EFFECT OF ELASTICITY IN THE BIRD-LIKE PRIMARY FEATHER WING ON THE FLIGHT STABILITY

摘要

Birds in nature are capable of flying stably even in a turbulent flow. The micro air vehicle (MAV), however, has a serious problem of susceptibility to air turbulence although its size and weight are similar to those of birds. The primary feather in a bird wing can be a reason for the advanced stability. In this research, focusing on the elasticity in the primary feather of natural birds, the wind tunnel test was conducted for the rigid and elastic primary feather wing models and the aerodynamic performance of them were compared. In consequence, it was clarified that no conspicuous difference of CL and CD characteristics was found between those models, but the elastic primary feather model had a larger slope of side force and rolling moment coefficients with respect to the side slip angle than the rigid primary feather model, thus indicating the large flight stability of elastic primary feather wing in the lateral direction.