Birdstroke!

[Garfly]

 

 

 

[Marty_d]

Loved it! Thanks for posting.

 

 

[Garfly]

Yeah, anyone can do it if you go there. If you had a spare $1000 I reckon it'd be well spent.

 

 

[farri]

G`Day Garry, Brilliant! Thank you!!! .........Frank.

 

 

[facthunter]

Lovely and inspiring. Nev

 

 

[facthunter]

See how the birds sense the lift in front of the wing and ride it? Nev

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

See how the birds sense the lift in front of the wing and ride it? Nev

...and nobody taught them that either. Perhaps they're just following a Morphic Field.

 

 

[Garfly]

Yes, it's fascinating to see them ride the bow wave - as it were - of the big wing.

 

But I guess nature taught them that, after all, isn't gaining lift advantage, one wing to another, the whole reason for their V-formations?

 

Apropos of all that, I was a bit puzzled by this suggestion from an "aeronautical engineer" in the YouTube comments that they're getting lift ahead of the prop.

 

But you can plainly see - at least in some shots - that they're surfing right out to the wing tip.

 

(

 

"David Chester

 

 

 

As an aeronautical engineer who has researched flow near propellers, I find the part of this video where the bird is gliding near to the pilot, and allowing him to touch his/her body to be absolutely fantastic. This is because the bird is taking advantage of the air-flow ahead of the propeller. This air-flow is being accelerated ahead of the propeller (to a speed above the general airspeed) and by it, but somehow the bird which has stopped flapping its wings and is taking advantage of the faster air-flows here. I would imagine that the opposite should be the case, because the greater speed airflow creates more aerodynamic drag, not less. Ain't nature wonderful!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(A case of "Yes, vicar, nature is wonderful, more, even, than science." ;-)

 

 

[Garfly]

Bird formation aerodynamics explained:

 

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Wow! Phase-riding!

 

Very efficient, but I hope I don't have to ride in an Airbus the rides the vortexes of another.

 

 

[Garfly]

Another interesting video about bird-wing aerodynamics:

 

 

 

[boleropilot]

I saw a cartoon about a guy flying a trike, with all these geese sitting on the wings, hanging on, fooling around, not one of them was flying...

 

the pilot was saying "now come on you lot, this is not how we practiced this...."

 

now that's funny!