Do not try to make your

ornithopter using "household

materials". If you want it to fly,
you have to build it right.
FREEBIRD
THE ORIGINAL D.I.Y. ORNITHOPTER!
Wingspan: 16 inches
Weight: 1/4 ounce

The Ornithopter Zone

www.ornithopter.org

Required Materials Tools and Glue

Balsa wood: Instead of the White glue

1/8" square stick plastic bead, use a Epoxy or CA glue
3/32" square stick 1/8" long section of Hobby knife (or single edge razor blade)
the metal tubing.
1/8 x 5/16" stick Needle-nose cutting pliers
1/8 x 1/2" stick Straight pin
Model aircraft plywood, 1/32" thick Sandpaper
Steel music wire, 1/32" diameter Ruler
Aluminum (or brass) tubing, 1/16" diameter Solid cardboard to cut on
Small plastic bead with 1/32" hole Wax paper
Insulation stripped from 22 gauge wire
Model airplane rubber , 1/8" wide by 18" long
Model airplane tissue (6" x 20" sheet)

Gather Materials. Your local hobby Wire Parts. With pliers, cut two 2"
1 shop or sigmfg.com should have most 2 lengths of music wire and two 2-3/4"
of the items listed above. Do not make lengths. With the two longer pieces, use
substitutions, especially with the rubber the pliers to form a small hook in one
band. Office-grade replacements will end, about 1/4" wide.
result in an ornithopter that barely flies. two
each

Prepare the Wood Parts. Using the hobby

knife, with cardboard to protect your work
surface, cut balsa to the following sizes: Aluminum Tubing. Press down with the
hobby knife to cut aluminum tubing. Cut
1/8" square stick - two 8" lengths (wing spars) three 1/2" lengths. Sand the ends until
3/32" square stick - two 7" lengths (tail pieces) they are smooth and perpendicular.
1/8 x 5/16" stick - one 5" piece (motor stick)
1/8 x 1/2" stick - one 1-1/8" piece (strut)
yes no
side view, enlarged
Also cut two strips of aircraft plywood, 3/16 by
2-1/8". You can round the ends with sand- Also cut a 1/8" length of tubing to
paper. These are the connecting rods. substitute for the plastic bead shown later
in the instructions. Smooth off the end of
make two
from plywood the tube before cutting.
Parts wing spars (2)
1/2 actual size

tail pieces (2)

wire hooks (2) motor stick

connecting rods (2)

wing wires (2) strut wire insulation

aluminum tubes (3) plastic bead + tissue and rubber band (not shown)

Drilling Holes. You can use the sharp end Wing and Tail Tissue. On the next
3 of the wire you cut to drill holes. Work on a 5 page, you will find outlines for the wings
flat surface protected with cardboard. The and tail. Trace the outlines onto the
wire is sharp, so don't support the wood tissue paper, arranging them as shown
with your finger. Keep the wire straight up here. Flip the tissue over so you can
and down, and twist it between your trace both wing halves. Cut out the
fingers to make a hole. wings, both in one piece, and cut out
the tail. Save the leftover tissue.
Holes should be made 3/4" from one end
of each wing spar and 3/8" from one end
of the motor stick, as shown above. WINGS
The plywood is much harder than balsa,
TAIL
so make make a starter hole first, using a
straight pin. Make holes exactly 1-3/4"
apart in the connecting rods.

At this stage, all parts should look like the Tail Pieces. Cut a 22.5° angle at the end
drawing at the top of the page. 6 of each tail piece. Use the drawing to
make this cut accurately.

22.5°

Crank Bearing. Glue the metal tube to

4 one end of the balsa wood strut using
epoxy or CA glue. Optionally, you can file
some grooves first to improve the bond
strength. This doesn't seem to be
necessary, though. Tail Assembly. On wax paper, apply
7 glue to the bevel end of each tail piece.
Spread a thin layer of glue along the
length of each tail piece and glue them
onto the tail tissue, joined at the bevel.
 WING CENTER LINE - DO NOT CUT!

