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A small section of the instruction manual and wing plan. (big)(huge)
Front view of the model, sitting on its display stand.
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Top view. Note the curved wing and tail
ribs. The main "flapping" action is performed by the pale horizontal
spars which cross at the top of the curved yoke at the front of the
model. (The rigging is tied in place in this model
to keep the wings stable, so it doesn't actually flap.)
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Side view. Here you can see the rigging
in a bit more detail. The pilot lies on the platform, with his feet
in the pedals dangling off the back, and his hands in the handles
hanging from the front. Pushing and pulling on the handles and
pedals moves the wings.
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Front view, closeup of fuselage. The pivots for the wing-spars,
seen in the center of the frame, have an enclosed ball-and-socket
joint which allows a greater range of movement. The pedal cables pass
over the pulleys mounted at each end of the pale transverse spar, and
pull the wing-spars up and down. The push-rods inboard of them are
controlled by the handles. Note that there's no mechanism for
steering the flying machine, except by shifting one's weight.
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A view of the underside of the model.
Here you can see the crankshaft which operates the push-rods, and which
is turned by pulling on the handle cables. At the back of the
fuselage is a crossover pulley system which allows pushing on one
pedal to raise or lower both wings at the same time.
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A view of the underside of the fuselage, from the rear. The
rigging for the pedals is more visible here, as are the cleats which
hold the cables in place to keep the wings from moving.
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Closeup of the wing. The wing is built in two parts, with a
hinged elbow at the fourth rib. A wooden leaf spring tries to flatten
the wing at the hing point, but it is restrained by a set of cables
which hold wing in an arched position. The ribs are made by
cold-molding a pair of thin, flat spars onto a curved form, and then
smoothing and shaping. Thankfully, all the ribs are made from the
same curved form. The wing surface is a hexagonal mesh netting,
stretched over the surface and whip-stitched to the ribs with thread.
I found it very difficult to get both the netting and the
reinforcement cables near the bottom edge taut.
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Closeup of the tail. I built the tail after we moved to Chicago.
When it came time to cover the tail with the mesh netting, I
discovered that the mesh had gotten lost during the move. However, I
realized that the crinolines for some of Carolyn's dresses were made
of similar stuff, so I asked her to keep an eye out for some at the
fabric store. She found exactly the right material. I now
have over a yard of it, so let me know if you ever need some.
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