M.Goodall, A.Tagg British Aircraft before the Great War (Schiffer)
Deleted by request of (c)Schiffer Publishing
MILLER ornithopters (W. Miller MRCS, Hart St., Covent Garden, London)
Towards the end of the 18th century Miller devised a primitive ornithopter with two pairs of winglets operated by ropes. The winglets were hinged to plates worn on the chest and back of the flyer. The ropes were pushed down by alternate movement of his legs and imparted the necessary flapping motion. As with most ornithopters the optimism of the inventor was not matched by the performance of the apparatus.
Millers second ornithopter, the, Aerostat, appeared in about 1840 and was described as based on the form of a West Indian crow, the wings were operated manually by levers. It had a fixed wing center section and a moveable tailplane aft of the pilot. Weight 500 lb.