Flying Creatures May Inspire Future of Aviation

"Learning the secret of flight from a bird was a good deal like learning the secret of magic from a magician." -- Orville Wright

As the nocturnal owl stalks its prey, a quirk on its wings enables a silent hunt. Fringe-like feathers hang off the bird and muffle the whooshing air. Even a sharp-eared mouse can't hear the owl swoop in.

That lesson in aerodynamics provides a valuable guide for aviation experts who are crafting a new technology. They've incorporated the concept into the Silent Aircraft Initiative, a plan to create a plane that would make no noticeable noise outside an airport.

It has been more than 100 years since the Wright brothers first took flight. Since then, humans have invented jet engines, shattered the sound barrier and created an airline system so safe that accidents have nearly been eliminated.

But as scientists attempt to improve planes of the future, they are finding that super computers and aerodynamic theory are often no match for nature. The breeding ground of natural selection has improved flying creatures over millions of years, creating a virtual test bed of clever solutions to aerodynamic problems, according to some of the top experts in aviation.

"It's not just strapping wings on and jumping off a cliff," says James DeLaurier, a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto who spent decades studying flapping wings. "It's respectable to look at nature for inspiration. We don't come close to doing all the things that nature does."

In labs around the world, biologists and aerodynamicists are studying birds, bats, insects and even extinct flying dinosaurs for new ideas:

*NASA and the military have funded extensive research into planes that mimic birds' ability to shift the size and shape of their wings. The work promises to create aircraft capable of far more versatile and efficient flight.

*Birds, bats and other creatures have millions of nerves in their wings that sense minute shifts in winds, allowing them to save precious energy and to maneuver far more nimbly than any human-designed aircraft. NASA and other research groups are experimenting with flying machines that have computer-driven sensors to do the same thing.

*Living creatures that fly have elaborate natural systems to monitor their health, and to repair themselves after suffering injuries. Aerodynamic experts believe that adopting such techniques in flying machines will make them safer and more reliable.

*Scientists in Toronto led by DeLaurier last year succeeded in building a contraption envisioned by people for thousands of years: an aircraft that carried a human aloft by flapping its wings. The creators say the technology will never replace jetliners, but it has expanded the understanding of aerodynamics and can be used for small, unmanned aircraft.

John McMasters, an aerodynamics expert at jet manufacturer Boeing, has taught aircraft design for 40 years. "One of the rules is never invent anything you don't have to," McMasters says. "If you can find a precedent that solves a problem, use that."

Longtime fascination with birds

Humans have been fascinated by how birds fly since the dawn of history. Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian painter and scientist, studied birds in the 15th and early 16th centuries, drawing a detailed plan for a glider with bird-like wings. Wilbur and Orville Wright studied birds as they developed their airplane, which flew on Dec. 17, 1903.