Kinematics and wing shape across flight speed in the bat, Leptonycteris yerbabuenae.

ABSTRACT: The morphology and kinematics of a flying animal determines the resulting aerodynamic lift through the regulation of the speed of the air moving across the wing, the wing area and the lift coefficient. We studied the detailed three-dimensional wingbeat kinematics of the bat, Leptonycteris yerbabuenae, flying in a wind tunnel over a range of flight speeds (0-7 m/s), to determine how factors affecting the lift production vary across flight speed and within wingbeats. We found that the wing area, the angle of attack and the camber, which are determinants of the lift production, decreased with increasing speed. The camber is controlled by multiple mechanisms along the span, including the deflection of the leg relative to the body, the bending of the fifth digit, the deflection of the leading e

SUBMITTER: Von Busse R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3522884 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature