Look At This Horrifying Aircraft That Flaps Its Wings Like a Dragonfly

The aircraft Serenity takes biological inspiration to new extremes.

Pandemic Hobby

A team of Russian engineers have built a horrifying new kind of aircraft. It flies by flapping massive sets of wings. Which are not unlike the gigantic robot dragonfly from your (or at least some of our) nightmares.

Building flying machines based on insects isn't new, as Gizmodo points out. But any bug-based or otherwise flapping machines are typically extremely small, making this roughly ten-foot behemoth stand out from the pack as a marvel of engineering.

 

Buzz Off

The six-winged Serenity, as the device is called, is likely heavier than any other flying animal or machine, Gizmodo notes, demonstrating that it's possible to build flying machines that don't rely on forward momentum like planes or propellors like drones and helicopters. And it—okay, sorry, it's difficult to concentrate when you can just look at this monster machine:

Flappy Bug!

As Gizmodo notes, Serenity definitely can't handle anything as heavy as a human pilot right now. Nor should anyone want to ride it in its current form — that camera is having a bumpy enough ride as is.

There's no perfectly clear takeaway from this deathtrap, absent the hope that any future passengers/Sonic the Hedgehog villains who decide to mount this thing fare better than that cop in Dubai who crashed his hoverbike from 30 meters off the ground. Best of luck, go with god, etc.

READ MORE: Russian Engineers Supersized a Dragonfly With This Over-the-Top Flapping Wing Plane [Gizmodo]

More on unusual aircraft: Watch a Hoverbike-Riding Cop in Dubai Wipe Out Catastrophically