The measurement of lift and drag forces on the omithopter model with flapping wings was carried out in the wind tunnel. The wing movement had two degrees of freedom: flapping (around the longitudinal axis of the model) and feathering (around the wing axis). Forces were measured in static case - as averaged values during many cycles of movement, and in dynamic case - as unsteady forces captured in function of the flapping phase. The magnitudes of the aerodynamic coefficients of lift and drag were calculated.

This paper is an overview of the application potential and design challenges of micro air vehicles (MAVs), defined as small enough to be practical for a single-person transport and use. Four types of MAVs are considered: 1) fixed-wing, 2) rotarywing, 3) ornithopters (bird-like flapping) and 4) entomopters (insect-like flapping). In particular, advantages of a propeller-driven delta wing configuration for type 1 are discussed. Some detail is also given for type 4, the least understood of the four, including a new concept of manoeuvre control for such MAVs. The paper concludes with a brief prognostic of the future of each MAV type.