First pedal-powered ornithopter flies in Ontario

Engineering students and teachers at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies have finally fulfilled Leonardo da Vinci's vision of an ornithopter, an aircraft, powered by a human pilot's muscles, which flies by flapping its wings. Unmanned ornithopters have already been used for practical reasons and by hobbyists, but having a person power the whole contraption was a much higher level of difficulty. The wing span of this ornithopter is said to rival that of a 747.

The story involves pedal-power, Toronto and an interesting video - all things which make for a good story for bike nerds.

From The Register:

The "Snowbird" man-powered ornithopter achieved its history-making flight last month in Ontario, Canada, witnessed by a Canadian official of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) - the body responsible for authenticating aviation records, first flights and the like. The machine was piloted (and flapped) by Todd Reichert, an engineering PhD candidate at the University of Toronto. It flew for 19.3 seconds, and covered a distance of 145 metres at an average speed of 25.6 kilometres per hour.

"This represents one of the last of the aviation firsts," said Reichert, who was also leader of the project to build the Snowbird. The intrepid ornithopteror had undergone a rigorous training regime prior to the flight, which involved shedding over 18lb of weight over 4 weeks.

The Snowbird itself, constructed mainly from wire, carbon fibre, foam and balsa wood, weighs just 94lb despite having a 105-foot wingspan comparable to that of a Boeing 737. Its pilot powers the flapping wings by pedalling like a cyclist, one of the most efficient ways to generate energy using the human body.