
Ornithopter
Competition & Contests
School Contests
If you are a
science teacher, an ornithopter contest in your school is a great
way to motivate your students while helping them learn important
MST concepts. You know the benefits of an investigative, problem-centered
approach to science education, and this is it. High school students
can compete with relatively simple designs like the Ornithopter
Zone's Phoenix kit, and they can add
their own modifications to improve flight times. A school gym is
the perfect setting for such a contest. For sample contest rules
and more instructional ideas related to ornithopters, see our Teachers
Guide.
Science Olympiad
Science
Olympiad is a national competition for middle and high school
students. Students from different schools compete in various science-related
contest events. Science Olympiad is now offering a trial event for
flying bird models. If your school participates in Science Olympiad,
tell your group advisor that you would like to give this a try.
Here are some helpful resources:
The Flying Bird
event began in North Carolina, and it's a regular event in that
state's Science Olympiad competition. For more info, visit the NC
Science Olympiad web site.
AMA Nationals
Ornithopters
are often flown in conjunction with indoor model airplanes. The
US national event is organized by the Academy of Model Aeronautics
(AMA) and held in a giant sports dome at Johnson City, Tennessee.
Even so, part of the challenge is regulating the climb so the ornithopter
won't hit the ceiling. Amazing flight times are possible. Maybe
you can break Roy White's record of 21 minutes, 44 seconds! The
ornithopters are more interesting and varied than fixed-wing contest
models, and the ornithopter contest event always gets a great reaction
from spectators!
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Current
US Records
Indoor Rubber-Powered Ornithopter
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|
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Category
|
Ceiling
Height
|
Time
|
Set
By
|
|
Cat.
I
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<
8 m
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9:01
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Roy
White, 1995
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|
Cat.
II
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8-15
m
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10:01
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Roy
White, 1995
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Cat.
III
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15-30
m
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15:02
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Ray
Harlan, 2003
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|
Cat.
IV
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>
30 m
|
21:44
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Roy
White, 1995
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If
you would like to compete in the 2007 nationals, you will need to
join the AMA ahead of time and then register
for the contest. AMA membership form is available here.
Contest
rules for all indoor events are located here.
You can also
join a local freeflight model airplane club to participate in their
contest events or flying meets. If you live in the US, you can find
out about groups in your area, or upcoming contests, by visiting
the Academy of Model Aeronautics
web site.
Ornithopter
Plans
Some people
are afraid to build an ornithopter because they think it's going
to be hard. However, some excellent resources are available, making
it much easier to prepare for indoor ornithopter competition than
it was in the past. You don't have to design your own ornithopter
to compete. Below, you will find four competition ornithopter plans,
all used successfully by top competitors. If you're totally new
to ornithopters, you should consider gaining some experience first,
with one of the Ornithopter Zone kits.
The kits are a real breakthrough, much easier to build and fly than
any previous design.
Rara
Avis Monoplane contest model designed by Roy White.
Butterfly
I Biplane ornithopter from Lester Garber.
Canard
Biplane by Frank Kieser.
Fancy
Girl III by Frank Kieser.
Other Resources
"Canard
Ornithopter Construction" by Frank Kieser: Page
1 and Page 2
This article is from the January 1988 issue of Flapper Facts.
Rubber
motors info. This was intended for model airplanes but applies
to ornithopter contest flying also.
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