October 16, 2011 at 4:54 pm
Many think that the main reason as to why ostriches cannot fly is because of their massive weight; this is true. However, the mass extinction of the dinosaur population also heavily contributes to why the ostrich remains flightless. When dinosaurs ruled the world, their large body size, accompanied with rapid mating techniques, took up most […]
October 15, 2011 at 6:55 pm
Pterosaurs were flying reptiles that existed from 220 to 65 million years ago. Pterosaurs are believed to be the earliest vertebrates to have achieved powered flight. What makes this truly amazing is that some species of pterosaurs were as large as giraffes, with a wingspan of about 12 meters. Pterosaurs achieved flight, not on bird-like […]
October 15, 2011 at 5:43 pm
Inspired by the common swift, Roboswift was designed at the Delft University of Technology and Wageningen University in the Netherlands. The swift is one of the most efficient flyers in nature because of its ability to shift its wings by folding feathers over one another. This allows the swift to adapt to changes in flight […]
October 14, 2011 at 4:28 pm
One of the differences between man-made aircrafts and birds is the morphology of their respective wings. A Boeing-747 has stiff metal wings that barely change shape. Using the knowledge of wing surface area, other aircrafts were built with varying wing spans to accommodate ideal flying speeds and weights. However, birds can create their own ideal […]
October 13, 2011 at 12:11 pm
In 1971 Paul MacCready founded AeroVironment, Inc.. Considered the father of human powered flight, MacCready went on to invent flying devices with his company ranging in everything from solar powered flight to the Gossamer Condor, which flew over the 23-mile long English Channel off of only the power of an onboard cyclist. And as the […]