Building An Ornithopter, Canada

Hobbyists can build and fly their own ornithopters. These range from light-weight models powered by rubber band, to larger models with radio control.
The rubber-band-powered model can be fairly simple in design and construction. Hobbyists compete for the longest flight times with these models. An introductory model can be fairly simple in design and construction, but the advanced competition designs are extremely delicate and challenging to build. Roy White holds the US national record for indoor rubber-powered, with his flight time 21 minutes, 44 seconds.
Commercial free-flight rubber-band powered toy ornithopters have long been available. The first these was sold under the name Tim Bird in Paris in 1879. Later models were also sold as Tim Bird (made by G de Ruymbeke, France, since 1969).