Orthopter

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An orthopter (orthoptère) is a an aircraft with flapping wings.

This term is sometimes used synonymously with ornithopter but can be distinguished (as in Ventou-Duclaux and Robert, 1911, Bases et méthodes d'études aéronautiques, pp. 375–381) in terms of flat flapping surfaces as opposed to flexible birdlike "wings". While both terms share the root "-pter" meaning wing, "orni-" means bird, whereas "ortho" means straight, and connotes the order of insects called Orthoptera (crickets, grasshoppers).

The Oxford English Dictionary credits the term to Gustave Ponton d'Amécourt:

: < French orthoptère (first used in this sense by G. Ponton d'Amécourt 1862: see S. Stubelius Balloon, Flying-Machine, Helicopter (1960) 90): see orthopter n.2 So called because of the ‘straight’ (vertical) motion of the wings

Aeronautics. Now hist.

: A machine designed to fly by means of artificial flapping wings; an ornithopter.Apparently first interpreted in English as referring to a clockwork flying model. The word was superseded c1909 by ornithopter, and for a time attempts were made (chiefly in dictionaries and glossaries) to differentiate the meanings of the two words on etymological grounds. (See S. Stubelius Balloon, Flying-Machine, Helicopter (1960) 93–7.)

  • 1868 Catal. First Exhib. Aeronaut. Soc. Great Brit. 11 (heading) Working models. 12 Orthoptere. Viscount de Ponton d'Amecourt,..Paris.
  • 1873 J. B. Pettigrew Animal Locomotion 217 MM. Nadar, Pontin [sic] d'Amécourt, and de la Landelle have constructed clockwork models (orthopteres), which..raise themselves into the air.
  • 1887 tr. J. Verne Clipper of Clouds vii. 65 If the orthopter—striking like the wings of a bird—raised itself by beating the air, the helicopter raised itself by striking the air obliquely with the fins of the screw as it mounted on an inclined plane.
  • 1909 Westm. Gaz. 23 Mar. 4/2 The Lamplough orthopter is not dependent for its sustentation in the air on rapid motion.
  • 1917 Jane's All World's Aircraft A. 10/2 Orthopter, an intended-to-fly machine in which the wings are flapped mechanically in a manner which the designer believes would be the right way for a bird to flap its wings if its Creator had known more about aero-dynamics.
  • 1984 J. J. Horgan City of Flight iv. 101 [Entrants in the 1907 James Gordon Bennett International Aeronautic Club Race included] the Orthopter of George Francis Meyers, Columbus, Ohio..[and] the Orthopter, Milwaukee Number 1, entered by the Vacu-Aerial Navigation and Manufacturing Company of Milwaukee.

The term "ornithopter", from ornithoptère, is more recent, first appearing in both English and French in 1908 ("first used in this sense by P. Renard 1908, in L'Aérophile 15 Jan. 35"), according to the OED. Furthermore:

The French word was intended to replace orthoptère orthopter n.1 because of the latter's etymological inappropriateness and its homonymy with the entomological term orthopter n.2 In fact, ornithoptère is itself attested earlier (1892) denoting a South-East Asian butterfly.

What appeared in this issue of l'Aérophile was a description of a meeting held by the Sous-commission de terminologie of the Aéro-Club de France, apparently comprising Victor Tatin, Ernest Archdeacon, Léonce Ferrus, and Paul Renard. The term orthoptère was at the top of their list for discussion:

La discussion s'engage sur le term orthoptère, qui désigne un appareil mû, comme un oiseau, par des ailes battantes. M. Tatin fait remarquer que ce mot présente pour les entomologistes un sens parfaitement précis et absolument différent de celui que lui assignent les aviateurs.
Le commandant Renard fait remarquer qu'au point de vue étymologique, le terme orthoptère est un non-sens en aviation, mais qu'une simple opération orthopédique permet de le rectifier sans altérer essentiellement sa forme ; il propose, en conséquence, de la replacer par le mot ornithoptère qui satisfait à la fois l'étymologie et le bon sens. Cette ingénieuse solution est adoptée à l'unanimité.[1]

Enclosing categories Simple tech terms
Subcategories
Keywords Flapping, Wings, insect, Ornithopter
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References

  1. ↑ "Bulletin Officiel de l'Aéro-Club de France", l'Aérophile, 15 January 1908, p. 35.

This wiki has 31 patents in category "Orthopter". Other techtypes related to Orthopter: Ornithopter

Patents in category Orthopter

Publications referring to Orthopter

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