Why Bats Are Better Flyers

[den]

Their motions might seemerratic and graceless, but bats are more efficient flyers than birds,thanks to an airlift mechanism that is unique among aerial creatures,new wind-tunnel tests show.

I knew this.

Comments

[the-starshadow.livejournal.com]

Hmm, that's quite interesting. I suppose the adjustable shape of a bat's wings would also allow for different configurations to take into account differing Reynolds numbers.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[annvole.livejournal.com]

The links in that article are quite interesting too, like this one:

(an aircraft that goes from slow glider to supersonic jet)
http://www.livescience.com/technology/060716_popsci_switchblade.html

as well as they never mentioned the real advantage of bat wings, slow speed with responsive movement for catching insects. There is an article about early bird designs having four wings (including the Archaeopteryx after re-examining them) which gave them slower flight and sharper turning:
http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060922_archaeopteryx_wings.html

I was also thinking that the extra pressure created by the air foil shape becomes the "wind beneith their wings" as their long trailing skin bubbles like a parachute in that wind tunnel testing and makes a bubble or risen air in the smoke trails. They also mentioned the double action of lift during both phases of the wing flapping. I noticed that the wing part beyond the wrist makes a swinging arc forward over and above the forward movement of the "arm" part of their wings and then while bringing the wings back and up for the next stroke, the arms are stretched straighter and make fine gliding wings while the folded finger parts hold the air in the sides to make that parachute thing again behind the "arm" airfoil.

I am so pumped about animating some more realistic aerial action of somewhat realistic anthro-bat characters! First I will use the models I am building to do Nightlife but then on to animating some sort of aerial bat scene.

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

I knew about the finger folding during flight, but I had no idea the membrane stretched so much on the down stroke.

[lizardling.livejournal.com]

oooooh. cool article!

[chezmax]

That's neat!