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From: hsu@eneevax.UUCP (Dave Hsu)
Newsgroups: net.aviation,net.sci,net.misc,net.rec.birds
Subject: Re: Flying Pterodactyls
Message-ID: <682@eneevax.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 25-May-86 20:41:01 EDT
Article-I.D.: eneevax.682
Posted: Sun May 25 20:41:01 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 27-May-86 06:36:06 EDT
References: <673@hou2f.UUCP>
Reply-To: hsu@eneevax.UUCP (Dave Hsu)
Organization: Imperial Widget Research Center, Kingdom of Maryland
Lines: 38
Xref: watmath net.aviation:2922 net.sci:956 net.misc:9712 net.rec.birds:346

In article <673@hou2f.UUCP> tino@hou2f.UUCP (A.TINO) writes:
>From marvit@hplabsb.UUCP (Peter Marvit):
>>Last night I saw a short documentary on the fabrication and flight of a
>>reconstrcution of the largest known flying creature in history: the extinct
>>pteradactyl.  The model, designed and built by the inventor of the Gossamer,
>>Albatross, and other pioneering ultralights (name?), will be on exhibit
>> ....
>>Does anyone have refrences to this pteradactyl' origins and reconstruction?
>_______________
>The designer/builder of the giant pterodactyl (and the Gossamer Condor) 
>is Paul MacCready, chairman of AeroVironment, Inc.  The company's address
>...
>Al Tino

First off, the pterodactyl wasn't the largest known flying creature in
history; they found those pteranosaur(?) bones in the Texas desert some
years back and my memory vaguely remembers that THAT creature had a
wingspan greater than a DC-3.  I think.

If you hadn't heard yet, the flying model crashed last week during
celebrations down in DC, after 21 or so successful flights.  Somewhere
around here I have the Smithsonian's press kit (I think) and I'll try
to fish it up later.  BTW, one item there was a reprint of a Caltech
newsletter from last winter, I think, so that may be the place to start.
The model's refinement went in stages from small crude gliders to small
detailed gliders, to the final full-scale model.  I recall they had a
lot of trouble initially because the pterodactyl's head served as a 
vertical stabilizer and the early models weren't refined enough to fly
stably.

-dave
-- 
David Hsu  (301)454-1433 || -8798  <UM doesn't claim anything I do>
Communication & Signal Processing Lab / Engineering Computer Facility
The University of Maryland   -~-   College Park, MD 20742
ARPA:hsu@eneevax.umd.edu  UUCP:[seismo,allegra,rlgvax]!umcp-cs!eneevax!hsu

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