There may be no one who better understands how Douglas McCurdy felt during his first flight a century ago than Todd Reichert, who is an engineering PhD student at U of T.
On a quiet summer morning, Reichert pedalled hard to get his 43-kilogram craft’s immense wings flapping; at 32 metres from tip to tip, the Snowbird’s wingspan equals that of a Boeing 737. Aloft for 20 seconds, the “ornithopter” covered a distance of 145 metres at an average speed of 26 kilometres an hour.
Another 30 U of T students helped during the four years of designing and building the craft. The key engineering problem: the wings had to shift their angle of attack between the upstroke and downstroke, thereby providing sufficient lift and forward propulsion.
I love when distinguished scientists prove themselves wrong. Congratulations! How high was it off the ground and why is it called what it is? Is there a steering mechanism to it as well?
Amazing stuff! Question: why? I guess i know the answer, but what a lot of time and money just to prove a point. There's no economical reason, just an ego trip. Is there a purpose to this project?