Wings

So the birdman has admitted his powered flight was a fake.

Not exactly surprising given basic mechanics and biology.

The whole thing was an art project, and the artist played skillfully with a profound and enduring dream.

The dream of flight is most strikingly expressed in the activity which brings people closest to actual unassisted flight: wingsuited base-jumping. Their achievements are become more astonishing by the year. See, for example, here and here.

The dream is a focus of the Quetzalcoatlus chapter in my book, which will be out in October.