Building An Ornithopter, Canada

The first ornithopters capable flight were constructed in France in the 1870s. Gustave Trouvé's 1870 model flew a distance 70 metres in a demonstration for the French Academy Sciences. The wings were flapped by gunpowder charges activating a bourdon tube. Jobert in 1871 used a rubber band to power a small model bird. Alphonse Penaud, Hureau de Villeneuve, Victor Tatin, and others soon followed with their own designs.
Around 1890, Lawrence Hargrave built several ornithopters powered by steam or compressed air. He introduced the use small flapping wings providing the thrust for a larger fixed wing. This eliminated the need for gear reduction, thereby simplifying the construction. To achieve a more birdlike appearance, this approach is not generally favored today.
In the 1930s, Erich von Holst carried the rubber band powered bird model to a high state development and great realism. Also in the 1930s, Alexander Lippisch and other researchers in Germany harnessed the piston internal combustion engine.