More than 500 years after Leonardo proposed his design, the ornithopter can finally take flight and compete in performance with other unmanned aircraft.
We would have to go back to the 15th century to meet one of the most peculiar and multifaceted Renaissance inventors, Leonardo da Vinci. His extensive work encompassed painting, anatomy, architecture, botany, philosophy, engineering, urban planning and many other disciplines. In some cases he was a revolution for centuries to come. In fact, he is arguably one of the most important pioneers of aeronauticsThis includes his work on theoretical studies, designs for flying devices and even models, although there is no record of any of his devices ever having flown.
Leonardo left several written documents in which he reflected his studies on the mechanics of bird flight. Among them is the "Codex on the flight of birds".The booklet, an 18-page booklet dating from 1505, contains his studies and illustrations.
Among the machines he devised to take to the skies was one inspired by the physiognomy of a bird, in which the wings were mechanically operated by the pilot. This invention was based on a long and exhaustive study of the flight mechanics of birdsHis idea was to provide humans with wings that would allow them to fly. His name: ornithopter.
However, the concept was far from the expected result. The main problem lay in the enormous force that would have to be applied to flap the wings, thus enabling the machine to take off. The only recorded construction of one of his flying machines was carried out in the course of 1495, with a public test in Milan on 3 January 1496, which was unsuccessful.
In fact, all his work was ahead of its time and this design, like others, was forgotten over the centuries in the old pages of his notebooks.
Even today, we would still have the same design problem. Moreover, no human-made flying object in history has ever achieved stable flight by flapping its wings. Nature is a good source of knowledge to be imitated.But it would be impossible for us to fly like a bird, because we do not have the physiognomy of a bird. On the other hand, it was possible to fly with rigid wings, and machines with a mass of hundreds of kilograms were able to take off from the ground from the first flights at the beginning of the 20th century. But this milestone was achieved through the evolution of engines and their development to generate greater thrust.
But back to nature and Leonardo's desire to fly like a bird. Perhaps it is impossible for a man to do it directly by applying his strength, although it could be done indirectly. Let's think of substituting a man's body for his inventiveness, creating an object that would be able to maintain a controlled flight while flapping its wings. In short, like a bird.
The University of Seville (Spain) is one of the places where Leonardo's dream of building and flying an ornithopter is becoming a reality. There, they have been able to overcome the initial problem of the project: achieving the necessary force to move the wings in a stable way and counteract the gravitational pull. The chosen path has been reduce the mass of the device to the maximum extent possible thanks to robotics, as this invention is made up of a skeleton and sensors that allow it to fly, flapping its wings. In the same way, they have copied another of the renaissance man's ideas and, like the birds, this mechanical bird also glides.
Another significant aspect would be its landing, for which they have devised a mechanism similar to that used by birds to land on trees or any similar surface, allowing them to fly in the open air. This part of the project is still under development and its major handicap is the ability to reduce the forward movement in flight as much as possible in order to land on a surface, thus minimising the violence of the landing.
They even keep adding new qualities to improve its capabilities. For example, by having the ability to remain in hovering flightIn the meantime, they are looking at adding small solar panels to it so that it can recharge autonomously, although the difficulty lies in the enormous amount of energy required to maintain the flapping and to sustain the very load of the panels needed to do so.
However, without detracting from this inventiveness, would this type of ornithopter aircraft be necessary? Let us bear in mind the qualities of drones, which have undergone an accelerated evolution in recent years.. They continue to evolve, offering ever more precise response and performance.
In reality, the ornithopter has little to do with drones and, in fact, its only similarity would be that it is a unmanned aircraft. As it does not have a propeller, with the aerodynamic noise that this would entail, it has the quality of being silent and easily unnoticed. This attribute allows it to act as an observer without having an impact on the environment it is examining. On the other hand, it could also interact with humans, animals or plants without the risk of being damaged by the propellers.
The development and use of this type of aircraft would offer humans a different option to what is currently offered by other unmanned aircraft. Above all, in the field of observation and study of the environment. In other words, it could be a good tool for science and, above all, for biologists and ecologists.
But it is not only the University of Seville that is developing the ornithopter concept. the German company FESTO is also making progress with its own model. The main difference is that it lacks a landing system. Instead, as a peculiarity, it has the possibility of tuning in to others of their own kindThe purpose is to fly together up to a maximum of five aircraft.
It is premature to say that a new aircraft type has been born, as there are still many details to be worked out, apart from the most important, that it has a specific purpose and unique capabilities.
In any case, by flying any of these ornithopters, we will have been able to successfully overcome a design problem that Leonardo Da Vinci posed more than 500 years ago.
