In the kingdom of Kosala, King Nemi, also known as Dasaratha, is in the practice arena with his wife Kaikeyi. He is practicing some stunts in a special chariot. Manthara, Kaikeyi’s maid, is watching them.
Kaikeyi: You are one of the best warriors in the world, but you still practise so hard.
Dasaratha: The more you practise the better you become. Many people become over-confident and stop practising.
Kaikeyi: I have heard the story of how you got the name Dasaratha so many times but I still want to hear it again, this time with Manthara.
Dasaratha: This was a long time ago. One day Lord Brahma called me and said that an asura named Shambara had defeated and imprisoned Indra. The Devas needed someone with unique skills to defeat him.
Manthara: What unique skill do you have that even Indra did not?
Dasaratha: I can fly more than 30 varieties of aircrafts and land crafts. I have a special vehicle that can travel in 10 directions at lightning speed. Shambara was known for attacking opponents from 10 directions.
Kaikeyi: I have seen the land crafts but what are the varieties of crafts that you can fly?
Dasaratha: So, you know that our Earth is surrounded mostly by Oxygen and Nitrogen. Anything with less molecular weight in gaseous state — like Hydrogen and Helium — are lighter than air.
Kaikeyi: Yes, I know about hydrogen-powered airships.
Aerodyne and aerostat aircrafts | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Dasaratha: Right. So, you have aerodyne aircraft that fly with the help of extreme dynamic movement of air molecules. Then, there are aerostat aircraft that fly by using gas that’s lighter than air to lift them.
Kaikeyi: All right. So, a sailplane, kite balloon, VTOL, ornithopter, gyrocopter, seaplane are all examples of aerodyne aircraft.
Dasaratha: Yes, a sailplane is exactly like an aeroplane but without an engine. It has a high gliding capacity. The Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) crafts, as the name suggests, can take off and land vertically. Like rockets, helicopters, drones, among others. Surface effect crafts are like hovercrafts and use the aircushion effect to move around. An ornithopter is one that flaps its wings to generate lift. Gyrocopter is a combination of a helicopter and aeroplane. It has two sets of propellers; one that helps lift it and the other that makes it move forward.
Manthara looks dazed at this explosion of information.
Kaikeyi: Can we make a model to understand this?
Dasaratha: Sure, let’s make an ornithopter using paper.
After they are done…
Kaikeyi: But you haven’t told us how you defeated Shambara.
Manthara: Wait, let me go and bring you something to eat.
Manthara hurries away towards the palace, as Dasaratha and Kaikeyi continue to practise in the arena.
Bionic Paper Plane
Follow the steps as shown in the images to make your own ornithopter.
Step 1:Fold an A4 size paper in half. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Step 2: Open it out and fold the two edges from the top to make a triangle, as shown. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Step 3: From the pointed edge of the triangle, fold towards the left to make a right-angled triangle. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Step 4: Open the fold and repeat from the other side to make a left-angled triangle. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Step 5: Open it and fold again so that you create a diamond shape in the centre. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Step 6: Fold it into half keeping the diamond folded half in the centre and make the wings on both sides. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Step 7: Create the winglet by folding the edge of the wings on both sides. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Step 8: Flip the plane over and fold the diamond shape part at 45° angle. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Your plane is now ready to fly!
For a more detailed explanation of making a bionic paper place, visit https://youtu.be/-Et--pjQyRw
The author is the founder and CEO of Vaayusastra Aerospace, an IIT-Madras incubated ed-tech startup that offers Air Science workshops for children between five and 14 years.
