A research team based in Taiwan has published a new PIV-study on the hovering aerodynamics in hovering Zosterops japonicus, which birdwatchers know as whiteyes. These 6-7 g birds are capable of hovering, i.e. flying at zero forward speed, which was studied in a special hovering chamber. Wing kinematics and induced vortex flows were monitored, which uncovered a new mechanism for enhancing lift force in hovering in birds - a ventral clap-and-fling. This mechanism is known from some insects already since the dane Torkel Weis-Fogh's pioneering work, but had not been observed in birds before. Interestingly some of the high-lift mechanism previously known from insect flight are now being observed in birds and bats, mainly due to the application of the PIV-technique to animal flight. We, the Lund crew, are happy to see this approach spreading to other labs studying animal flight. The paper can be found in Experiments in Fluids.
11 November 2011
Hovering in a whiteye
A research team based in Taiwan has published a new PIV-study on the hovering aerodynamics in hovering Zosterops japonicus, which birdwatchers know as whiteyes. These 6-7 g birds are capable of hovering, i.e. flying at zero forward speed, which was studied in a special hovering chamber. Wing kinematics and induced vortex flows were monitored, which uncovered a new mechanism for enhancing lift force in hovering in birds - a ventral clap-and-fling. This mechanism is known from some insects already since the dane Torkel Weis-Fogh's pioneering work, but had not been observed in birds before. Interestingly some of the high-lift mechanism previously known from insect flight are now being observed in birds and bats, mainly due to the application of the PIV-technique to animal flight. We, the Lund crew, are happy to see this approach spreading to other labs studying animal flight. The paper can be found in Experiments in Fluids.
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