Saturday, August 1, 2009

Da Vinci Papercraft: Ornithopter

Among Leonardo da Vinci's numerous designs are plans for an ornithopter. An ornithopter is a machine that flys by imitating the flapping motion that birds use. Some examples of fictional ornithopters seen in movies are the aircraft that the Wookies use in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and also the "flapters" in Studio Ghibli's Castle in the Sky. This paper model of Da Vinci's invention is offered by Czech Radio Leonardo here. Look for the link on the left hand side just under the word "Ornitoptéra".