Aeroflexible Aerodynamics
 

An intriguing and inspired natural mimicry from birds and feathers. Maybe separation concerns could be addressed by your own ubiquitous tufts/flexible flaps... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbk8zSRCytA[/url]

A longer presentation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp1HFrDlRVY[/url]

Interesting, though not a new idea something similar has been seen before I'll see if I can dig up a link.

You mean the Wright Brothers were on to something?;)

wing warping demonstrated by park ranger at Wright Brothers National Memorial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMDilr110XQ
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KMDilr110XQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Actually these fake feather things are the next step past the Wright Brothers.

I wonder what took us so long?:confused:

RC Model Version.

Wing Warp Electric RC Plane
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljRgzcvhE7M
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ljRgzcvhE7M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

A Warped Experiment
http://www.wright-brothers.org/Histo..._Pettigrew.jpg

I think that the some of the larger flapping wing RC models use the wing warping technique to fly and control the flight.

This extended vortex version as seen in the first video in this thread could be something new, I'm not sure though. Are they claiming it as something new?

NASA website is down because of the government shutdown. Maybe they will have something on this topic once that nonsense is over.

mimicry
 

If you'll go to PBS.ORG you should be able to watch 'Raptor Force' online.
They get into active wing warping.
The raptors can probably 'feel' the onset of stall trough their feathers follicles,and morph the wing and tail in real-time to compensate.They'd just feel it.
Testing and simulations will eventually create the lookup menus the flight control computer will use to keep the control surfaces in the sweet spot for any given flight scenario sensed by the pilots potentiometer and strain gauge inputs.

Gotta wonder why NASA decided to shut everything down, like they did. EPA's website simply has a little thingy at the top of their pages, stating that their website will not be updated as a result of the shutdown.

mimicry
 

I couldn't get the computer to accept my reply above,so I'll try here:
At PBS.Org you should be able to view NOVA's 'Raptor Force' online.
There's a segment in the wind tunnel where NASA is experimenting with wing morphing.

Fascinating video, but I have to say that birds are limited in the speed at which they can fly---With a few exception (like falcons), they do not travel past 100 miles per hour. Birds that do (again, falcons) have stiffer feathers on many of the wing surfaces.

Airplanes can and do, quite regularly, fly at high speed. The bird's wing is more efficient in many ways, and lots of small flaps (or feathers) will regulate its stability, but it seems likely to me that it wouldn't be as effective at high speed or might even be detrimental.

My "logic" is that if you coated the back surface of a car with flaps, they would create small vortices that would add up to a very large drag coefficient. Am I wrong?

vorticity
 

Vorticity is circulation and circulation costs more than laminar flow.So yes,it would be a penalty.Someone would have to finance a study to actually quantify the magnitude of the loss.
Gentoo penguins have been measured at Cd 0.07.If they were 'sanded down' and covered in a smooth painted automotive finish,they might measure Cd 0.04.

From the first video, it mostly looks like he has succeeded in reducing the amount of lift that the wings generate?

-soD

So ... birds use Coanda in order not to stall out.

At speed, the feathers would remain flush.
They lift as AoA increases, like a spoiler dumping lift, lowering AoA again before it gets out of hand (i.e. stalls out).