Todd_J

My Feedback: (-1)

Hey these ads for the Ornithopter look pretty cool - not that I'm a tree hugger or anything, but has anyone here actually flown one?

Are they tough to fly, ie. could a newbie fly them?

Can you do loops with them?

Do they suck batteries quickly?

etc.

etc.

MUSIC PUBLISHER

i have been researching these over the last few days...there is a eastern dragon that costs $129 for everyhitng..from what ive read...its junk....to get one that is reliable and flys well..expect to pay $300-400..to much for my interests..

flyingace451

I was interested in getting one of those but after I saw the price....WOW! Way too expensive for me. Even though it would be cool to make it look like a hawk is attacking my brother...darn.[] that would have been fun[>:]

Nuker

You can get details at www.ornithopter.org . I just ordered a Yard Hawk. It's $199 US so comparable to a quality arf. You still need 2 servos, receiver, battery and esc like any other 3-channel plane. This isn't a foamie

I did my own research and now I'm just waiting for the stock to replenish on my bird

rikidee

I have an air powered ornithopter. It flys pretty well but of course is a free flight unit only.
Kinkade seems to have a solid design but I too have been kept away by high costs. This will not be a problem for everyone, though. I see some are flying strictly by video onboard and taking photos with a $400 digital camera too. I'm way behind that.
Rick

MUSIC PUBLISHER

$200 just for the bird frame..way to expensive for my curiosity...

Rick Lindsey

It's neither electric nor RC, but if you wanted to play around with an ornithopter on the cheap, here's a plan for a FF rubber-powered one...

[link=http://my.pclink.com/~dfritzke/wingflapper.pdf]http://my.pclink.com/~dfritzke/wingflapper.pdf[/link]

jtalvy

I have a Sean Kinkade Park Hawk and I absolutely love it!!!

You are right.... it is a bit expensive but I think it is worth every penny.....

I see it sold for 378.00 complete with everything (radio system, speed control, battery, and charger). http://www.ornithopter.org/store/parkhawk.info.html

It comes with NiMetal batteries but I just switched over to a 3 cell LiPo 1200mA and man does it perform.

I have even been flying and a flock of starlings have joined me!!!

-James

artman102

My Feedback: (1)

Hello: I am a newbie, but I started off with an ornithopter. The Eastern Drangon ( about $80.00 delivered) Ebay. After some time and many crashes I realized that The radio setup and servos were all bad. I bought another brand (Cybird knockoff) about $75.00 del, Ebay) , very well built, all steel gears, but also a bad radio setup. I replaced both servos, esc, and radio with quality parts. I just flew it today, it flew perfectly. After about a 7 minute fight I landed it. The motor was very hot but is OK.

They are difficult to fly, turns are a combination of up and turn. If you just turn left or right it has no effect except to lose altitude. Descending is accomplished by reducing flapping speed. They are quite a sight when everything works right. People have to stop and watch. I would recommend the Cybird with Cybird radio.

I hope this helps. John

johnatwork

Rick...thanks for the link. I was soo frustrated with the amphibian I just scratch built and then found out I didn't have enough wing area to fly ... I went to the site you mentioned and built the "Wing Flapper Orinthopter". It is quite the flying device!! Took an hour to build and it flys/ flaps all over the place ! It's a riot to watch in action. It is neat but for me, I wouldn't spend a bunch of money on one. Just not sleek and smooth like a plane. Anyway thanks for the link ... everyone should build one just to say they did.
Johnatwork

blakeage

Check out the Cybird. It's only $99. Any thoughts? I haven't bought one yet. [link=http://www.raidentech.com/3rarecorcepo.html]http://www.raidentech.com/3rarecorcepo.html[/link]

m23896

Hi,
I've been watching the Kinkade ornithopters for several years now but they were always to pricey for me.
Just for the fun of it I tried the Dragonfly sold at Radio Shack last year. It was a bit tricky to fly, and more
than a little underpowered, but it would climb up to about 40 feet with practice. The transmitter didn't have much
range so I was constently flying it out of range at which point the motor would stop. The neat thing about it was
it was very tough and could take a lot of abuse, I wore out the motor bearings in a year though.
This spring while I was looking through the Ornithopter Zone web site I found the Cybird P1 listed. At $181.00
it's not cheap, but still within my budget. I got mine without the transmitter as I had one already. The
Cybird came with instructions (in English) a Video, and the original Korean owners manual.
It took me a few hours to solder the battery and motor connections and balance the airframe. All simple to do
and well explaned in the instructions.
The Cybird P1 is smaller than than Cyber Hawk or a Kinkade ornithopter, and only 2 channel. I would recomend
following the listed recomendations and try the first few flights in no-wind to very light-wind conditions. Altitude is
controlled with throttle (in this case how fast the wings are flapping), and the tail surface swings side to side for
rudder control. Keep the turns shallow as it will loose alttitude in a tight turn.
I fly over a farm field and it can go both higher and farther than I can comfortably see it. If I get some good
altitude and then reduce the throttle setting I can mess around for a good 15 minutes on afully charged battery.
Don't try to glde in for a landing, it won't glide worth a hoot. Reduce throttle until the bird is just off the ground
then cut it. the bird will set right down and slide to a stop. I've got about a dozen flites on it so far and other than
grass stains on the belly, no damage. Have fun. It's a blast to fly.