Ancient Flying Machines

Upon seeing photographs of the ancient golden artifacts that look like a cross between jets and animals, I was immediately intrigued by the idea of technologically superior beings (be they gods, aliens or whatever) zooming around in these gorgeous aircrafts. 3d printing provides us with the perfect avenue to find out for ourselves whether the ancients were onto something with these designs or whether their imaginations were just running wild. Thus far, I have not succeeded in making my prints fly for more than a few seconds. However, this is not surprising given the fact that the originals do not have large wing-spans and therefore they cannot be expected to work like some of the ingenious "glider" designs here on Thingiverse. Their shape is more like the powerful jets that military organizations use today. Indeed, while several enthusiasts have succeeded in making models based on the artifacts fly in recent years, they have always managed it by installing a motor and using radio controls. I confess that this is beyond my own capabilities at the moment and therefore I leave these designs here to you fellow makers, in the hopes that one day one of you will improve or add to them so that they can take to the skies. ... In the meantime, they can be hung from strings and simply swing in the summer breeze. If you want to know more about these amazing artifacts: http://www.theancientaliens.com/#!technology--quimbaya-airplanes/ciu4 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quimbaya_artifacts http://www.mysterypile.com/quimbaya.php http://www.banrepcultural.org/museo-del-oro/sociedades/tolima/avioncitos-sorprendentes NB: This thing was previously titled "Mayan Flying Machine"