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The Silent Flight of Owls

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2016

R. R. Graham
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Extract

It is possible to trace, in the flying equipment of birds, feathered versions of many of the refinements that render the modern aeroplane more efficient than its predecessors. It would, therefore, be a mistake to ignore birds as a guide to possible future developments. One of the most interesting groups of birds is that which includes all the owls, for there is a possible connection between the manner in which their strikingly silent flight is achieved and the increasingly pressing problem of silencing airscrews.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 38 , Issue 286 , October 1934 , pp. 837 - 843
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1934

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References

page 837 note * There is one exception–the Nightjar, which, like the owls, flies by night, or at dusk. The development of the special modifications to its wings is less than in owls, but, for the purpose of this paper, the bird may be included among them.

page 841 note * The fact that the alula or bastard wing, which is nothing less than a slot, is situated in mid-wing, supports the view that the incidence is greatest there.