Archaeopteryx perhaps, to a cartilaginous sternum. The sideways orientation of the glenoid (shoulder) joint between scapula, coracoid, and humerus—instead of the dorsally angled arrangement found in modern birds—may indicate that "Archaeopteryx" was unable to lift its wings above its back, a requirement for the upstroke found in modern flapping flight. According to a study by Philip Senter in 2006, "Archaeopteryx" was indeed unable to use flapping flight as modern birds do, but it may well have used a downstroke-only flap-assisted gliding technique. "Archaeopteryx" wings were relatively large, which would have resulted in a low stall speed and reduced turning radius. The
Ruppert Archaeopteryx Ruppert Archaeopteryx The Ruppert Archaeopteryx () is a Swiss high-wing, pod-and-boom, single-seat, microlift glider that was designed by Roger Ruppert and is produced by Ruppert Composite GmbH. The aircraft is named for the feathered Archaeopteryx dinosaur. The Archaeopteryx was conceived as a foot-launchable microlift sailplane, with the design goals of a light empty weight, low stall speed with gentle stall characteristics, good maneuverability and good high speed performance. A further goal was a sailplane that could be foot-launched in zero wind conditions. The Archaeopteryx design started in 1998 at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHW) as a research project.