The Highs and Lows of Human-Powered Flight

On March 19th 2012, YouTube user jarnosmeets80 uploaded a video to YouTube entitled “Flying like a bird | part 14/14.” In it, a man donning a set of homemade wings and a helmet with a GoPro attached achieves what many wishful-thinkers, scientists and millennia of wingless bipeds have long dreamed of doing: flying. Sadly, one month later the video’s creator, filmmaker Floris Kaayk, admitted the whole thing was an elaborate hoax. Skeptics will have been quick to dismiss the video straight away, and anything more than a cursory Google search might have convinced most of the same. But, with more than 7 million views at time of this writing, it’s pretty clear that as a land-based species, it doesn’t take much for us to suspend our disbelief at the idea of being able to fly. Even if it is just for one minute and 50 seconds. Head past the break to read more.