In the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert, an ornithopter (or 'thopter) is a type of aircraft that is one of the primary modes of transportation on the desert planet Arrakis. Herbert describes ornithopters as "Aircraft capable of sustained wing-beat flight in the manner of birds" in his 1965 novel Dune. The craft achieve takeoff primarily though the beat of their wings, with jet power assisting in propulsion and stabilization:
Leto fed power to the wings, felt them cup and dip — once, twice. They were airborne in ten meters, wings feathered tightly and afterjets thrusting them upward in a steep, hissing climb.
The wings themselves, consisting of "delicate metal interleavings," are adjustable in length through a "retractor bar" or manually. They are fully extended when the jetpods are used little or not at all:
... the Duke kicked on the jet brakes. The ship bucked as its tail pods whispered to silence. Stub wings elongated, cupped the air. The craft became a full 'thopter as the Duke banked it, holding the wings to a gentle beat ...
The wings are shortened when more jet thrust is used or the 'thopter uses the "jet-boost" alternative mode of takeoff, and tip to assist in braking. In the 1984 film adaptation Dune, ornithopters are depicted as wingless and jet- or rocket-propelled. The ornithopters in the 2000 Sci Fi Channel miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune have moving wings, but are not propelled by them.
Read more about this topic: Dune Technology