First Post!

Hello there! This is the first post of my first blog and I feel like a complete blog newb but I’m going to post this anyway.

This blog will be dedicated to the study of flying creatures, as I have been studying them and need someplace to post my findings. Specifically, I aim to understand the physics at work in such a thing as bird flight, from an aeronautical and biomechanical perspective.

I have been an aeronautical nerd for a while, but as time went by I found myself observing gulls dance on the wind, wondering if I could uncover their secrets. Five years ago I stumbled across some websites such as pterosaurheresies, which changed the way I imagined flying dinosaurs, and I had an idea that ultimately launched me into this project. I had a feeling that birds, bats, and their ancestors, despite having only similar skeletons, all used the same fundamental dynamic motions to create lift and propel themselves through the air.

So, currently, I am designing an ornithopter. As I research and and sketch out my designs, I will figure out how often I can post new content. I have many ideas that I am synthesizing, which often delays any tangible evidence of progress. As I make steps in this synthesis process, I might go in depth in a post to explain one idea by itself, and why I feel it is significant to incorporate this into the design. I will also post some of the more detailed work I do in Blender, as I figure out the necessary structures and joints I need to build this machine. Eventually, I’ll upload videos of myself building the thing! And of course, test flights!

I love paleo artists and the work they do. They take incredible, hard to comprehend scientific ideas and make it surreal, familiar, and tangible. I might make posts about certain art pieces if it relates to the subject I’m studying at the time, as there are many artists out there who have an excellent understanding about these creatures.

From an engineering perspective, some atypical aeronautical principles are needed to explain how a bird’s wing works to create lift. There is misinformation out there which I will try to discredit. There are also some very insightful websites which I will link to. Generally, airplanes do not fly like birds, although there are a few exceptions, such as the swept flying wing. When relevant, I will find existing airplane designs demonstrating an idea that I am working into my model.

I would love to build various models to fly in different flight regimes. I started with a gull, because I feel it is “average,” but I have an owl, eagle, falcon, pelican, albatross, and a pterosaur planned. The photo below is a Quetzalcoatlus skeleton I rearranged today, as I dislike seeing the way people pose it in flight, with its neck outstretched. I moved the head back, as a heron would, as it would benefit this animal to rest its large head closer to its center of mass during flight. I tucked the legs close to its body as it probably didn’t need them in the airflow at all until it had to land. Maybe there is a giraffe-sized ornithopter in our future? We’ll see!