Shortly after human flight was invented we reached the moon. Yet human flight is not as sophisticated as bird or insect flight, it is much more inefficient, and we never reached other stars.
How do you mean? Human planes are faster and can transport freight better. They can even self-pilot with modern AI software. The biggest weaknesses would seem to be a lack of self-reproduction and self-repair, but those aren’t really part of flight.
How do you mean? Human planes are faster and can transport freight better.
Energy efficiency and maneuverability. I suppose a dragonfly would have been a better example. We never really went straight from no artificial flight towards generally superbird/insect flight. All we got are expert flight systems, no general flight systems. Even if we were handed the design for a perfect artificial dragonfly, minus the design for the flight of a dragonfly, we wouldn’t be able to build a dragonfly that can take over the world of dragonflies, all else equal, by means of superior flight characteristics.
Where are your figures for energy efficiency? (Recalling that the comparison should be for the same speed, or energy per kilogram transported for a kilometer given the optimal speed tradeoff).
A Harpy Eagle can lift more than three-quarters of its body weight while the Boeing 747 Large Cargo Freighter has a maximum take-off weight of almost double its operating empty weight. I suspect that insects can do better. But my whole point is that we never reached artificial flight that is strongly above the level of natural flight. An eagle can after all catch its cargo under various circumstances like the slope of a mountain or from under the surface of water, thanks to its superior maneuverability.
How do you mean? Human planes are faster and can transport freight better. They can even self-pilot with modern AI software. The biggest weaknesses would seem to be a lack of self-reproduction and self-repair, but those aren’t really part of flight.
Energy efficiency and maneuverability. I suppose a dragonfly would have been a better example. We never really went straight from no artificial flight towards generally superbird/insect flight. All we got are expert flight systems, no general flight systems. Even if we were handed the design for a perfect artificial dragonfly, minus the design for the flight of a dragonfly, we wouldn’t be able to build a dragonfly that can take over the world of dragonflies, all else equal, by means of superior flight characteristics.
Where are your figures for energy efficiency? (Recalling that the comparison should be for the same speed, or energy per kilogram transported for a kilometer given the optimal speed tradeoff).
A Harpy Eagle can lift more than three-quarters of its body weight while the Boeing 747 Large Cargo Freighter has a maximum take-off weight of almost double its operating empty weight. I suspect that insects can do better. But my whole point is that we never reached artificial flight that is strongly above the level of natural flight. An eagle can after all catch its cargo under various circumstances like the slope of a mountain or from under the surface of water, thanks to its superior maneuverability.