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About |
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Even during the busiest times of my life I have endeavored to maintain some form of model building activity. This site has been created to help me chronicle my journey through a lifelong involvement in model aviation, which all began in Mayo, MD ... |
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| Copyright 1996 - 2026 |
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Webmaster: All trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other rights of ownership to images and text used on the Airplanes and Rockets website are hereby acknowledged. |
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Snowbird - The World's1st Successful Ornithopter |
 On August 2, 2009, students from the
University of Toronto Institute of Technology set a world record for sustained man-powered
ornithopter flight - 19.3 seconds, covering a distance of 145 meters at an average speed of 25.6 k/hr. The included video records that flight
which took place at the Great Lakes Gliding Club in Tottenham in Ontario, Canada,
in the  presence of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI). The "Snowbird" weighs in at just 45 kg (99 pounds w/o pilot), and has a wing
span of 32 meters (105 feet), and is powered by a 0.3 hp engine (the human pilot). Model building skills and materials are used throughout;
e.g., carbon fiber, Styrofoam and balsa, CA glue and vacuum-bagging
laminated assemblies. Details of the aircraft structure and wing-flapping device are hard to find.
Here is the video of the epic event
Ruh-Roh, here's what also happened... |
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