UTIAS Snowbird
Encyclopedia
The Snowbird is a human-powered ornithopter
Ornithopter
An ornithopter is an aircraft that flies by flapping its 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...
that was built as a project of the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies
University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies
The University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies is an advanced research facility for aeronautics and aerospace engineering, located in the Downsview district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
(UTIAS). Snowbird was the first man-powered ornithopter to fly straight and level.
Background
The first human-powered aircraft to successfully fly was the Gossamer CondorGossamer Condor
-See also:-Further reading:*Morton Grosser. Gossamer Odyssey: The Triumph of Human-Powered Flight. MBI Press, 2004; Dover Publications, Inc., 1991; Houghton Mifflin Co., 1981*Morton Grosser. On Gossamer Wings. York Custom Graphics, 1982...
in 1977, a fixed-wing airplane with a propeller. Although others have claimed to have flown like a bird under human power, those claims have never been confirmed.
There have been several attempts throughout history of humans attempting to fly like a bird, under their own power. Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
is frequently credited with creating the first design for a human-powered ornithopter in 1485. Since that time, many people have tried to make human-powered flight like a bird happen.
In 1991, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
(FAI) awarded a “Diplôme d’Honneur” for the first remotely operated engine-powered ornithopter, which was developed by Professor James DeLaurier and UTIAS.
A previous attempt at UofT, in 2006, resulted in the UTIAS Ornithopter No.1
UTIAS Ornithopter No.1
|-See also:*UTIAS Snowbird...
, which could only maintain flight with the assistance of a jet engine, but whose flapping wings were human-powered. This programme was also the most recent prior attempt to get a human-powered ornithopter off the ground.
Ornithopter Project
The Human-Powered Ornithopter Project (HPO) started in the summer of 2006, as a spin-off of the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace StudiesUniversity of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies
The University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies is an advanced research facility for aeronautics and aerospace engineering, located in the Downsview district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
(UTIAS) flapping-wing research program. The design was run in simulations to check feasibility before committing to construction.
The aircraft has a wingspan of 32 metres (105 ft) (comparable to a Boeing 737
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
), and weighs 43 kilograms (94.8 lb). It cost $200,000 Cdn
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
(approx. $200,000 USD), not including donated material and time. It was built primarily with carbon fibre, balsa wood, basswood and foam. The pedals are connected to the wings through a system of pumps and pulleys. Snowbird does not have launch runup equipment, because of the need to limit weight, and requires a tow-assist at launch. The downward flap required 700 pound-forces (3,113.8 N). It was built under the supervision of professor James DeLaurier, a NASA alumnus. The craft was built under the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
's Human Powered Ornithopter Project. The team that built it was composed of five students. The name came about when, during testing on a snowy field, the cockpit became filled with snow.
The team expects that revised iterations of the aircraft with greater performance will be made.
Flight test history
Snowbird completed successful free-flights prior to its officially monitored record run. It took to the air on 31 July 2010.Record run
For its official aviation-first flight, it was piloted by Todd Reichert, a 28-year-old PhD graduate student of the University of TorontoUniversity of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
's Institute for Aerospace Studies. The record flight was observed by a certified official from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
(FAI), and GPS
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
data detailing the altitude and length of flight were given to the organization for certification. Snowbird flew for 19.3 seconds in a straight-and-level powered flight run under human power alone. It averaged 25.6 kilometres per hour (15.9 mph), over a length of 145 metres (475.7 ft). Take-off was assisted with a tow from a car to get the aircraft up to speed, before flapping for lift-off. A total of 16 flaps were used on the run to maintain height. At the start of the flight, data indicates that Snowbird was able to gain height, while maintaining speed, indicating that there was more power than necessary to maintain straight-and-level flight. The run occurred at the Great Lakes Gliding Club
Great Lakes Gliding Club
Great Lakes Gliding Club is a soaring club is located at Tottenham/Ronan Aerodrome, 56.9 km northwest of Toronto, Canada.Great Lakes Gliding provided facilities and pilot training for construction and testing of the UTIAS Snowbird, the first human-powered ornithopter to sustain straight and...
, in Tottenham, Ontario
Tottenham, Ontario
Tottenham is a community in the town of New Tecumseth, in south-central Ontario, Canada. It takes its name from its first postmaster, Alexander Totten. The Tottenham Conservation Area is a recreational facility in the village, which is also famous for its Bluegrass Festival...
, on 2 August 2010, at around 6:45am. Reichert estimates that each stroke needed 600 W, with 700–800 lbf (3,113.8–3,558.6 N) on each stroke. Analysis of the flight afterward indicated that 15-20 power strokes is the limit of endurance for the pilot. The validity of the record claim has been disputed due to prior claims and, apparent in Reichert's flight data, a downward trend in total energy and airspeed during the 19.3 second interval claimed as a sustained flight.
Fate
On the last flight of 2 August 2010, a main drive line failed. Fatigue wear was noted on many components. With training of the pilot, with the intent of peaking for the record attempt, it was decided to end flights for the season.The team hopes to find a home in a museum for the aircraft and have an entry in the Guiness Book of World Records.
Specifications
See also
External links
- Official site
- YouTube official channel of HPO
- The Engineer, "Snowbird takes flight", 24 September 2010 (accessed 10-10-10)
- Live Science, "Human-Powered Aircraft Flaps Wings in Flying First", Choi, Charles Q. 23 September 2010 (accessed 2010-10-20)