As kids, we dreamt of a day we'd flap and take off into the great blue yonder to travel amongst the birds , right ? On the swings , we pumped higher until at last , for an exhilarating second , we would let go as we reached maximum height and soared freely through the air , experiencing complete independence from terra firma.
When did we stop trying to fly ? When did we become so content with remaining beholden to gravity ? Todd Reichert never gave up on his silly dream.
After years of planning and development with a team made up of some of the best and brightest in aeronautical engineering , Recihert , a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto's Institute of Aerospace Studies , recently achieved what we all dream of doing : Flying by simply flapping his wings.
Reichert was able to achieve such a feat through the use of the "Snowbird" Ornithopter , the result of four years of development and construction . A super- lightweight aircraft , the Snowbird is able to fly exclusively through the power of Riechert flapping his wings. It made aviation history by becoming the first-ever human-powered aircraft to attain sustained flight for a full 19.3 seconds.
While that may not seem like an impressive amount of time , it is important to keep in mind that human-powered flight has been attempted -- but not successfully accomplished -- for centuries , ever since Leonardo da Vinci drew up the first design for such a machine in 1485.
Just a thought : Reading about the Omithopter and the way Reichart never gave up on his dream brings to mind we shouldn't give up on saving our planet , but we have to work together.....wake up folks, look around you and see the changes in the "Climate" and the worst is yet to come.
Nice article Pic. I have always had dreams of flying.What a wonderful feeling that must be.
ReplyDeleteAnd you're right we should not give up on our dreams.