The Flaptors are air vehicles used by the air pirate Dola and her gang in the film Castle in the Sky.
Each member of the gang has their own flaptor, which has two wings on each side. The flapors are much more small and agile compared to the airships of the army, easily outmaneuvering turret fire.
Trivia
- Mr. Miyazaki noted that, while "ornithopter" is a real word, there was no way they could label flying machines that looked more like insects as such. To come up with the name, he combined "ornithopter" with the word "flap" and ended up with "flaptor".[1]
- In his concept designs for the Flaptors, Mr. Miyazaki writes "S. 90km/h, R. 200km, W. 57kg". This can presumably be read as the Flaptors having a max. speed of 90 kilometers per hour, a range of 200 kilometers before needing to be recharged, and a weight of 57 kilograms. However, he also notes in his concepts for the Tiger Moth that his numbers are nonsense and only there because he liked them.[1]