The mechanics of flight: Why birds wish they were helicopters?
| Dates: | 6 June 2019 |
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| Times: | 18:30 - 20:30 |
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| What is it: | Talk |
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| Organiser: | The University of Manchester |
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| How much: | Free |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, Primary schools, External researchers, Families, Adults, Alumni, Current University students, General public, Post 16, Secondary schools |
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| Speaker: | Dr Ben Parslew |
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Birds, bees and bats all evolved powered flight by flapping their wings. The reciprocating motion of the wings provides thrust, while the shape and orientation of the wings generates lift. This differs from conventional man-made aircraft where the propulsive and lifting systems are deliberately kept independent – having a fixed wing led to the success of the first manned flights, and it still seems to be the most efficient means of flying over long distances.
But despite this there is still plenty of interest in research communities to create flapping wing aircraft. In this talk Dr Ben will discuss how well we currently understand the mechanics of organic flight, and why we would ever want to replicate it using machines.
Dr Ben Parslew is an expert in aerospace engineering, fluid dynamics and biomechanics at the University of Manchester. His research lies at the interface of engineering and biology, with particular interests in animal locomotion, unmanned aerial vehicles, robotics and computer animation.
Speaker
Dr Ben Parslew
Organisation: University of Manchester
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
The Old Abbey Taphouse
Guildhall Close
Manchester Science Park
Manchester
