No one believes a rubber model engine can drive that hard, that long.

[royalestel]

Well, I found plenty of ornithopter kits, but not many plans at all. I try your suggestion, though. Auto-fold props sound real neat! Thanks for the tips.

[Mexicoman]

As a long time model designer and builder, I recommend doing a lot of redesign before kitting. Your design is decent, but there have been many of these made over the years and yours isn't new or innovative. If you design one to duplicate the actual motion of bird wings, you would have a better design as it holds more scientific interest. It also flies better. Birds use an up and back--forward and down motion with stiff airfoiled wings. They also have a second bend in the wings about where the elbow is.I made a decent flying one when I was about 12 and it won the scientific competition in high-school. They are great fun.Good work, I like what you have done. Ummm, I couldn't get all the photos to expand and couldn't see much of your work closely. Is this intentional or just an internet error?

[royalestel]

Eh, I had zero response so no kits, but I was thinking about making one that's R/C controlled whose wing flap speed was influenced by surrounding air temperature. Thought that might be insteresting to watch. Wow. Twelve, eh? Go you! Not sure why the photos won't expand . . . wasn't intentional. And lastly, thanks for your kind words.

[craniac]

Sometimes you go to war with the ornithopter plans you have, not the ones you'd like. Where are these other online ornithopter plans?

[royalestel]

Um, step 1 has the link to the plans. I wanted to make a four-winged ornithopter. I really didn't change the design all that much.

[phoenix124]

hey wow this really is amazing! i've always held a facination with flight and this is really really great! i'm soooo going to make one of these when i get the chanse (and the ambition lol). great instructable! and congrats on winning the 'use it again contest' happy modding