Learning About Energy Regeneration from Birds

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Phil Barnes has one of the most fascinating web sites on the Internet, combining his aerodynamic expertise and love of soaring birds with his radical approach to staying up perpetually (or until the pilot grows exhausted).  Albatross, birds he’s studied for decades, soar along the tops of ocean waves, seeking food for themselves and their broods, often traveling thousands of miles before setting down.  They have the advantage of bifurcated brains, able to stay awake in one hemisphere of the brain while the other hemisphere nods off, a trait they share with dolphins. Would it be possible for humans to tap the energy in the air to soar for indefinite periods?  Could truly fuel-free flight be a reality?  Phil is betting both sides of his brain on an affirmative answer to that. His presentation at this year’s Experimental Soaring Association Western Workshop in Tehachapi, California was more than an addendum to previous work in this area, but an expansion of …