Engineers, zoologists reveal how gulls 'wing morph' for stable soaring

Wind-tunnel testing of gull wings could be used to design more efficient flying vehicles

Date:January 2, 2019

Source:University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

A unique collaboration between University of British Columbia (UBC) zoologists and U of T Engineering's aviation expert Professor Philippe Lavoie provides new insights into how gulls configure their wing shape -- known as wing morphing -- to stabilize their flight. The findings could be used to design more efficient flying vehicles, including soaring drones for farming or environmental monitoring.

Although a gliding bird's ability to stabilize its flight path is as critical as its ability to produce lift, relatively few quantitative studies on avian flight stability have been completed. This is what brought UBC researchers Christina Harvey, Vikram Baliga and Professor Doug Altshuler to Lavoie's wind tunnel lab at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS).

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Kestrel inspires unpowered, autonomous glider to climb higher

Date:December 18, 2015

Source:IOP Publishing

Researchers at the RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia have drawn inspiration from the way kestrels hover above their prey to develop an autonomous fixed-wing micro air vehicle (MAV) that can gain height from convenient updrafts.

The results are published Dec. 18 in the journal Bioinspiration & Biomimetics.

"It's long been known the birds take advantage of upward air currents to save energy when flying" explains Alex Fisher, a lead author of the paper. "This 'boost' of upward-moving air can be found when the wind hits a large obstacle, like a cliff or mountain range, and to a smaller extent close to human-made obstacles like buildings."

"We envisage that in the future, MAVs will be used for many tasks in urban environments, such as delivering packages, performing surveillance, and search and rescue" he continues. "Using these updrafts would make them more efficient and therefore extend their working range."

"If you're familiar with the kestrel, you may know they've got a unique way of hunting -- hovering over a location without flapping their wings. This allows them to keep their heads still with incredible precision, helping them spot prey on the ground. The preciseness at which they hold position led us to thinking we could try this 'wind-hovering' technique on our MAV."

The researchers used a commercially available polystyrene foam sail-plane as their test platform.

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