Many species of spider fly with a technique calling ballooning. We’ve touched on spider flight before, but more recent research adds a new dimension to the phenomenon. Researchers showed that Keep reading
Tag: flight
Planes Lift
Need a little refresher on how airplanes fly? The middle school students of The Nueva School have you covered with their latest science rap parody. They take a look at Keep reading
Audubon Photography Awards
Several of this year’s Audubon-Photography-Award-winning photos feature birds interacting with fluids. The Grand Prize Winner, by Joanna Lentini, features a diving double-crested cormorant. Like many other species, these cormorants launch Keep reading
How Did Pterosaurs Fly?
One of my favorite aspects of fluid dynamics is how well it pairs with so many other fields, from mathematics and space exploration to biology, medicine, and even paleontology. That Keep reading
Choosing Swimming Over Flight
When studying modern birds it quickly becomes apparent that they can either be good at swimming or at flying, but not at both. The characteristics that make wings good for Keep reading
Using Flow Separation to Fly
Fixed-wing flight typically favors the efficiency of long skinny wings, which is why so many aircraft have them. But for smaller flyers, like micro air vehicles (MAVs), short and stubby Keep reading
Why Do Backwards Wings Exist?
Over the years, there have been many odd airplane designs, but one you probably haven’t seen much is the forward-swept wing. While most early aircraft featured straight wings, rear-swept wings are Keep reading
Martian Bees, Canopies, and Dandelion Seeds
The latest FYFD/JFM video is out! May brings us a look at the incredible flight of dandelion seeds, numerical simulations that reveal the flow above forest canopies, and a look Keep reading
Gliding Lizards
Flying lizards are truly gliders, but that doesn’t mean they’re unsophisticated. Newly reported observations of the species in the wild show that flying lizards don’t simply hold their forelimbs out a Keep reading
Soaring Pelicans
Earlier this summer, I looked up on a bright, sunny day and saw a quartet of black and white figures soaring overhead. Initially, I thought it might be a formation Keep reading