This work is a synthesis of our current understanding of the mechanics, aerodynamics and
visually mediated control of dragonfly and damselfly flight, with the addition of new …

Powered flight was once a capability limited only to animals, but by identifying useful
attributes of animal flight and building on these with technological advances, engineers …

Free forward flight of cicadas is investigated through high-speed photogrammetry, three-
dimensional surface reconstruction and computational fluid dynamics simulations. We report …

Here we review recent contributions to the study of insect flight, in particular those brought
about by advances in experimental techniques. We focus particularly on the following areas …

Slow flight is extremely energetically costly per unit time, yet highly important for takeoff and
survival. However, at slow speeds it is presently thought that most birds do not produce …

Highlights•The principal aerodynamic mechanisms in insect flight are reasonably well-
described.•Aeroelastic deformations of non-linearly compliant wings are less well …

Many flying animals use both flapping and gliding flight as part of their routine behaviour.
These two kinematic patterns impose conflicting requirements on wing design for …

Slow and hovering animal flight creates high demands on the lift production of animal wings.
Steady state aerodynamics is unable to explain the forces required and the most commonly …

There are three common methods for calculating the lift generated by a flying animal based
on the measured airflow in the wake. However, these methods might not be accurate …

Particle image velocimetry has been the preferred experimental technique with which to
study the aerodynamics of animal flight for over a decade. In that time, hardware has …