Wing instructions – by Rachel Ragatz, April 2010

Get ready, because here comes a really long explanation!
This will explain how to build the frame I built with two changes; no belt and different hinges. If you’d like I can describe the belt but it is not required for the harness to work. The hinges were changed because, while these hinges are not quite as strong, they are MUCH simpler to build and are still quite strong. Please feel free to test them and determine if they are strong enough for your purposes. If they are not, I can happily explain my hinges. Here we go!

Purchase the following:
(Home Depot will have all of these, and your local hardware store will probably too)

- 1 backpack you won't miss.
- 1 piece of steel sheet of 10 - 12 gage steel metal from Home Depot (trust me, they have it), or any hardware store
- a pair of super heavy duty tin snips
- a pair of flag holders
- screws and matching lock nuts that will fit into the flag holder holes
- 2 very large machine head bolts that are long enough to go through two pvc pipes (so 2x the diameter, plus enough length to fit another lock nut, and three plastic washers
- lock nuts for those bolts
- 6 nylon washers that can fit around the large bolts
- 12' of pvc pipe that will fit in the flag holders
- a hack saw to cut the pvc pipe (unless you already have one)
- a drill (unless you already have one) with bits large enough for the bolt
- a roll of fishing line (should be at least 10 lbs strength for this size wing - go larger for larger wings)
- epoxy (my favorite, you'll need a fair amount of this, or you can use hot glue with a glue gun)
- gloves (optional, but if you use epoxy, you'll want to wear gloves, trust me on this ;) )
- heat gun (optional. This is used to curve the pvc to give a more 'natural' wing arch, but you can use a hair dryer, it just takes longer. The alternative (and at a 1.5' length, possibly recommended, would be to just let the pipe be straight.)
- sand paper (as necessary)

These are all the parts for the frame of a moving pair of wings.

How to construct:
Draw out (on newspaper, trace paper or any other paper you have lying around) one wing, in it's entirety (to scale) and cut it out.
Take the backpack, remove the front half of the bag so that all you have is the straps attached to the back half and the handle at the top of the bag (you can leave the waist strap too).

Cut the sheet metal into a trapezoid like shape (as depicted in my video and in the last image) and drill little holes in the top of the piece. Sew the metal plate to the outside of the backpack. Cut two 1.5' sections out of the pfc pipe. Slip each 1.5' section of pvc pipe into the flag holders and line them up on the back plate (the sheet metal). Pencil in where the holes in the flag holders are on the sheet metal. Drill out these holes. Attach the flag holder to the sheet metal with the machine screws and lock nuts, but be sure to keep the padding between you and the screw-sheet metal-flag holder-lock nut assembly. Now you have a harness!

Cut out two more 1.5 foot sections of pvc pipe. Line these up, tip to tip, with the pvc piping that is in the harness. Be sure to extend the pipe 2.5 - 4" past the pipe tip in the harness, forming a "T." When you have the angles right, imagine drilling a hole through 1 - 2" from the tip of the harness pvc pipe through to the outside pvc pipe and through that one as well. If you now imagine running a bolt through that imaginary line, that will be your hinge. Line everything up and pencil in where you will drill. Then, drill holes in each, as described above. Run a nylon washer through the long bolt, then slip the bolt through the first pipe. Add another washer and sip the second pipe in. Add a third washer and lock nut the long bolt shut. Now you have a hinge! (Here is a very rough schematic: http://www.the-avariel.com/images2/index.php?action=displayBig&iteminfo=set11|00016418474721hinge.jpg)

Repeat this on the other side.

There are many different ways of mounting feathers to this. One easy way is to zip tie construction wire to the pvc pipe and use it as supports for poster board, then glue feathers to the poster board. This is possibly the easiest method, but there are others.

Feathers:
I used golden pheasant feathers from http://www.ostrich.com/, but ring-neck and several others work well too. In a pinch, you can also make super-long feathers by cutting off the shaft of one feather, and sliding the tip of another inside (removing the flue, or fluffy part first). These look alright, depending on how you do it. http://www.rainbowfeathers.com/ may be a cheaper supplier if you want to use that method.

The rest:
I'm going to start with a bit of the harness and hinge stuff because that should be done before the rest. If you need more of an explanation on the harness, I can walk you through it step by step, but this is the abridged version, focusing on the hinge:

The pipes slip into rubber-inlaid 45 degree angle flag holders screwed to a small 10 gage steel plate on my back harness.

The Hinge:
I cobbled together a very elaborate hinge because every hinge I purchased broke, but the same effect can be done easily by buying a very large carriage bolt (http://www.ted-kyte.com/3D/Pictures/Carriage%20Bolt.jpg). The bolt needs to be have a shaft that is 2x the length of the diameter of the pipe + enough space for a lock nut at the end, 4 nylon washers (one around both sides of both pipes) and some heavy duty fishing line. Be sure all parts fit on the bolt.

