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Item: Raven's variable matrix
2000
Object, 165 x 510 x 364 cm.
Materials: motor, aluminium, felt, polycarbonate
Collection: Collection Mianko, Belgium.
'I first wanted to find out exactly how that mechanism worked. A seagull, for instance, that's really just a triangular sail like a delta-glider, with at most flapping ends...' - Panamarenko
This one-man aircraft recalls Panamarenko’s frail insect flying machines from the seventies. Its construction is not based on the wing mechanism of insects, however, but on the flapping method of birds. The structure comprises a long steel tube with a seat for the pilot at the front, and a tail rudder at the back. The wings have an aluminium frame and are covered with transparent macrolon. The wingtips are made of black foam rubber, which provides the resistance needed to maintain the wings in an optimum position at a speed of 50 km/h.
