Paddle-Wheel Propeller Designs Take Flight, 115 Years Late

The magic words "but COULD .. be more efficient..". This is presumably based on the reporters total lack of knowledge. I'll add it to the articles where "Einstein MAY be proven wrong", ".. COULD cure cancer", " .. MAY totally change the way we ...".

Still it looks like a nifty machine. ffeJ

'Even now, materials and efficiency limits mean that they are unlikely to ever be strong enough to carry passengers'

Good design exercise, but it's the only thing that fly's that looks to me to be more complicated then a helicopter.

Looks fun , though...

Is the little stick at the top only attached during flight? (See clip)

Is it used to attach the fishing line? Or is it an antenna for remote control?

At least it could not be used for military purposes, which helps a bit.

I'll believe this when they build a much larger radio controlled model or one with a pilot and actually fly it around. Little ornithopters will fly, but building them big enough to carry a person is another thing. It may be just an interesting toy.