Bye Bye
Birdies!
 
After 21 years of providing kits to help people build their own ornithopters, I have decided to close BirdKit.com. I will continue to provide the best and largest information resource for ornithopter enthusiasts, through my other web site, www.ornithopter.org.

The ornithopter store began in 2003, when I introduced the Freebird and Luna rubber band powered ornithopter kits. Their simplified design made them more accessible than previous ornithopter kits and plans. I launched the kits to help adult hobbyists get started with ornithopters. But it turned out that even kids were able to build them and were using them for school projects!

The simple mechanism of the Freebird was widely copied in other designs. But the Luna was particularly influential. By introducing a simple way to flap four wings, it paved the way for a whole generation of "micro air vehicle" ornithopters built at universities all over the world. Most of the toy RC ornithopters on the market also use this mechanism.

Early on, I was a retailer for the Cybird and Kinkade RC ornithopters. In 2009, dissatisfied with some aspects of then-available RC ornithopters, I began to design the 68 inch wingspan Crossbow RC ornithopter kit. An innovative approach gave this ornithopter the ability to glide whenever the motor was off, and it finally moved beyond the inefficient braced wings that had held sway since the 1950s.

But the greatest achievment of BirdKit.com was to introduce the world's first ornithopter using servos to flap the wings. In 2013, I rushed to bring the kit to market, making few changes from the successful prototype. I am still exploring the full implications of this unprecedented breakthrough. More like a real bird, it allows full control over the movement of the wings. The flapping amplitude can be controlled. The left and right wings can be controlled independently, eliminating the need for a steering mechanism in the tail. Like the muscles of a real bird or insect, exciting possibilities emerge with the introduction of multiple servos.

The last product offered by BirdKit.com was a servo-driven version of the Crossbow ornithopter.

Thank you for your support of BirdKit.com over the years. I hope that I was able to inspire you to create something beautiful and amazing.

Best regards,
Nathan Chronister