Man flies with self powered wings?

Is this real?

Looks like a simple hoax to me.

No way he could have generated enough lift from such flapping or at such a low speed and, if he had lifted off, he would have stalled instantly.

Bah, humbug.

balrog666 wrote:

Looks like a simple hoax to me.

No way he could have generated enough lift from such flapping or at such a low speed and, if he had lifted off, he would have stalled instantly.

Bah, humbug.

This is what I thought but I saw a video of Jamie from Mythbusters supporting it.

Gideon wrote:

Is this real?

Can't say for sure if it's real; the ascent phase seems discontinuous in the video.

But I want to think it's realistic. We know that human arms are not powerful enough to support a person in this manner, but I think the design takes that into consideration.

It looks as though the wing is fully self-supporting, with the articulated section able to be moved by arm motion. That's the way I would do it too.

It's also hard to get a sense of ambient air motion. We know that a glider can lift off in a low wind, rising almost straight up. I didn't see much in the way of motion of the background trees.

If it is in fact a glider, the arm motion could provide some forward motion, if set up properly.

NicknamedBob wrote:

Gideon wrote:

Is this real?

Can't say for sure if it's real; the ascent phase seems discontinuous in the video.

But I want to think it's realistic. We know that human arms are not powerful enough to support a person in this manner, but I think the design takes that into consideration.

It looks as though the wing is fully self-supporting, with the articulated section able to be moved by arm motion. That's the way I would do it too.

It's also hard to get a sense of ambient air motion. We know that a glider can lift off in a low wind, rising almost straight up. I didn't see much in the way of motion of the background trees.

If it is in fact a glider, the arm motion could provide some forward motion, if set up properly.

I Name Thee Icarus

The Edge Man wrote:

I Name Thee Icarus

Well, thanks!

But I would have set up the flapping motion differently. How, for example, do you make turns?

Now, the fellow's outfit shows a tail of sorts, fabric between his legs. One could use that as a rudder, I suppose.

But I would want to have some ability to pull one wing down for push-back, and let the other air-brake a bit. That would make for fast turns and actual maneuvering.

In retrospect, I'm not sure what I saw in the video would have actually propelled someone forward. There was a flapping action, but how efficient it was, I could not tell.

Interesting subject. It is, by the way, something discussed by Heinlein; flying on the moon. (The Menace From Earth)