from AOPA : Canadian flies like bird, team claims ornithopter record
A team at the University of Toronto has filed a world record claim for the first sustained flight of a human-powered ornithopter—an aircraft that achieves thrust from the flapping of its wings.
A video released by the team shows the craft towed by a vehicle, then lifting off and releasing the tow, flapping its wings with the early morning sun at its back. An ornithopter produces lift in the usual way, the team notes on its website, but thrust comes from the flapping of the wings—which in the case of the Snowbird is driven by a rowing mechanism operated by the pilot.
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