In response to the general trend in aeronautics towards the design of multifunctional aircraft with versatile flight capabilities, this dissertation asserts the integrity of re-instating inquiry into mechanized flapping-wing flight and the ultimate utility of ornithopters. Prevailing arguments against the viability and utility of flapping-wing aircraft are summarized and challenged, ornithopter designs from the fifteenth century to the present are compiled and classified, and current research into the aerodynamics of flapping wings is reviewed. To develop the fundamental principles of flapping-wing flight, the flapping wings of a tethered sphingid moth are simulated using an unsteady aerodynamic panel method. By investigating the inherent aeroelasticity of flapping insect wings, this study underscores the importance of unsteady aerodynamic effects brought about by the wake and the flexibility of the wings, points to the importance of leading-edge effects, and establishes the suitability of unsteady panel methods for the aerodynamic analysis of flexible airfoils undergoing arbitrary, large amplitude motion. Finally some general implications of flapping-wing technology research are outlined and potential applications are addressed.
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