What: An ornithopter is an aircraft that uses flapping wings, such as those of birds, bats and insects, for propulsion. This particular version, named Snowbird, is propelled by a bicycle-like pedal system and has a wingspan of 105 feet, comparable to a Boeing 737. It weighs a mere 94 pounds, however.
Who and where: Although the device was drafted by Italian artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci more than 500 years ago, no one has brought it to sustained flight until this August when University of Toronto Engineering student Todd Reichert completed a record-breaking flight of 19.3 seconds in his own engineered, man-powered craft.
The Future: This recently successful ornithopter - constructed using carbon fiber and balsa wood - can only transport one man a few hundred feet, but it would be unwise to dismiss it just yet. Mechanical processes are often embarrassingly less efficient than biological ones. Birds have held their place in the sky for 150 million years, but it was only a century ago that man managed to do the same from the dunes of Kitty Hawk, N.C. The successes of the man-made ornithopter - which mimics the flight patterns of a bird - could open the door for scientists for future biological understanding.\n-compiled by Josh McNamara
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