Boffins successfully test plane that perches on wire like a bird
July 23rd, 2010 - 2:42 pm ICT by ANIWashington, July 23 (ANI): Tomorrow’s planes might be able to land gracefully onto a narrow perch just like birds, a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have demostrated.The researchers came up with a control system that allows a foam glider with a single motor on its tail to land on a perch, reports Discovery News.
They believe their work could have important implications for the design of robotic planes. It could even allow these aircraft to perch on power lines and recharge their batteries.
Birds take advantage of a complicated physical phenomenon called “stall” when they land. When close to a perch, a bird tilts its wings back at a very sharp angle.
However, the wings of today’s airplanes work quite differently. Even when a plane is landing, its wings are never more than a few degrees away from level. Moreover, there is no sudden movement of the wings to stop the plane quickly. (ANI)
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Tags: airplanes, batteries, birds, discovery news, few degrees, foam glider, institute of technology, massachusetts institute of technology, massachusetts institute of technology mit, perches, physical phenomenon, planes, test plane, wings