Andrew Sean Kinkade

US Patent:

20020173217, Nov 21, 2002

Filed:

May 17, 2001

Appl. No.:

09/858922

Inventors:

Andrew Kinkade - Mount Dora FL, US

International Classification:

A63H027/00

US Classification:

446/035000

Abstract:

An ornithopter includes a fuselage, a wing flapping assembly, a tail control assembly, a tail and a pair of wings. The wing flapping assembly and the tail control assembly are each mounted on the fuselage. The tail is operably connected to the tail control assembly and the position thereof controls the direction of flight and the angle of lift. The wing flapping assembly may have a flapping mode and a glide mode and the wing flapping assembly may include a pawl which is engageable with a cam. In the flapping mode the pawl passes the cam and in the glide mode the pawl engages the cam. Each wing may include a generally triangular inner wing portion and a generally triangular outer wing portion. The outer wing portion may have a plurality of spaced apart battens extending between the diagonal stiffening member and the trailing edge.