DESIGN AND

DEVELOPMENT OF AN
ORNITHOPTER
                                                                              TEACHER GUIDE : PROF.S.S.SHAIKH
PRESENTED BY :
NIRAJ  CHAVAN
SAURABH BHAGAT
SAGAR GURSAL
NILESH CHAUDHARI
INTRODUCTION

An ornithopter (from Greek ornithos "bird" and pteron "wing") a machine designed to achieve
flight by means of flapping wings.  Designers seek to imitate the flapping-wing flight of
birds, bats , and insects. Though machines may differ in form, they are usually built on the
same scale as these flying creatures. Manned ornithopters have also been built, and some have
been successful.
HISTORY

• 1.In 1485, Leonardo da Vinci 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.
• 2.The first ornithopters capable of flight were constructed in France. Jobert in 1871 used
a rubber band to power a small model bird.
• 3.From 1884 on, Lawrence Hargrave built scores of ornithopters powered by rubber bands,
springs, steam, or compressed air
• 4.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
PROBLEM STATEMENT

          In 1903, the first heavier-than-air sustained flight was achieved by the Wright
Brothers. And now, more than a century after that historic flight, we still have many goals to
achieve and challenges to surmount. For instance, the maneuverability and agility
demonstrated by many birds is yet to be achieved in any man-made craft. Also, the
efficiency exhibited by birds in flight has not yet been reached. One prominent area where
the difference is apparent is in the micro-scale class of aircrafts. Therefore, there is a
significant research going on in designing and developing a unique mechanism of flapping
wings so that the ornithopter becomes capable of sustaining all types of flight.
OBJECTIVE

1.To study different mechanism available from various sources.

2.To accurately model the flight dynamics of an ornithopter.
3.To design and analyse the ornithopter model.
4.To develop flight control unit of ornithopter.
LITERATURE REVIEW

 Review of Basic Aerodynamics (Source:  Wikipedia)

• Lift, Drag, Weight and Thrust.
• Coefficient of Lift and Coefficient of Drag.
 Elements of Bird Flight (Source: Stettenheim, P. (1997). The Simple Science of Flight:
From Insects to Jumbo Jets Henk Tennekes)
• Flapping flight concept for birds
• Basics of Flapping Bird Flight
 Flapping Wing Aerodynamics (Source: Aerodynamics of low Reynolds Number Flyers
(Wei Shyy)
• Laminar Separation Bubble
• Various angles of significance for a flapping bird
• Reduced frequency, St & J 
• Clap and Fling Mechanism
 Power Requirements (Source: Tai, Y., & Ho, C. et. Al in “Unsteady aerodynamics and
flow control for flapping wing flyers”)
 Study of man-made Ornithopters (Source: Lung-Jieh Yang et.Al in A Micro-Aerial-
Vehicle (MAV) with Figure-of-Eight Flapping Induced by Flexible Wing Frames )
• VAMP-BOT Ornithopter
• Behemoth models
• RTF model
FLIGHT

• Ornithopter cannot take-off from the ground directly, this support is essential for this
purpose. To fly an Ornithopter, its motion is triggered by providing its support through
our hands. For initiating the motion, the power supply for motor and servos is switched
on and then the whole dynamics of the ornithopter is controlled by the simulator.
FLIGHT

Directions or throttle is controlled appropriately for smooth and

stable flight. Rudders kept in different ways to change the
direction can be explained as follows: -
1. If both the rudders are in upward direction then the
Ornithopter deflects in a downward direction.
2. If both the rudders are in a downward direction then the
Ornithopter deflects in an upward direction.
3. If the rightward rudder is in an upward direction and the
leftward rudder is in a downward direction then the
ornithopter deflects in the leftward direction.
4. If the rightward rudder is in the downward direction and
leftward rudder is in upward direction then the ornithopter
deflects in the rightward direction
DESIGN

• The design has been categorized into two parts:-

A. Aerodynamic Principle B. Design Criteria
• A. Aerodynamic principle :- The principles that define the behavior of flight characteristics of a bird or
any other aerial organism are defined as the aerodynamic principles. A number of factors are involved in
governing the flight of a bird. These factors include the free-stream velocity, angle of attack (AoA),
Reynolds’s Number, wing membrane flexibility, aspect ratio, etc. Majorly, four types of forces affect the
flight motion – weight, in downward direction; lift in upward direction or perpendicular to the direction of
relative upstream velocity; thrust in the direction of flight; and lastly, drag force in the direction opposite
to flight motion. Weight of the component is balanced by lift force, and thrust balances the drag force,
during a cruising flight.
DESIGN

