Abstract
This paper reviews the flight mechanics and control of birds and bird-size aircraft. It is intended to fill a niche in the current survey literature which focuses primarily on the aerodynamics, flight dynamics and control of insect scale flight. We review the flight mechanics from first principles and summarize some recent results on the stability and control of birds and bird-scale aircraft. Birds spend a considerable portion of their flight in the gliding (i.e., non-flapping) phase. Therefore, we also review the stability and control of gliding flight, and particularly those aspects which are derived from the unique control features of birds.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 267-282 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2012 |
Keywords
- Bio-inspired flight
- Bird-size aircraft
- Flapping flight
- Flight mechanics
- Micro aerial vehicle
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Control and Systems Engineering
- Materials Science(all)
- Aerospace Engineering
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering