Lentink Lab Messages | Archive

Credit: Chris 73

Swift feathers improve airflow

Visiting student Evelien van Bokhorst published her second paper with the lab, now as first author on the cover of the Journal of Experimental Biology. Using high-resolution flow measurements she shows how feather roughness much improves the airflow over the wings of swifts during gliding flight. The finding shows that drones of similar size would fly better with similarly rough wings. The roughness can be remarkably high, which simplifies the manufacturing of high-performance wings.


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