It's a bird! It's a plane!

Science World, May 12, 2008 by Charlene Brusso

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Why don't airplanes fly by flapping their wings? After all, that's how birds, bats, and insects do it. Their flexible wings allow them to pull off gravity-defying maneuvers that a fixed-wing plane could never accomplish. By studying the secrets of nature's best flyers, Wei Shyy, an engineer at the University of Michigan, hopes to learn how to make aircraft that mimic the amazing flying feats of birds.

Scientists are interested in studying birds because their flight is more efficient than that of fixed-wing airplanes. Flapping provides birds with the lift (upward force) needed to become airborne. The ability to move their wings also allows birds to adjust to unpredictable weather conditions, like wind gusts, and stay aloft.

Shyy and his team plan to use birds as models to design dragonfly-size microplanes with wingspans between 2.5 and 7.6 centimeters (1 and 3 inches). Unlike today's fixed-wing planes, these flapping vehicles would be able to hover and perch. The mini-planes could then be fitted with cameras or sensors, making them ideal for checking out remote or dangerous areas.