Ornithopter

The folded winged ornithopter could decipher the flight of an aerial bird with well synchronized and precise head and tail movements actuated by two servos such that the head always points in the direction where the ornithopter tends to moves. As the name suggests, the wing consists of two portions i.e. fore and aft section with coordinated movements of linkages for lift and flight stability thus mimicking the wing flap of bird. The foldable motion to the wings are provided by four-bar arranged with a fixed node that are actuated by a motor driven crank via an optimized gear box. The other end of the wing is hinged to the main frame on which gear box is mounted. The aerofoil cross section of the wing with extruded poly-urethane foam covering provides lift during wing beat. The trailing edge of the wing has micro servo motor to twist the wing leading frame so as to generate a positive angle of attack and push air backwards in order to provide surge motion (propulsion). The significant upthrust resulting from the quick return mechanism of the gear box enables faster achievement of altitude (i.e. faster flight take off) in comparison with the surge distance. The maneuverability is achieved by a combined motion of flapping and gliding through air. The folded winged ornithopter could decipher the flight of an aerial bird with well synchronized and precise head and tail movements actuated by two servos such that the head always points in the direction where the ornithopter tends to moves. As the name suggests, the wing consists of two portions i.e. fore and aft section with coordinated movements of linkages for lift and flight stability thus mimicking the wing flap of bird. The foldable motion to the wings are provided by four-bar arranged with a fixed node that are actuated by a motor driven crank via an optimized gear box. The other end of the wing is hinged to the main frame on which gear box is mounted. The aerofoil cross section of the wing with extruded poly-urethane foam covering provides lift during wing beat. The trailing edge of the wing has micro servo motor to twist the wing leading frame so as to generate a positive angle of attack and push air backwards in order to provide surge motion (propulsion). The significant upthrust resulting from the quick return mechanism of the gear box enables faster achievement of altitude (i.e. faster flight take off) in comparison with the surge distance. The maneuverability is achieved by a combined motion of flapping and gliding through air.