Gliding On a Cushion of Air
by Russ Harris
Title
Gliding On a Cushion of Air
Artist
Russ Harris
Medium
Digital Art - Oil On Canvas Painting
Description
Brown pelicans are large birds, with wingspans of over seven feet, tip to tip, and weighing in at 10 lbs. To any animal, efficiency of movement has physiological value. Flying more efficiently saves energy, thus requiring less food and less time feeding.
In fact, brown pelicans fly close to the water, to take advantage of a concept of physics called the ground effect, or sometimes compression gliding.
Ground effect comes into play when the bird is within its full wingspan of the surface of the water. As the bird nears the surface, the efficiency increases. It has everything to do with the relative length of the wings, and it is commonly seen in high aspect ratio winged birds like the brown pelican.
Uploaded
March 12th, 2022
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