We already have all sorts of ways of flying, but I think that many of us would still love to be able to fly like a bird – with wings.
Well a team of engineers have achieved it this week:
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Flying like a bird
Because it’s Friday: Flying like a bird
If you want to understand what he says at the end there are subtitles available, but I suspect that you will pick up the gist of what he is trying to say without them.
From Wired:
Smeets got the idea from sketches of a futuristic flying bicycle drawn by his grandfather, who spent much of his life designing the contraption but never actually built it.
When Smeets began studying engineering at Coventry University in England, he realized the physics of a flying bicycle just didn’t pan out. Instead, he drew inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci’s wing drawings to build his flying machine. Along with neuromechanics expert Bert Otten, Smeets brought his design into reality
The design is based on mechanics used in robotic prosthetics. The idea is to give his muscles extra strength so they can carry his body weight during the flight.
Graham Chastney 