To make the hinge, drill a hole through a pipe about 2cm (1 inch) from its end. Take a second pipe, and drill a hole through it at least 14cm (6 inches) from its end. Put a washer on the bolt. Slide the bolt through the first pipe. Put two more washers on the bot and slide it through the second pipe. Put one more washer on it and put the lock nut on the bolt such that both pipes can swivel around on the bolt with ease but are not bouncing around. The pipe whose hole is only 2cm from it's tip is the pipe you want to be bent (bend it when it's not attached to the other pipe). The pipe whose hole is 14cm from it's tip is the outside pipe. (the one that moves). Drill a small hole in it about 1 - 2cm from its tip. Run the fishing line through the hole and tie it to itself, leaving a 4' long segment of line hanging off. This is your pull cord. Pull, and the wings open! :)

The wings' shape, combined with the opening/closing bit, is probably their most defining characteristic. It was a bit of a trick, too, but I'm happy to tell you.

First, while all wings will pull a bit with wind and move with a mind of their own at times, I did a combination of two things to make it work:
Strength tested (aka, beat the crap out of) literally every material before using it, in the way it might be stressed (but more so) if used. If it could survive me, it could be used :) Second, I worked hard to make the wings super light weight. As a result, they weight 8lbs or about 17.5 kg. This minimized stress on the harness and on me, and made them very comfortable to wear.

How I got the shape:
The shape came from 2 materials: Aluminum screening and (you guessed it) PVC pipes.
I'm friends with the maintenance guy at my dorm (5 years ago), and he told me that PVC pipes will actually change shape if you apply heat uniformly to it a small length of it. I tried it with a hair dryer, and lo, it worked! Your best bet, however, is to purchase an inexpensive heat gun (home depot) and some clamps. Lock down one end of the pipe to an immobile object and gently try to bend the pipe far enough that it resists you. Then, with your other hand, use the heat gun to warm a 1 - 2" (or 1.5 - 3cm) segment of the pipe, being sure to warm all the way around it's circumference. When you feel the pipe starting to bend, pull the heat away. To get a nice organic curve, put many (say 10) very small bends up and down a segment of PVC.

The other half of the trick is aluminum screening + construction wire. Aluminum screening is super light-weight and can also be purchased at Home Depot in rolls. Also pick up some wire (I used brass, at a 18+ gage, but steel is fine too), construction wire (just be sure you can bend it moderately easily with your hands + a small pliers, a pack of zip ties, a file, several epoxy tubes and some rubber gloves.

If you've ever had a chicken wing, aluminum+construction wire is like the skin + muscles, the construction wire the tendons and the PVC, bones. Draw an outline of the shape you'd like the aluminum to ultimately be. Keep in mind that the feathers will attach to this, so you won't see the aluminum, nor will it's shape be that apparent (see my youtube video for a reference shape). It just needs to be big enough that when you attach feathers to it, the feathers make the wings the right size. On a large piece of scrap paper, draw out the shape you'd like the aluminum to be and set it aside.

Now it's time to build the construction wire base for the aluminum to attach to. I sanded segments of the PVC pipe to make them rough. Then cut 30cm segments of construction wire and laid it over the pvc. Zip tie the wire to the pvc (1 zip ties per length, at least, and epoxied the zip ties to the pipe. Test it. Play around with the wire, zip ties, and pipe until you can really lock the construction wire down to the pipe without it wanting to slide around. Do a few of these. Then, when you get the hang of it, draw an outline of the shape you'd like for the aluminum, and run the wire from the pipe all the way around the bottom of the shape you'd aluminum screening of the wing to be. (see my attached picture). Run probably 2-3 of these and attach them at various points to the pipe. Now you have a good base to attach the screening to!

The aluminum will basically act as a fabric and the wire a needle/thread.

Lay the pattern onto the screen and outline it. You'll need some extra screening on both sides to make sew the aluminum and build the shape. Draw an outline around the shape at lease 10 cm away (but 25 cm on the top side). Cut the outline out with a pair of tin snips (note: Aluminum screening bits get EVERYWHERE. I made the mistake of cutting it out on top of carpet. Little tiny sharp wires got embedded in the carpet and tore up me feet if I was unlucky. Be sure to cut the aluminum outside where little tiny bits of aluminum are OK.) :)

Take one of your attached construction wire segments, and about 5 - 10cm from where it attaches, put a large crimp in it, like a "U" shape, if there is enough length. Lay the aluminum screening on the PVC segment as you'd like it to be. Then locate that crimp and sew (whip stitch) the screening to the construction wire with the fine brass wire. Tug on it to be sure it is secure. If it worked, then keep adding construction wire and stitching it to the aluminum as needed. Do this to both the front and back sides of the wing. Try to attach several pieces of construction wire to the PVC

On the bottom side, just wrap the screening around the wire and sew it.

On the top side, however, I'd suggest you use a little trick I found. If aluminum is rolled up, when it is compressed, it tends to bounce back. Try it! Try rolling up a small segment of screening and lightly squishing it. Does it bounce back? It should! Use this to your advantage. Roll up much of the excess screening from the top sides of both aluminum pieces into 4cm (diameter) rolls, starting from each ends and rolling towards the space you have between both sheets of aluminum screening. Do this for both sides until you have rolled far enough down that you are about to where your pattern said the top of the wing should be. Sew the two rolls together, and to nearby construction wire. Check out the second picture to see what the final product will look like.

Voila! You have a SUPER strong, SUPER light weight framework to attach your feathers to! :)

Good luck!
-Rachel