Butterfly-Ornithopter Arduino Servos Project

I made these butterfly wings from balsa wood, but they were too thick and heavy for the actual flapping wing ornithopter project I wanted to make. I honestly don't know why I began with such thick wings to begin with. There are many examples online of much lighter and stronger frames for the base of this type of ornithopter. Maybe I thought the thicker wood would be stronger and therefore less likely to be damaged during hard landings. This was my first flapping wing project.

I realized my mistake after awhile and I began experimenting with smaller frames.

I also was trying to use some kind of inexpensive tracing paper which was heavier than what I should have been using. But since I was just experimenting, I didn't want to waste money on expensive model airplane supplies.

Needless to say, this butterfly wasn't going to fly, but the wings flapped somewhat quickly, about three full flaps per second. The servo motors were extremely loud.

Here is the lightest structure that consists of a servo motor for each wing, connected with small, wooden shafts that are connected to the servo armature with small wires.

Here is a photo taken at an angle.

And here is a straight-on photo. The most difficult part of this project is putting together a large enough wingspan that uses very lightweight structures for the wings. There needs to be another pair of motors that adjust the angles of the wings separately, so that the maneuverability of the wings is provided both for lift and for turning.