Page 80 - The Miracle of Migration in Animals

THE MIRACLE OF MIGRATION IN ANIMALS

PERFECT ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN BIRDS

NASA established a joint team of Boeing Co. and UCLA
engineers to find a way of reducing drag and saving energy in

flight by mimicking the way birds have been doing so for mil-
lions of years.
If this project (Autonomous Formation Flight-AFF) suc-
ceeds, its savings will be significant. In California Edward
NASA's Gerard Schkolnik, director of the Dryden Flight
Research Center project, emphasized the subject’s importance,
saying that the transcontinental commercial airlines could save
as much as 500,000 dollars per plane annually. 1

The AFF's principle is to reduce fuel consumption by using
the energy advantage created by the lead bird. The trailing
bird—or aircraft—flies in a position that uses the vortex created
by the lead, and uses less energy by maintaining this position.
For years, scientists have known that birds flying in V for-
mation expend less energy than birds flying solo; and thought
that this formation that reduces drag could also be used success-
fully with aircraft. To this end a project with two F/A-18 aircraft
is underway to reduce fuel consumption of the trailing aircraft
by 10%, imitating the formation of migrating birds. 2

1-"Technology Emerging to Save Billions in Air-Fuel Costs," David
Greenberg, Los Angeles Business Journal, May 28, 2001.
2- Beth Hagenauer, "F/A-18s map wingtip vortex effects for AFF;"
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Newsroom/X-Press/stories/092801/res_aff.html

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