B. Design Criteria:-
In order to find out the total dimensions and the weight that is allowed for flight, a lift
equation was used. Certain assumptions that has to be made before using this equation are
as follows:
1. The resulting lift would be higher in reality due to neglecting other flapping wing effects
that contribute to lift when flapping.
2. The coefficient of lift is independent of the location on the wing and time. 
3. Induced inflow of blade element theory is ignored. 
                 From the assumptions made the equation for a rectangular wing shaped lift could
be expanded to,
WINGS

The formula for flapping frequency is,  

Flapping Frequency=  (Motor Load Speed)/(Gear Ratio)

Design: Flexible wing
Flexible wings are a stretched fabric that forms a membrane made from lightweight and tear-resistant
material. The membrane wing consists of a spar, at the leading edge of the wing, and a wing membrane,
which extends backward from the spar and attaches to the body of the ornithopter. the rigid structure is
concentrated at the front of the wing. When flapping, the more flexible membrane portion of the wing
will passively lag behind the rigid wing spar. We refer to this as "twisting" of the wings. It is important,
because it keeps the wing adjusted to the correct angle for both the upstroke and the downstroke.  to
improve the lift basic membrane wing, some diagonal brace to the wing structure are added
Material:  Nylon fabric
WINGS

• To design the wing first it was important for us to study different types of bird
wings.
• Birds and their Wing Shapes:-
• A. Elliptical Wings are found on bats and most small forest and scrub-dwelling
birds, such as robins and sparrows. These wings allow a high degree of control
and manoeuvrability in confined spaces, and minimise drag to allow rapid
ascent and descent. Wing beat is usually rapid. Elliptical wings are highly
slotted between the primary feathers which helps to prevent stalling during
sharp turns, low-speed flight, and frequent landing and takeoff.
• B. High Speed Wings
• Wings designed for speed are found on swallows, falcons, shore birds, and ducks. Birds
that feed on the wing or make long migrations. The bones are relatively long, and the
wings taper to a point to allow for high flight speed with low drag, and low energy
consumption during flight. Because the wings are also thin, they must be flapped for
short glides and during descent, and flaps are fairly rapid but small. This type of wing is
aerodynamically efficient for high-speed flight but cannot easily keep a bird airborne at
low speeds.
• C. Long Soaring Wings
• Terns, albatrosses, gannets, frigate birds, gulls and other sea birds tend to have longer wings
for soaring. The wings have a high aspect ratio resembling those of sailplanes. The open
spaces allow for long wings to create good lift with little energy expenditure. They are also
adapted for high speed and dynamic soaring. However, they are less manoeuvrable than the
wide, slotted wings of land soarers. Birds with this kind of wing can glide easily over large
expanses of water and have exploited the sea winds.. However, the birds must usually run
and take off into the wind to get off the ground, and usually land easily on water.
• D. High-lift/Broad Soaring Wings
• Broad wings which provide high lift and soaring are found on vultures, condors, hawks, ospreys,
pelicans and eagles. These wings are broad and only relatively long, allowing for takeoff and
landing in fairly confined areas, high lift, low speed soaring, and slow descents. Many of these birds
are land soarers with good manoeuvrability required for tactic soaring in the air currents over land.
REFERENCE PARAMETER

parameter value unit

Flapping angle 70 deg
Flapping frequency 5.8 Hz
Lift coefficient 0.8
Air density 1.225 Kg\m^3
Chord length 0.13 m
Wing span 0.3 m
Lift 1.684 N
Weight 0.473 kg
REFRENCES

• [1] Ho, S., Nassef, H., Pornsinsirirak, N., Tai, Y., & Ho, C. (2003). Unsteady aerodynamics and flow control for flapping
wing flyers. Progress in Aerospace Sciences, 39(8), 635-681. doi:10.1016/j.paerosci.2003.04.001
• [2] Stettenheim, P. (1997). The Simple Science of Flight: From Insects to Jumbo Jets Henk Tennekes. The Condor, 99(3),
841-842. doi:10.2307/1370501Biomimatic millisystems lab, UC Berkeley.
• [3] Wing flexibility effects in clap-and-fling; M. Percin, Y. Hu, B.W.van Oudheusden, B. Remes and F.Scarano
• [4] Designing a Biomimetic Ornithopter Capable of Sustained and Controlled Flight; Joon Hyuk Park, Kwang-Joon Yoon
• [5] Shyy, W., Aono, H., Chimakurthi, S., Trizila, P., Kang, C., Cesnik, C., & Liu, H. (2010). Recent progress in flapping
wing aerodynamics and aeroelasticity. Progress in Aerospace Sciences, 46(7), 284-327.
doi:10.1016/j.paerosci.2010.01.001
• [6] “A Micro-Aerial-Vehicle (MAV) with Figure-of-Eight Flapping Induced by Flexible Wing Frames” ; Lung-Jieh Yang,
Cheng-Kuei Hsu, Fu-Yuan Hsiao, and Chao-Kung Fen
• [7]
THANK YOU