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Aerospace Engineering Commons

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Other Aerospace Engineering

2011

Albatross

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Full-Text Articles in Aerospace Engineering

An Investigation Of Dynamic Soaring And Its Applications To The Albatross And Rc Sailplanes, Christopher J. Lee Jun 2011

An Investigation Of Dynamic Soaring And Its Applications To The Albatross And Rc Sailplanes, Christopher J. Lee

Aerospace Engineering

Dynamic soaring is a technique used by the sea bird the Albatross. This technique allows for the bird to stay in the air for extended periods of time with very little effort. Dynamic soaring utilizes the wind gradient on the surface of the ocean to maintain its airspeed. A similar technique is used by RC glider pilots to achieve high speeds by using the shear wind layer on the leeward side of mountain ridges.