Wing and Tail

Outlines for Step 5

WING
OUT
LINE
TA
IL
O
U
TL
I
N
E
 Wing Spars. Using pliers, bend the wing Body Assembly. Glue together the wing
8 wires precisely as shown below. Grip 11 hinge tubes, strut, and motor stick as
with pliers where indicated ( ). Try for shown. Lay flat on wax paper until dry.
sharp 90° bends, and make sure the part
will lay flat after bending.

Apply glue and insert

actual
the wire into the hole in
size the wing spar. Glue the
1
wire to the spar.
2

Cut a strip of tissue about this size.

Apply a thin layer of glue. Wrap the
tissue around the wire and spar.

Body Assembly, Continued.

Press any air bubbles out from under tissue.
12 Reinforce the body glue joints as you did
with the wing spars. Use four layers of
tissue cut to size.

Wire Hook. Apply glue, then insert a wire

9 hook through the hole in the motor stick.
The hook opening should be on the right.

13 Tail Placement.
The tail fits inside the
bent tip of the hook wire.
Glue and wrap with
Bend wire as shown. While a bit of tissue.
Bend the Wire
Grip Here
bending, do not touch the
wood or it will break.

Bend once more at wire Lay the model on its

end, straight up and back. Support the strut
down. Glue the wire onto to keep it upright.
the motor stick. Make sure the tail is
on straight. Wait for
the glue to dry.

Crank Wire. Slide the other hook wire

through the crank bearing tube. Put the
10 plastic bead on the wire, and then bend To bend wire: Position the
the wire as shown. pliers 1/32" from where you
want the bend. Squeeze the
3/8" max radius pliers tightly while bending.
BEARING
CRANK Pliers with grooves across
front view plastic
bead 3/8" them work much better for
CRANK
3D view holding the wire.
1/4" 1/8"
 Wing Installation. Scrape any excess Rubber Band. Hold together the ends of
14 glue from the wing wires. When the tail is 17 the rubber. Tie a knot as shown, forming
dry, pick up the model and gently insert a large rubber band. Then tie the free
the wing wires into the wing hinge tubes. ends together to secure. Do not install
the rubber band on the model until all
glue is completely dry. Then, double the
rubber band and hook it onto the motor
hooks, with the knot in the back.

Before You Fly! Your Freebird will not

Flapping Mechanism. Slide a connecting
rod onto the crank wire. Wiggle it past the 18 fly until you make these adjustments.
first two bends in the wire. Fit the other end
First, bend the tail wire up slightly,
onto the wing wire for the bird's left wing.
about five degrees. Do not touch or
Then install the other connecting rod on the
use any wooden parts for leverage
outer part of the crank and the right wing.
when you do this or they will break.

For test flights, turn the crank about

15 50 times to wind up the rubber band.
After adjustments, you can wind up to
120 turns dry, or 220 with lubrication.
Dry operation shortens the life of the
Twist short pieces of insulation rubber band. Vegetable oil will work.
onto the wires to keep the
connecting rods in place. Watch
out for sharp wire ends, and Wings must be 90 Launch with a smooth horizontal
support the wires from behind so degrees from body! motion, with the body inclined 20°
they don't bend. from horizontal. Do not throw.

Sharp turn followed by crash:

Add weight to the wingtip on the
outside of the turn. You can use a
16 straight pin for this. Adjust weight as
needed. Winding the opposite
direction may also solve this problem.

Nose dive: Bend the tail up slightly.

Stall (slowing almost to a stop and

then losing height): Reduce the tail
angle slightly.
Wing Tissue. Throughout this step, hold the
wings in the "down" position, and be sure the Errors in the strut length or the hole
wing wires stay all the way back in their tubes. spacing of the connecting rods can
Spread a thin layer of glue on the top of each cause a nose dive or stall.
wing spar and attach the straight leading edge
of the wing tissue there. Allow the tissue to With proper adjustments, the Freebird
center itself naturally as you glue it to the top will fly in a large circle for up to 30
of the motor stick. seconds (dry motor) or up to one
minute with lubrication.