Page 83 - Biomimetics: Technology Imitates Nature

hich is the most flawless, efficient flying ma-
chine? A Skorsky helicopter, a Boeing 747 pas-
senger jet, or an F-16 fighter?
The words, beginning a scientific article
about birds in Reader's Digest, provide an an-
swer to that question, stating that compared to birds, a marvel of
aerodynamics, even the most advanced aircraft are nothing more
than crude copies. 61
Birds are perfect flying
machines. Any vehicle needs
to be fairly light in order to fly. This
applies right down to the screws and
bolts used to attach the wings. This
explains why airplane manufactur-
ers always try to use special materials
that are light but also strong and resistant to
blows. But despite all the efforts expended toward this goal, we
humans are nowhere near birds in this field. Have you ever seen
a bird explode or fall apart in mid-air? Or a bird lose a wing be-
cause the connections to its body have become weakened?
The flawless designs in birds have an enormous in-
fluence on the development of aviation. Indeed, the
Wright brothers, regarded as the inventors of
the airplane, used the vulture wing as a
model when building the wings of
their Kitty Hawk plane. 62