Making wings!!!!

[Mermaid Stark]

After watching iron man again, I've decided that I'm going to attempt to make wings that can actually fly. I don't know if it's even possible, but nevertheless, I'm gonna do it! I've got the basic design down in my head, but I have yet to figure out what I actually need to make it. The "bones" are going to be made of some kind of rod... maybe like the ones they use for the tails in H2O? dunno... There will be three or so rods attached to each other (in the form of the wing bones of a bird) that will be able to move somehow. The rod that will be attached to my shoulder (well, not exactly attached) will be motorized. I'll make it so that the shoulder rod will have some kind of device to make it fold when wanted.
I have so many ideas in my head, yet I don't know how to make them happen!
I want the motors, rods, etc, to be covered in the aluminum that they use for plane wings. This will make them light, yet sturdy. I don't know if I'm going to attach feathers or not yet, but it would be a nice touch, and maybe even help a bit with flight.
I still don't know how they're going to be powered, but I was kind of thinking that I could use some sort of sensor, like the one for a Wii. And maybe use a Wii remote to control it?
Any ideas anyone?

[Mermaid Kelda]

Do you want flapping wings, or something more like a glider? There's a reason no one has successfully pioneered mechanical wings, and it's because we're too heavy to lift ourselves off the ground (and our body shape just isn't evolved for flight). You'd need a pair of wings maybe 15 metres long to match our body weight.

That being said, gliding is definitely a possibility! You could design a glider that looks like a pair of wings :) maybe even with real feathers attached?

[Mermaid Stark]

Ooo! Yes, I think gliding wings could be possible! I weigh 91 lbs and I am 4 11'. Do you think I would need smaller wings?

[Mermaid Stark]

Oh, and how would you fly with gliding wings? Would you just need to run and jump?

[Mermaid Stark]

Hmm... now I'm wondering if I would be able to flap the wings with my arms when in flight somehow...

[Mermaid Kelda]

You wouldn't be able to flap in the air I don't think. That'd basically be like trying to lift your own body weight (pushing your weight against the air).
As for glider size, I'm really not sure! I had a quick look on google though and found this: http://www.aerialpursuits.com/hg/hgintro.htm
Most sites I looked at pretty much said don't try to build one yourself, because to be safe they need to be professionally made and aerodynamically engineered and all that jazz. But as long as you don't plan on jumping off any cliffs, I think it'd be an awesome project just for running off the tops of hills and stuff :) places where it wouldn't matter if it broke and you came tumbling down.

[Mermaid Stark]

Yeah, that's basically what I'm going to do. Just run off of small heights and try to fly! lol
I mainly just want to be able to get a few feet off the ground right now until I get comfortable. Then maybe I could try a bit higher if I know it's safe. This is gonna be hard, but I'm gonna go for it!

[Mermaid Kelda]

Well good luck! If you can find any paragliding/hang gliding clubs nearby I'd definitely check them out too :) you could even start it as an actual hobby with proper gliders.

[Kanti]

Haha yea like Melaina said it'll be hard to make anything other than gliding wings and even then they need to be huge!
I would try to read up on how hangliders work and sort of base your design off that, but be careful when you're testing them out!

[Mermaid Saphira]

Well this has certainly caught my attention. >,>

[SeaGlass Siren]

I want to see this!!

[Scapey]

Pleeeeease, either be joking, or if you're serious... Give up!

I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but I can tell you right now, this is not going to work and you could very well end up injuring yourself - Bear in mind that an unbroken fall of only a few feet is enough to break bones and severely damage your face if you land on it... And trying to fly with wings on your back means that that is exceedingly likely.

There's a kid on a prop forum I'm a member of trying to make "climbing gloves" with fish-hooks superglued to blocks of card - He expects to be able to scale walls like Spider-Man, but as with this idea, the desire itself is as old as human civilisation - But there's a very good reason you can't go and buy some wings or spider-gloves from a store even with today's advanced manufacturing techniques!

Birds have hollow bones and very light bodies - But look at the size of wings that even an Andean Condor needs to fly, not to mention the specally-evolved musculature required along with it to power said flight.
Or, as was touched upon earlier, look at the size a hang glider needs to be to hold a human being in the air - And even at that, hang-gliders do not fly, they fall with style!

Paragliders need the large engine of a boat to keep their forward momentum, and convert the friction thereby generated beneath the sail into lift...

Human-powered wings are simply not doable.


