History[]
The Flapper-Wing-A-Ma-Thing was originally designed by Cornelius The Badger of Dapplewood Forest. Three of Cornelius' students--Abigail The Woodmouse, Russell The Hedgehog, & Edgar The Mole--later built a full-scale replica of the aircraft in order to complete a quest they were on. They managed to fly the aircraft successfully, until an encounter with a thunderstorm caused them to make a crash-landing. The Furlings, Cornelius, and Michelle are later seen flying together in their later Adventures.
Design and appearance[]
The Flapper-Wing-A-Ma-Thing is an ornithopter, or a flying machine powered by flapping wings. The cockpit is in the shape of a hollowed-out dome, and the wings are shaped like those of a bird's. A nose and rudder are positioned on either end of the cockpit, and the pilot controls are situated at the helm. In the middle of the cockpit, are cranking devices known as winder-uppers, which work to move the wings up and down.
The wings and tail are colored a bright green, while the cockpit is hued in a deep forest-green. All wooden components of the aircraft are brown in color.
Building and flight processes[]
Building the Flapper-Wing-A-Ma-Thing is a complicated process involving a series of steps. These run as follows:
- Gather a total of (?) leaves to sew onto the wings, with a couple extra ones for the tail
- Get a large piece of pliable wood, and carefully fashion it into the shape of an upside-down, hollowed-out dome
- Fetch a lily pad, and use it to cover the cockpit
- Get plenty of sticks to make the frames for the wings
- Cut some of the sticks into small pieces, insert them between the two long sticks in each wing-frame, and tie them all together in the appropriate places with strong rope
- Use giant mallets to hammer nails into the intersectional parts of each wing-frame
- For each wing, take (?) of the leaves, fold each in half, and sew them together, with either side of each leaf stitched to each other at the bottom
- When all of the “feathers” are finished, glue them together at their side edges to form the wing covers
- Close one end of each wing cover by gluing it to a pair of leaves that are fashioned like the feathers on the end of a bird's wing
- Raise the completed wing-frames up so that they're standing on one end
- Carefully place the wing covers over the wooden frames, until said frames are completely covered
- Sew the wing covers onto the frames, so they won't fall off
- Use four long sticks to create the legs of the aircraft's mast, with two squares of eight short wooden pieces tied together to each stick at the top
- Carefully bend two sticks to fit around the rim of the cockpit, and place them on top
- Attach the legs of the mast to the rim of the cockpit
- Build the winder-upper bases, along with their respective cranks
- Build the rotation structure that goes between the winder-uppers, and place it between the winder-upper bases by insert each end into one side of a hole located at the top of each winder-upper base
- Slide the upper ends of the cranks into the other sides of the holes at the top of the winder-upper bases
- Use planks to create a floor for the cockpit, and attach the completed winder-uppers to the middle of the floor
- Insert a long stick in the center of the mast area, and attach it to the winder-uppers' rotation device
- Carve a block of wood into the shape of an empty spool of thread, with holes drilled through the center for the mast to fit through
- Attach the spool to the top of the mast
- Slide the exposed Y-shaped ends of each wing-frame between the small wooden squares at the top of the mast, and fit them into the holes on either side of the spool
- Carve a piece of wood into a large needle shape, and place it at the back of the cockpit
- Get two small wooden pieces, and join them together at one end, before tying them securely in place with rope
- Put the completed rudder at the back of the cockpit, with the upper stick poking through the eye of the needle-shaped device
- Get the couple of leaves previously set aside, and tie them onto the rudder's top stick to make a tail
- Carefully fashion sticks of varying length into a steering wheel and a control stick that will lock the wings in place when activated
- Attach the steering and wing-locking devices to the front of the cockpit, with the latter attaching to the winder-upper cranks from within the cockpit walls
- Carve a small pair of slots into the bottom of the cockpit
- Take two small pieces of wood, and carefully fashion them into a “Y” shape
- Attach the middle of each “Y” piece to a small stick, and tie them together in place with rope
- Insert the completed feet of the aircraft through the slots, and attach them to the bottom of the cockpit.
- Get a few sticks of medium length, and bundle them tightly together with rope to make a nose for the aircraft.
- On the outer wall of the cockpit, attach the nose to the very front.
- Make a ladder of wooden sticks tied together with rope, and attach it to one side of the cockpit.
- Prepare for take-off!
