‘Ornithopter’ soars at ‘Vimanas 2013’

Aircraft was prepared using foam sheets and plywood, primarily were used for spying purposes

October 13, 2013 02:41 pm | Updated 02:41 pm IST - THANJAVUR:

TAKEOFF: Student trying an aeromodel at the National level workshop on Aeromodeling at Periyar maniammai university in Thanjavur on Saturday. Photo: B. Velankanni Raj

TAKEOFF: Student trying an aeromodel at the National level workshop on Aeromodeling at Periyar maniammai university in Thanjavur on Saturday. Photo: B. Velankanni Raj

Every one will have an urge to fly. Be it in sky or in life. While flying in sky is fun and entertainment, coming up with flying colours in life is real achievement.

“Vimanas 2013”, national-level aero modelling workshop held at Periyar Maniammai University on Saturday, provided the opportunity for students to prepare aircraft models and made them fly before an audience.

The students operated Ornithopter and Remote-Controlled Aircraft much to the delight of the audience.

Group captain Moorthy, Commander of Air Force Station Thanjavur, saw the flights.

As the ornithopter, which looked like a bird, flew in the sky, audience clapped, and appreciated the students. Remote-controlled aircraft made very few rounds in the sky.

Greek name

R.K. Muthuraman, Associate Professor and organiser of the workshop, said that Ornithopter derived its name from Greek words Ornithos meaning birds and pteron meaning wings.

The students, who prepared the Ornithopter that was flown at PMU on Saturday, used feathers, laminated sheets, and plywood. Remote-controlled aircraft were prepared using foam sheets and plywood, Mr. Muthuraman said.

A. Kathiravan, M. Chellapandi, R. Vishnuraj, L. Adarsh, and Kumar, all first year students of PMU who prepared the remote-controlled aircraft, said they used brushless motor, five volts battery, electronic-speed controller, and servos to prepare the model.

Another set of students Arunkumar, Seralathan, and Easwaran from the Nehru Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, have prepared a remote-controlled aircraft, and flew it.

Bird like craft

Ornithopters were used for spying purposes. As it looked like a bird, it could be made to sit on trees along with birds and collect information. “It will look like a bird but it is not a bird but a remote-controlled bird,” said the students who prepared it.

The two-day conference was inaugurated on Friday by Wg. Cdr. M. Jeyakumar, IGLA Flights, Air Force Station, Thanjavur.

He told students about the scope in Indian Air Force for young engineers to pursue their career. He told students how to get into Indian Air Force. N. Ramachandran, Vice-Chancellor, PMU, participated.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.