Intoducing the Flapper

bradclark1 · 07-09-06, 09:30 PM

And no it's not a new way of flushing your toilet.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...=1152395411588

scandium · 07-09-06, 10:36 PM

That gets the scandium coolness award

snowsub · 07-09-06, 10:58 PM

It's good to see some payoff for a lot of hard work

The Avon Lady · 07-10-06, 12:37 AM

What's so impressive? These are more impressive, IMO. Now just imagine them in the wrong hands.

bradclark1 · 07-10-06, 07:52 AM

Whats impressive is they've been trying to fly like that for centuries and have never been able effect it. Stop trying to be a spoil sport.

The Avon Lady · 07-10-06, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bradclark1

Whats impressive is they've been trying to fly like that for centuries and have never been able effect it.

So, we're reverting to the Da Vinci standard. You ain't gonna get me into a flapping machine going trans-Atlantic. No sirree!

TteFAboB · 07-10-06, 08:53 AM

But there are more impressive machines, the point is none of them fly. :rotfl:

Did Da Vinci's design had JET BOOSTERS anyway?

Sounds like cheating to me, I can fly flapping my arms too as long as I have a Jet turbine strapped on my back, but just like this plane, the landing would be rough, cross-wind or not.

SUBMAN1 · 07-10-06, 09:33 AM

Amazing that thing flew. I read about this a few times over the years. Saw a show about it on Discovery I think too. Never thought he would fly, but I guess he did it. Showed all those guys in the late 1800's that you 'can' make a flying flapping thingie! :p

-S

SUBMAN1 · 07-10-06, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Avon Lady

What's so impressive? These are more impressive, IMO. Now just imagine them in the wrong hands.

Thats not even near the same class, technicality, or even close to being as impressive as the flapping flying machine.

-S

scandium · 07-10-06, 09:54 AM

I think the designer said it best:

"I hadn't planned on this taking most of my career, but I don't regret it," said DeLaurier. "It has been exciting and interesting. Also it's been a worthy project, a worthy quest. You know that age-old saying: `What's the meaning of life?' Quite frankly, life has meaning if you measure yourself against a worthy goal. And for an aerospace engineer — who loves aviation history — this has been a worthy goal."

Plus, as The Star points out, this concept goes all the way back to the Greek mythology of Daedalus and Icarus and man's eternal dream to one day fly as a bird does.

Spoon 11th · 07-10-06, 12:14 PM

Ornithopters are cool. They just make hellish noise. The wings should be coated with owl feathers or something. This human size version is definately cheating since it has a jet engine. With stronger nano materials in the future I think we are going to see sailplanes with flapping wings. Man made albatrosses.

On an other thing would parrots be smart enough to pilot small hot air balloon if they are too lazy to fly themselves. Like that one dog I saw in California that uses skate board to move around.

STEED · 07-10-06, 01:17 PM

Looks like a spot of fun that one.

tycho102 · 07-10-06, 02:05 PM

Looks like a static-wing design. It's never going to work without some kind of dynamic camber.

I imagine someone will invent a flexible polymer plastic with some kind of embedded semi-conductor dopant; perhaps even inside nano-tubes. Apply a voltage or mag-field and it'll stiffen and bend, driving down leading and trailing edge flaps for the upstroke, then relaxing the leading edge for the downstroke.

It's a start with what we've got, and interesting engineering.

07-09-06, 09:30 PM	#1
bradclark1 Ocean Warrior Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Connecticut, USA. Posts: 2,794 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 0	Intoducing the Flapper And no it's not a new way of flushing your toilet. http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...=1152395411588

07-09-06, 10:36 PM	#2
scandium Ace of the Deep Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,098 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	That gets the scandium coolness award __________________ What can you do against the lunatic who is more intelligent than yourself, who gives your arguments a fair hearing and then simply persists in his lunacy? -- George Orwell

07-09-06, 10:58 PM	#3
snowsub 中国水兵 Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Moreton bay Posts: 286 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	It's good to see some payoff for a lot of hard work __________________

07-10-06, 12:37 AM	#4
The Avon Lady Über Mom Join Date: May 2005 Location: Jerusalem, Israel Posts: 6,147 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	What's so impressive? These are more impressive, IMO. Now just imagine them in the wrong hands. __________________ "Victory will come to us from the wombs of our women." - Houari Boumedienne, President of Algeria, Speech before the UN, 1974

07-10-06, 08:53 AM	#7
TteFAboB Admiral Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2,247 Downloads: 4 Uploads: 0	But there are more impressive machines, the point is none of them fly. :rotfl: Did Da Vinci's design had JET BOOSTERS anyway? Sounds like cheating to me, I can fly flapping my arms too as long as I have a Jet turbine strapped on my back, but just like this plane, the landing would be rough, cross-wind or not. __________________ "Tout ce qui est exagéré est insignifiant." ("All that is exaggerated is insignificant.") - Talleyrand

07-10-06, 07:52 AM	#5
bradclark1 Ocean Warrior Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Connecticut, USA. Posts: 2,794 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 0	Whats impressive is they've been trying to fly like that for centuries and have never been able effect it. Stop trying to be a spoil sport.

07-10-06, 09:33 AM	#8
SUBMAN1 Rear Admiral Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 11,866 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Amazing that thing flew. I read about this a few times over the years. Saw a show about it on Discovery I think too. Never thought he would fly, but I guess he did it. Showed all those guys in the late 1800's that you 'can' make a flying flapping thingie! :p -S __________________

07-10-06, 09:54 AM	#10
scandium Ace of the Deep Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,098 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I think the designer said it best: "I hadn't planned on this taking most of my career, but I don't regret it," said DeLaurier. "It has been exciting and interesting. Also it's been a worthy project, a worthy quest. You know that age-old saying: `What's the meaning of life?' Quite frankly, life has meaning if you measure yourself against a worthy goal. And for an aerospace engineer — who loves aviation history — this has been a worthy goal." Plus, as The Star points out, this concept goes all the way back to the Greek mythology of Daedalus and Icarus and man's eternal dream to one day fly as a bird does. __________________ What can you do against the lunatic who is more intelligent than yourself, who gives your arguments a fair hearing and then simply persists in his lunacy? -- George Orwell

07-10-06, 12:14 PM	#11
Spoon 11th Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Finland Posts: 689 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	Ornithopters are cool. They just make hellish noise. The wings should be coated with owl feathers or something. This human size version is definately cheating since it has a jet engine. With stronger nano materials in the future I think we are going to see sailplanes with flapping wings. Man made albatrosses. On an other thing would parrots be smart enough to pilot small hot air balloon if they are too lazy to fly themselves. Like that one dog I saw in California that uses skate board to move around.

07-10-06, 01:17 PM	#12
STEED Lucky Jack Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Down Town UK Posts: 27,695 Downloads: 89 Uploads: 48	Looks like a spot of fun that one. __________________ Dr Who rest in peace 1963-2017. To borrow Davros saying...I NAME YOU CHIBNALL THE DESTROYER OF DR WHO YOU KILLED IT!

07-10-06, 02:05 PM	#13
tycho102 Ace of the Deep Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 1,100 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Looks like a static-wing design. It's never going to work without some kind of dynamic camber. I imagine someone will invent a flexible polymer plastic with some kind of embedded semi-conductor dopant; perhaps even inside nano-tubes. Apply a voltage or mag-field and it'll stiffen and bend, driving down leading and trailing edge flaps for the upstroke, then relaxing the leading edge for the downstroke. It's a start with what we've got, and interesting engineering. __________________ My little Silent Hunter 4 repository