Throughout the history of transportation design, engineers have turned to nature for design similar: fish for ships, turtles for armored vehicles, and birds for aircraft. Since the time of Leonardo da Vinci forward, many concepts were based on ornithopter birds. Today, most new semi-autonomous spy drones comes from the study of insects. 
The dragonfly is an ancient natural conception, and there is a powerful and agile flight. The two sets of wings beating out of phase with each other, making for a smooth ride. Every beat of wings is controlled by a separate nerve impulse, unlike flies and bees, whose beating depend on a pulsating vibration of the upper plate of the thorax. 
Recent high-speed photography revealed the secret of how insects fly. They take advantage of minature vortices in the air to obtain additional lift-you can feel this effect by moving your hands in "wingbeats" submarine. But in an air environment, insect drawings only work on a small scale, for the physical changes that you resize all up 
This ornithopter model is Dinotopia :. The World Beneath. It is based on the extinct dragonfly Meganeura with some steampunk elements. I built the model with a fuselage and wings pine cardboard, which were mounted on the core wire, just as I did with the Utopiales Lepidoptera, so I can put them at an angle any. ------
Photograph Robert Seber: link. (Canon 30D, 300mm IS ISO 10, 1/10, f / 8)
Build Utopiales mock link.
