The Too Good To Be True Tech Story I Almost Aired

There was just something too good to be true about Smeets. How could this be done in such a low key way? Why was there no major press coverage?

No sci/tech story for me today. Rachel was out judging a science fair during the 4:00 PM news and there’s a legal limit to how much Geoff the public will take.

As it turns out that was a good thing. The story I planned to do might be a hoax. At this point I can’t be sure.

It all started yesterday when I saw a link about a Dutchman, Jarno Smeets, who’d flown like a bird!

Right here, on this blog I share everything about my crazy plan to build my own wings. My goal? To fly with it! Something Leonardo DaVinci, my grandfather and I dreamed of for a long time. But this summer I decided to really start building it. This blog is the result of my experiences of the project. You’ll find video’s, pictures and text on the progress, my inspiration and all your comments and support.

Smeets put together his flying machine using wings fashioned from strong, but lightweight wood, kite fabric, two small motors and a digital control system fashioned with accelerometers from a cellphones and a Wii controller! He flaps his arms which then controls his craft’s motorized flapping wings.

I saw the video. Mesmerized! His recent flight followed a year’s worth of preparation videos. That’s a lot of backstory for s hoax. Normally this is enough for me.

I often do stories on tech breakthroughs. There’s no way to be there so I’m dependent on user produced videos. They have proved to be trustworthy.

There was just something too good to be true about Smeets. How could this be done in such a low key way? Why was there no major press coverage?

Overnight I began looking at comments from readers on websites where the video had already been posted. There were skeptics! In fact most of the comments came from skeptics.

Time Magazine ran a story on the flight and tagged it:

Update: Some are questioning the veracity of the video above, and since we obviously haven’t seen the flight firsthand, nor has Smeets yet responde to our request for confirmation the flight was real, we can’t vouch for its authenticity at this time (though we can’t yet call it inauthentic, either).

I sent my producer an email. I’d forgotten I wouldn’t be producing a story today, but I told her I might have to bag today’s package because of my growing doubts.

This afternoon Huffington Post added to the intrigue:

But there’s only one problem–the video is an elaborate hoax. At least that’s the opinion of the University of Toronto’s Dr. Todd Reichert.

“I’m tempted to play along, but unfortunately from a physical perspective it’s completely unrealistic,” Reichert told The Huffington Post in an email. “Given an estimated total weight of 100 kg, a wing area of 9 square meters, maximum lift coefficient of 1.0, and an air density of 1.22 kilograms per cubic meter…the vehicle would have to travel at least 49 kilometers per hour to stay airborne.” – Huffington Post.

This hasn’t played out fully yet. There are still those, including Jamie Hynerman, of “Mythbusters” who think it looks real. Smeets himself doesn’t seem to be speaking.

It just looked too good to be true. Maybe it is! I hope not.

8 thoughts on “The Too Good To Be True Tech Story I Almost Aired”

  1. Can’t be real; for human-sized creatures, the weight-lift ratio required is impossible! There’s a reason the largest flighted bird, the Dalmatian Pelican, is only 20-30 pounds; lift generated is proportional to the area of the wings, but weight increases proportional to the volume. the 15-kg Dalmatian Pelican needs 1-2 square meters of wing area to take off, and almost all the (very heavy!) musculature in its body is designed towards wing power. This guy has (very generously) 20 square meters of wing area, and he plus the contraption must weigh well over 100 kg, probably closer to 150 with all his gear. Let

    As for the video itself, I can see why people have been fooled, it’s a fairly convincing production (with inspirational music to boot!) but the motion of everything is just all wrong. The wings don’t even move that much! When birds are trying to ascend, they pump their wings much more vigorously than can be “seen” here. How is he generating all that needed lift? Also, why no helmet cam footage of the apparatus? And why does the “helmet cam” almost hit the ground at landing? His head doesn’t do that…

    Finally, and most damningly, if you up the contrast at takeoff (easily done on an lcd screen, just look at it from a wide angle) there is a very clear rectangular border in the sky around him, clearly indicating computer-generated effects.

    When you look past the smarmy surface, it’s a clear fake.

  2. would be cool if it was real for sure, but the fact that this guy is not talking speaks volumes….if ya get my drift!

  3. Why are people so quick to judge? Maybe it is a fake so what? It was beautiful to watch and even fantasize about flying like a bird high above the trees! I for one don’t care if it was faked or not. Some day someone will find a way to fly maybe even this guy…give people a chance and don’t be so freakin’ negative! Life is too short! Enjoy while you’re here.

  4. Jarno’s website is pretty extensive. He shows past research and development. Seems like years of wasted work if it’s a hoax. Could just be real.

  5. All what Mike says is true and birds the physical strucure if different from mans, their bone are very differnet making them lighter. We have the brains to make airplanes they have the bones and body to fly.

  6. Did I see fresh tire tracks below his flight path? Perhaps from the hidden crane used to provide lift? Count me as a skeptic!

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