Characterization and analysis of the flight dynamics of fruit flies

Abstract

For centuries, the human race has been perplexed by the various complex physical manifestations in nature. Much of what we have seen in nature we have tried to recreate, from the migration tendencies and routes of sea creatures to the flight of birds and insects. The flight of the fly, in particular, is of interest because of their natural stabilization techniques. The works of two scientists, Steven Vogel and Michael Dickinson, were researched in order to find out how the flight dynamics of the fly worked. It was found that the fast horizontal wing beating of the fly as well as the body angle of the fly helped to generate lift and thrust within the fly. Equilibrium was achieved due to the haltere of the fly, a small stubby organ behind the forewing which detected Coriolis forces at the base of the wing and created counter-rotations. Both scientists used work done by earlier scientist J.W. Pringle, who modeled the haltere as a mass-dashpot-spring system using dynamics in order to analyze the oscillatory motion and how it affects flight. The research done by all three scientists can serve to one day be able to produce micro aerial vehicles, using the flight dynamics of the fly as the basis of the flight of these vehicles.