Performance Enhancements by Bounding Flight

Sachs, Gottfried; Lenz, Jakob; Holzapfel, Florian

doi:10.2514/6.2012-4504

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…In all, our aerodynamic results strongly suggest that P. fengningensis flew using an intermittent flight strategy, although it is difficult to ascertain whether this was bounding or flap-gliding. Intermittent flight would have allowed this early enantiornithine to reduce flight costs (Rayner, 1985;Muijres et al, 2012;Sachs et al, 2012;Sachs, 2015;Usherwood, 2016). While intermittent flight has been identified in other enantiornithines (Liu et al, 2017;Serrano et al, 2018), P. fengningensis represents the earliest documented occurrence of this flight strategy, indicating that such an energy-savings flight modality evolved as early as 131 million years ago.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anatomy and Flight Performance of the Early Enantiornithine Bird Protopteryx fengningensis: Information from New Specimens of the Early Cretaceous Huajiying Formation of China

Chiappe

Liu

Serrano

et al. 2019

The Anatomical Record

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The Early Cretaceous (∼131 Million Years Ago) Protopteryx fengningensis is one of the oldest and most primitive enantiornithine birds; however, knowledge of its anatomy has largely been limited to the succinct description of two specimens (holotype and paratype). This study describes two new specimens of P. fengningensis preserving most of the skeleton and plumage, and it therefore adds significantly to understanding the morphology of this important species and the character evolution of enantiornithine birds. The well‐preserved plumage of these specimens also affords a quantitative assessment of the flight performance of P. fengningensis. Our aerodynamic considerations indicate that this early enantiornithine was capable of intermittent flight (bounding or flap‐gliding), thus marking the earliest occurrence of such energy‐saving aerial strategy. Anat Rec, 303:716–731, 2020. © 2019 American Association for Anatomy

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anatomy and Flight Performance of the Early Enantiornithine Bird Protopteryx fengningensis: Information from New Specimens of the Early Cretaceous Huajiying Formation of China

Chiappe

Liu

Serrano

et al. 2019

The Anatomical Record

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“…While some studies have argued that bounding flight improves aerial efficiency as it reduces the COT, especially at high speeds (Ward‐Smith ; Sachs et al . , ), other investigations have underscored the benefit this strategy has on the muscle physiology of small birds (Rayner ; Usherwood ). As our analyses do not point to COT savings in the models of C. lacustris and E. hoyasi , the bounding strategy of these birds could have resulted in physiological benefits.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…; Sachs et al . , , Sachs ; Usherwood ). Such solutions for increasing aerial efficiency might have originated early in avian history, long before the divergence of modern birds (i.e.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Flight reconstruction of two European enantiornithines (Aves, Pygostylia) and the achievement of bounding flight in Early Cretaceous birds

et al. 2018

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Intermittent flight through flap-gliding (alternating flapping phases and gliding phases with spread wings) or bounding (flapping and ballistic phases with wings folded against the body) are strategies to optimize aerial efficiency which are commonly used among small birds today. The broad morphological disparity of Mesozoic birds suggests that a range of aerial strategies could have evolved early in avian evolution. Based on biomechanics and aerodynamic theory, this study reconstructs the flight modes of two small enantiornithines from the Lower Cretaceous fossil site of Las Hoyas (Spain): Concornis lacustris and Eoalulavis hoyasi. Our results show that the short length of their wings in relation to their body masses were suitable for flying through strict flapping and intermittent bounds, but not through facultative glides. Aerodynamic models indicate that the power margins of these birds were sufficient to sustain bounding flight. Our results thus suggest that C. lacustris and E. hoyasi would have increased aerial efficiency through bounding flight, just as many small passerines and woodpeckers do today. Intermittent bounding appears to have evolved early in the evolutionary history of birds, at least 126 million years ago.

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“…It allows birds to extract energy from the surrounding air flow to increase their endurance, a process known as dynamic soaring [53]. Even without the possibility of dynamic soaring, which requires specific wind conditions, it was shown by Sachs [54,55] that switching between flapping and gliding flight can in fact yield a much improved performance, even in terms of the flight speed, over optimized steady state flapping flight.…”

Section: Control Of Gliding Flightmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Flight Mechanics-Centric Review of Bird-Scale Flapping Flight

Paranjape¹,

Dorothy²,

Chung³

et al. 2012

International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences

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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.

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Performance Enhancements by Bounding Flight

Cited by 3 publications

References 4 publications

Anatomy and Flight Performance of the Early Enantiornithine Bird Protopteryx fengningensis: Information from New Specimens of the Early Cretaceous Huajiying Formation of China

Anatomy and Flight Performance of the Early Enantiornithine Bird Protopteryx fengningensis: Information from New Specimens of the Early Cretaceous Huajiying Formation of China

Flight reconstruction of two European enantiornithines (Aves, Pygostylia) and the achievement of bounding flight in Early Cretaceous birds

A Flight Mechanics-Centric Review of Bird-Scale Flapping Flight

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