Wired published this. I hope to heck it doesn't prove to be a hoax! The incentive to go viral bigger than anyone else is very high. There's certainly a lot of people posting "fake" on the video already. Man Successfully Flies With Custom-Built Bird Wings | Wired Science | Wired.com http://youtu.be/GYW5G2kbrKk
It does look fake. The movements just don't seem natural. I would say that the thing that strikes me as most fake is the movements of the feet as the wings are flapping. You would expect the feet to move up and down in sync with the movements of the wings, but they don't. Instead they just float there as if the wings aren't moving at all.
The final comment on that last link CGI Experts Say Flying Bird Man Is Fake (Update 2) pretty much destroys any hope for it's authenticity, and brings us to the reality of the situation... it's a PR campaign to bring attention to a visual effects studio.
Ok I finally looked at it today. My You tube is terrible but I say, Fake. Pedaling across the English channel was the most efficient human powered flight to date the physics just don't work. There's no room for batteries, a or a motor, and arms can't flap floppy wing to get air. I am thinking a crane that has been painted out in Post. There is a side view camera. Where is the cameraman? Why is the helmet cam bright clear an smooth but every other camera rough and poor quality? ETA: I just read the ILM guys stuff and agree its a CG replacement. Best observation is the drawings of the wings showing motors and lPoly batteries in not done in an Autocad/ Solidworks type program but an animation Maya build which is for making a 3D CG model. doh!
Fooey!!! I really want this to be real. It would be so cool if it was. I went for a tandem hang-glide once. I got as sick as a dog but it was so much fun! I really don't know why this seems so much more cool than an ultra-light airplane. Maybe for the same reason that my cheap toy ornithopter seems cooler than a regular model airplane.
My ornithopter cost a few bucks. It's cheap and flimsy. It's powered by a rubber band. But it flies and it's cool.
This is one of the most amazing edge-of-the-seat videos I've ever seen. Its in stunning HD and filmed with a steadycam. It shows a bunch of French nut-jobs checking out some incredible Norwegian cliffs for base jumping and one of them decides to do a hire wire barefoot balancing act with a 10,000 ft drop beneath him … without a harness or balance pole. Its well worth watching ! I Believe I can Fly ( flight of the frenchies ). Free segment
WOW those two vidoes are awesome. I am afraid to try that stuff, not because I will get hurt but because I am pretty sure I would be instantly addicted.
That's scary! That's terrifying just watching it!!! Just after ten minutes, when he goes out on the line with no tether and no parachute, *sugar*! I'm pretty sure (actually, I'm entirely certain) I'd be dead in the time it takes to reach the ground! I'm even scared to walk up to the edge and look over. I did a tandem sky dive once, though. We jumped at 10,000 feet and had 45 seconds of free fall. That was cool.