An interesting school project - Need ideas.

[Ashes Remnant]

Couldn't think of a better place to put this. It requires thought, yet if need be, please move to FI.

I have a school project this week. It's based off of the late great inventor Leonardo Da Vinci.

Design a machine that allows a person to make giant wings flap by pedaling with his/her feet.

My initial design idea was this.

Use a normal bike. Attach some kind of wings somehow to a persons back, and connect those wings to the bike.

For the wings: Either fuse two kites together on each side (Total of 4 kites), using fake princess walmart halloween costume wings, or coat hangers, or something similar, to make a frame and fabric.

Attachment: Sewing the "wings" onto a vest we have, or a backpack.

Bike: Use training wheels bent down to touch ground at all times. Use string, or something else to link the wings to the rims of the training wheels, so that the movement of the wheels pulls the wings down.


Obviously, there are some design flaws. I'm really no good at this kind of stuff, and I can't think of anyone better to ask. :3

[meertallica]

A pedalo must be used somewhere. It's the ultimate oceanic pedaling experience! :D

[Grace Assassin]

Impress her and skip the wings altogether.

[Chromatic]

Originally Posted by Ashes Remnant

Couldn't think of a better place to put this. It requires thought, yet if need be, please move to FI.

I have a school project this week. It's based off of the late great inventor Leonardo Da Vinci.



My initial design idea was this.

Use a normal bike. Attach some kind of wings somehow to a persons back, and connect those wings to the bike.

For the wings: Either fuse two kites together on each side (Total of 4 kites), using fake princess walmart halloween costume wings, or coat hangers, or something similar, to make a frame and fabric.

Attachment: Sewing the "wings" onto a vest we have, or a backpack.

Bike: Use training wheels bent down to touch ground at all times. Use string, or something else to link the wings to the rims of the training wheels, so that the movement of the wheels pulls the wings down.


Obviously, there are some design flaws. I'm really no good at this kind of stuff, and I can't think of anyone better to ask. :3

I really don't think the idea will work. da Vinci was a mastermind, that's no doubt, but his ideas were never actully... field tested. But I'm sure he'd smile if you pulled it off.

[Candy Man]

That would be awesome

[krexia]

Originally Posted by Ashes Remnant

Use a normal bike. Attach some kind of wings somehow to a persons back, and connect those wings to the bike.

What do you mean by "somehow"? If the idea of the project is to "design a machine that allows a person to make giant wings flap by pedaling with his/her feet" then figuring out how to connect the pedals to the wings is the most important part of it.

[Riel]

Just a thought:

It would be difficult to coordinate the wings 'moving' in any form of real, justifiable manner. What would happen with each pedal, assuming that you worked in that way, would be that they would alternate, because as one pedal goes up the other goes down. What I think could work is if you attached the pedals to a form of pulley system located in the rear (haha) of the bike. With each pedal the pulley could move the wings, and it wouldn't matter that the pedals move at different rates. Of course it would never be capable of flight, but still. It would flap.

Uhhhhh iunno I feel like I'm forgetting something. Basically: pedals-rope/chain/pulley system/wings. You'd also have to have something to monitor the pressure of the pulley system so that the wings would actually 'flap' instead of just staying upright the majority of the time (assuming constant pedaling)...

I'll think about it more tomorrow.