Archaeopteryx 150 million years ago, in what is now southern Germany during a time when Europe was an archipelago of islands in a shallow warm tropical sea, much closer to the equator than it is now. Similar in size to a Eurasian magpie, with the largest individuals possibly attaining the size of a raven, the largest species of "Archaeopteryx" could grow to about in length. Despite their small size, broad wings, and inferred ability to fly or glide, "Archaeopteryx" had more in common with other small Mesozoic dinosaurs than with modern birds. In particular, they shared the following features with 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.