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:

• Flying Bird trial event rules
• Kits for Science Olympiad
• Contest Flying Tips

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!

Current US Records Indoor Rubber-Powered Ornithopter
Category	Ceiling Height	Time	Set By
Cat. I	< 8 m	9:01	Roy White, 1995
Cat. II	8-15 m	10:01	Roy White, 1995
Cat. III	15-30 m	15:02	Ray Harlan, 2003
Cat. IV	> 30 m	21:44	Roy White, 1995

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.