Shouldn't one of the conditions for human flight be unassisted take off? And how far can it fly under 'human' power once you take away the momentum from the car pulling it at take off?

enough already--where is my jetson-esque flying scooter-mobile?

#2 - if you recall, the images of man's first powered flight didn't look all that impressive either... it's the advancement in materials technology that has brought us to this point.

are u serious? i would never have guess that it would flap its wings. trluy...impossible is nothing!!!

greattttttttttttt

#2, Ornis are powered by their flapping wings (as you can see) so when the tether was released, there would have been pedals or levers that the pilot powered, then a complex drivetrain ending in the flapping wings.

cool idea, however, i'm not sure i see the use of such technology. Unless of course you like using a stairmaster inside a gladwrap/clingfilm bubble.

The main problem is the weight. The weight of these things needs to go down to such a level that they barely even exist. Only at that point will humans be able to really "fly". And by flying i mean taking off on your own and fly wherever you want just like if you were walking/running. Dont see that happening anytime soon however. Maybe a few generations down the road.

very interesting... fly birdy, fly!!

TBO when watching their youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/OrnithopterProject I felt like whenever the wings are flapped the craft goes down instead of up so I feel a bit uncertain about the success of this design however I still respect what they do.

That's not human powered flight.
It's human powered controlled descent.

.....I'm guessing there was a horrible failure right after the end of this video, Right ?

Impossible=I'm Possible

any one thought how "it" would land?

#6 and #15 can u slam a revolving door?

#17 Sure can!

Just stick a 2X4 in the door and wait... It shouldn't take long...

#13 Two rockstar drinks to the pilots, and it will go up