Tim Bird ornithopter wind-up rubber powered flying bird toy flies 100 feet with true wing power just like a real bird.
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Ornithopters are mechanical devices that fly by flapping their wings like birds. Leonardo Davinci was the first to sketch designs for an ornithopter in 1485.   
See "A brief history of the Ornithopter"  below

Introducing Tim Bird, the original French flying ornithopter toy.
Tim has been delighting kids and the young-at-heart of all ages for many years.  Ready to fly - needs no assembly       Ages 7 to adult

** The Tim Bird flying bird toy flies up to 100 feet.
** Powered by wind-up rubber motor
** 15.5" Wingspan - 10" Long
** Made in China of durable Nylon & Mylar construction. 
$10.50 each   Save 10% with the Tim Bird 5-pack . . . . .$46.95
 Learn more about Tim Bird: larger image, place order
Falcon  Ornithopter Kit
You can build an ornithopter! The Falcon is the ideal model for beginners.  Plastic and Balsa wood parts and a pre-fabricated motor crank make this all-new kit easy to build.  The Falcon flying bird model kit can fly up to 30 seconds.      Wingspan: 17"  Ages 10 up   
$7.95 each. Learn more about  The Falcon: larger image, place order
Seabird Ornithopter Kit
Once you have built the Falcon, you are ready to build a balsa & tissue ornithopter model. The Seabird flies long and slow with its big wings. For this model, you have to bend supplied wire to make the motor crank, measure and cut balsa and tissue covering.  Wingspan: 31".  Ages 10 up. 
$13.95 each. Learn more about The Seabird : larger image, place order

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ORNITHOPTER

No practical ornithopter has yet been built big enough for people to fly in, although a team at the University of Toronto has been making progress since the 1970's. They have developed a fully functional engine powered scale model, and in 2006 made the first short flight of a full-size manned ornithopter. Other successful efforts have been made since the 1870's. 

Leonardo Davinci's drawing from 1485 to the early 1490's were the first conceptualizations of practical winged mechanical flight. Although this design was never actually built, and the design is not really practical for a working device, Davinci's design for the flapping mechanism comes close to maximizing the efficient use of human power. 



1874: The first documented and witnessed flights of a mechanical flapping-wing aircraft were performed by Alphonse Penaud's rubber-powered model ornithopter in France.

1929: A human-powered ornithopter built by Alexander Lippisch in Germany was towed into the air and, upon release, glided with supplementary power provided by the pilot, under the pilots' control.

1959: In England, Emil Hartman's human-powered ornithopter was towed into the air by a car;  upon release, it performed human-powered glides. This design established the definition of a true ornithopter as birdlike, but not an exact copy of bird-flight mechanics in every detail. For example, practical ornithopter design utilizes a rudder and rear stabilizer wing, just like an airplane.

1991: At the University of Toronto, a team led by Jeremy Harris and James DeLaurier designed and tested an engine-powered scale-model ornithopter, demonstrating the technology required for a full-scale aircraft. This is recognized by the FAI as the first successful engine-powered remotely-piloted ornithopter.
1999: The Project Ornithopter engine-powered piloted aircraft, which is based on the technology of the Harris/DeLaurier model, self accelerated (flapping alone) on level pavement to lift-off speed.
2006: The full-size, piloted ornithopter achieves brief flight under its own wing-power.

Learn more about the history and modern development of ornithopters, 
and see video clips of flying ornithopters,
at  http://www.ornithopter.ca/index_e.html

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