September 25, 2010 (Tottenham, ON) – The world’s first human-powered ornithopter flight was achieved on August 2 in Tottenham, near Toronto, reports the Toronto Star. This type of aircraft propels itself by flapping its wings as demonstrated in the video below. Todd Reichert, a PhD student at the U of T Institute for Aerospace Studies, piloted the pedal-driven 43kg aircraft that has a 32m wingspan (comparable to a Boeing 737).

The flight lasted for 19.3 seconds and covered a distance of 145m which compares well to the Wright Brothers’ 1903 flight of 12 seconds, covering 37m. Reichert, 28, did special training and had to lose eight kg over the summer for the flight to be feasible. His $200,000 ornithopter required a tow to become airborne. Leonardo da Vinci drew up sketches of a human-powered aircraft in 1485, but never made one.

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