Editing Ornithopter (section)

==Early history==
Some early crude flight attempts may have been intended to achieve flapping-wing flight, but probably only a glide was actually achieved. They include the purported flights of the 11th-century Catholic monk [[Eilmer of Malmesbury]] (recorded in the 12th century) and the 9th-century poet [[Abbas Ibn Firnas]] (recorded in the 17th century).<ref>White, Lynn. "Eilmer of Malmesbury, an Eleventh Century Aviator: A Case Study of Technological Innovation, Its Context and Tradition." ''[[Technology and Culture]]'', Volume 2, Issue 2, 1961, pp. 97–111 (97–99 resp. 100–101).</ref> [[Roger Bacon]], writing in 1260, was also among the first to consider a technological means of flight. In 1485, [[Leonardo da Vinci]] began to study the flight of birds. He grasped that humans are too heavy, and not strong enough, to fly using wings simply attached to the arms. He, therefore, sketched a device in which the aviator lies down on a plank and works two large, membranous wings using hand levers, foot pedals, and a system of pulleys.<!--I removed the comment that he built a scale model because I wasn't sure he got past the drawing stage. Does anyone know about this?-->
[[File: Leonardo da Vinci helicopter and lifting wing.jpg|thumb|[[Leonardo da Vinci]]'s ornithopter design]]

In 1841, an ironsmith ''[[kalfa]]'' (journeyman), Manojlo, who "came to [[Belgrade]] from [[Vojvodina]]",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://srbin.info/2014/11/17/jedan-srbin-je-pokusao-da-leti-ovo-je-prica-o-srpskom-ikaru-kalfi-manojlu/|title=ЈЕДАН СРБИН ЈЕ ПОКУШАО ДА ЛЕТИ: Ово је прича о српском Икару, калфи Манојлу|first=СРБИН|last=инфо|date=17 November 2014|website=СРБИН.ИНФО}}</ref> attempted flying with a device described as an ornithopter ("flapping wings like those of a bird"). Refused by the authorities a permit to take off from the belfry of [[St. Michael's Cathedral, Belgrade|Saint Michael's Cathedral]], he clandestinely climbed to the rooftop of the Dumrukhana (import tax head office) and took off, landing in a heap of snow, and surviving.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://vesti-online.com/Slobodno-Vreme/Nauka-i-tehnologija/99522/Vremeplov-100-godina-avijacije-u-Srbiji|title=Vremeplov: 100 godina avijacije u Srbiji|website=Vesti online}}</ref>

The first ornithopters capable of flight were constructed in France. Jobert in 1871 used a [[rubber band]] to power a small model bird. [[Alphonse Pénaud]], [[Abel Hureau de Villeneuve]], and [[Victor Tatin]] also made rubber-powered ornithopters during the 1870s.<ref>Chanute, Octave. 1894, reprinted 1998. Progress in Flying Machines. Dover {{ISBN|0-486-29981-3}}</ref> Tatin's ornithopter was perhaps the first to use active torsion of the wings, and apparently it served as the basis for a commercial toy offered by [[Pichancourt]] {{c.}} 1889. [[Gustave Trouvé]] was the first to use internal combustion, and his 1890 model flew a distance of 80 meters in a demonstration for the French Academy of Sciences. The wings were flapped by [[gunpowder]] charges activating a [[Pressure measurement#Bourdon gauge|Bourdon tube]].

From 1884 on, [[Lawrence Hargrave]] built scores of ornithopters powered by rubber bands, springs, [[steam]], or [[compressed air]].<ref>W. Hudson Shaw and Olaf Ruhen. 1977. ''Lawrence Hargrave: Explorer, Inventor & Aviation Experimenter''. Cassell Australia Ltd. pp. 53–160.</ref> He introduced the use of small flapping wings providing the thrust for a larger fixed wing; this innovation eliminated the need for gear reduction, thereby simplifying the construction.

[[File:Edward Frost ornithopter.JPG|thumb|{{center|E.P. Frost's 1902 ornithopter}}]]
[[Edward Purkis Frost|E. P. Frost]] made ornithopters starting in the 1870s; first models were powered by steam engines, then in the 1900s, an internal-combustion craft large enough for a person was built, though it did not fly.<ref name=kelly>Kelly, Maurice. 2006. ''Steam in the Air''. Ben & Sword Books. Pages 49–55 are about Frost.</ref>

In the 1930s, [[Alexander Lippisch]] and the [[National Socialist Flyers Corps]] of [[Nazi Germany]] constructed and successfully flew a series of internal combustion-powered ornithopters, using Hargrave's concept of small flapping wings, but with aerodynamic improvements resulting from the methodical study.

[[Erich von Holst]], also working in the 1930s, achieved great efficiency and realism in his work with ornithopters powered by rubber bands. He achieved perhaps the first success of an ornithopter with a bending wing, intended to imitate more closely the folding wing action of birds, although it was not a true variable-span wing such as those of birds.<ref>[http://ornithopter.org/history.rubber.shtml Rubber Band Powered Ornithopters] at Ornithopter Zone web site</ref>

Around 1960, Percival Spencer successfully flew a series of uncrewed ornithopters using internal combustion engines ranging from {{convert|0.020|to|0.80|cuin|cm3|adj=on}} displacement, and having wingspans up to {{convert|8|ft}}.<ref>The complete book of model aircraft, spacecraft, and rockets − by Louis H. Hertz, Bonanza Books, 1968.</ref> In 1961, Percival Spencer and Jack Stephenson flew the first successful engine-powered, remotely piloted ornithopter, known as the Spencer Orniplane.<ref>Video provided by Jack Stephenson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS4Yz-VcNes</ref> The Orniplane had a {{convert|90.7|adj=on|in}} wingspan, weighed {{convert|7.5|lb}}, and was powered by a {{convert|0.35|cuin|cm3|adj=on}}-displacement [[two-stroke engine]]. It had a biplane configuration, to reduce oscillation of the fuselage.<ref>RC History Brought Back to Life: Spencer's Ornithopter, by Faye Stilley, Feb 1999 Model Airplane News</ref>