Stock ornithopter / entomopter

[salaminho]

Hi! I wanted to share this with the community. It is still a work in progress, but I can say it's fully functional right now. 

All thrust and lift is provided by oscillating movement of wings, attitude controls are provided by differential movement of wings and surface controls. There is no kraken drives, no reaction wheels, no trickery at all!
I hope you will enjoy it.
When I'm satisfied with the results I'll post it on my kerbalX page: https://kerbalx.com/salaminho/OT-1-A-Odonata-Ornithopter

 

Edited March 9, 2023 by salaminho
download link for the craft

[Zacspace]

Actually incredible. Never expected to see a functional ornithopter in this game, much less to see one looking so good.

[salaminho]

Thanks dude! I appreciate that! 

[Yakuzi]

Very cool and functional design, well done!

What's that black glass part? Is it stock? Haven't played in years so I'm somewhat out of it.

[salaminho]

2 hours ago, Yakuzi said:

Very cool and functional design, well done!

What's that black glass part? Is it stock? Haven't played in years so I'm somewhat out of it.

Thank you!

The frame of the cockpit are 025 grip pads (breaking grounds DLC), and the glass are flags actually, its basically a png file with half transparency.

The frame really works as a roll cage, high impact tolerance parts that protects the kerbals when crashing. But the "glass" doesn't change anything regarding aerodynamics, also doesn't add mass, it's just for aesthetics.

It is all stock.

Edited February 23, 2023 by salaminho

[Yakuzi]

Hey that's awesome, love the creativity. Thanks for the reply @salaminho

[Klapaucius]

Wow!  You've done it!  Absolutely brilliant. I spent hours trying to get one to work when Breaking Ground came out. I gave up. Congratulations!

 

How are the wing segments joined?  Is the flex just natural KSP bending, or are you using hinges?

Edited February 23, 2023 by Klapaucius

[salaminho]

2 hours ago, Klapaucius said:

Wow!  You've done it!  Absolutely brilliant. I spent hours trying to get one to work when Breaking Ground came out. I gave up. Congratulations!

Thanks!
I've lost the count on how many hours I've spent on this project. It took me a lot of time researching aerodynamic principles, how insects and birds flies and, especially, finding work-around bugs. And there is still some room for improvement .

 

3 hours ago, Klapaucius said:

How are the wing segments joined?  Is the flex just natural KSP bending, or are you using hinges?

The only hinges are on the base of the wings. The wing segments are attached to each other by tiny nosecones, its a light weight part with a very flexible connection. This is the key part for making it work as the ideal angle of attack changes along the wing.

[FleshJeb]

Awesome! I love seeing stuff like this. I managed to do a very rudimentary one (without differential control) using the helicopter blades, and changing the deploy angle.

You may want to check out DecoFox on youtube. He's done ornithopters of various styles in Stormworks, and some of his techniques/solutions may be useful to you.

[salaminho]

Thanks! If you managed to do even a simple design, congratulations for you, this is very challenging ! 

23 hours ago, FleshJeb said:

You may want to check out DecoFox on youtube. He's done ornithopters of various styles in Stormworks, and some of his techniques/solutions may be useful to you.

Oh yes! I've seen some of his stuff, let's say it was part of my research. Now that you mentioned I saw his last vtol, I tried a very similar solution in ksp, but unfortunately, ksp parts are not as sturdy and robotics not as fast as in storm works, so I gave up on the vtol idea.

[Majorjim!]

The video was glorious, what an awesome creation! Do the powered joints just move up and down or do they twist slightly too? 

[salaminho]

11 minutes ago, Majorjim! said:

Do the powered joints just move up and down or do they twist slightly too? 

Thank you! They also twist, that is the most important detail.

Okay! It's online now, you can download on my kerbal X page.
https://kerbalx.com/salaminho/OT-1-A-Odonata-Ornithopter

[salaminho]

Hi!
I made an improved version of my ornithopter based on the community feedback.
Now it's faster, more maneuverable, easier for taking off and has longer range. You can download here: https://kerbalx.com/salaminho/OT-1B-Odonata-ornithopter-improved