Awesome, folding, flapping COSTUME wings, on the other hand - Have at it, and I can't wait to see the results!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB8Y9NpjiXw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqPE8_n5Xnk

[Ashe]

Putting it out there, but to lift an average human each wing would need to be forty feet long. So all I can give you now is good luck, and please be safe...

[Scapey]

Also, the aluminium used in plane wings is relatively light... The key word being "relatively".
To the plane.
Or to a comparable surface made from steel.

Any alu frame light enough to carry without tiring you out is not going to be structurally sound... And anything sturdy enough is gonna be too heavy.
Titanium could be a shout, as although it's slightly heavier than alu, it's far stronger.
But far more expensive and hard to work with...

A honeycomb carbon fibre frame might help - But again, we're talking lots of money ... LOTS of money! And factory manufacturing.

[MerGrrl]

Like this? http://www.humanbirdwings.net/about/flying-like-a-bird/

(This site was a hoax, btw.)

Highly recommend trying out paragliding from the ground first: http://active.visitscotland.com/activeoffers/air/paragliding/

"The big selling point of paragliding is that you simply carry your paraglider in a rucksack up a hill, unroll the material and step forward into the wind. A wing will form above your head and you will be airborne!"

[Mermaid Stark]

Pleeeeease, either be joking, or if you're serious... Give up!

I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but I can tell you right now, this is not going to work and you could very well end up injuring yourself - Bear in mind that an unbroken fall of only a few feet is enough to break bones and severely damage your face if you land on it... And trying to fly with wings on your back means that that is exceedingly likely.

There's a kid on a prop forum I'm a member of trying to make "climbing gloves" with fish-hooks superglued to blocks of card - He expects to be able to scale walls like Spider-Man, but as with this idea, the desire itself is as old as human civilisation - But there's a very good reason you can't go and buy some wings or spider-gloves from a store even with today's advanced manufacturing techniques!

Birds have hollow bones and very light bodies - But look at the size of wings that even an Andean Condor needs to fly, not to mention the specally-evolved musculature required along with it to power said flight.
Or, as was touched upon earlier, look at the size a hang glider needs to be to hold a human being in the air - And even at that, hang-gliders do not fly, they fall with style!

Paragliders need the large engine of a boat to keep their forward momentum, and convert the friction thereby generated beneath the sail into lift...

Human-powered wings are simply not doable.


Awesome, folding, flapping COSTUME wings, on the other hand - Have at it, and I can't wait to see the results!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB8Y9NpjiXw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqPE8_n5Xnk

Hey, your talking to a former figure skater here. Believe me, I've had about nine years of experience jumping up into the air a couple feet and falling flat on my face, or on my butt. I think I'll be ok.
And we're talking about jumping off of a bench right now. Not a cliff. Like I said, I wouldn't go any higher if I new it didn't work.
Plus, this is something that's gonna take a lot of trial and error, and living in another country with not all the right materials puts me off a bit. I might just have to wait until I move back to the U.S.

[AptaMer]

Hey Fiona Mermaid,

Maybe this will give you some inspiration. Roberta Mancino is the top woman wingsuit flyer today


http://youtu.be/CPATqmPVgr8 http://youtu.be/CPATqmPVgr8


http://youtu.be/VI6XuPjlvWw http://youtu.be/VI6XuPjlvWw

[Mermaid Stark]

I've decided that I'm going to make two kinds of wings: One pair that are electronic and move when I press a button (or something), but they're obviously not going to be able to fly. Second par is going to look pretty much like a hang glider, except it's going to be attached to me via harness and covered in feathers.
I'm going to sketch and upload some designs of the electronic one and ask a few questions about parts later in the day. I'm gonna be at home all day babysitting my sister and her friend, so I'll have lots of time.

[Joy&RaptorsUnrestrained!]

Just so you know, a lot of science fair project board displays in stores (often office or school supply stores) have some gadgets to cover up the fact that you have a sub-par science project, including some portable devices with moving parts that you might be able to use with moving wing harnesses.

[Mermaid Stark]

Hey, does anyone know of any kind of material that is light weight, waterproof, yet stable enough to hold wood? It's for the "shell" part that I'll later put feathers on. Oh, and thanks Joy&RaptorsUnrestrained! I'll look it up and see what I can find.

[Mermaid Stark]

I found these wings from a movie called "Date with an angel". I think I watched it when I was little too.
http://www.icollector.com/Mechanical-Angel-wings-from-Date-with-an-Angel_i8632960

That's the basic design I want, though the feathers would be both black and white (since I think that would just look cool). But you know, you get the idea.