The aerodynamics of gliding flight and its application to the arboreal flight of the Chinese feathered dinosaurMicroraptor

Abstract

The evolution of avian flight is contentious and while it is now well established that modern birds are descended from theropod dinosaurs and that the presence of feathers predates the ability to fly, the process of transition from feathered, ground based dinosaurs to their feathered, flight capable descendants is less clear. While the evolutionary and behavioural aspects have been considered in detail, much less attention has been paid to the morphologies required to sustain flight, even in the simple case of gliding flight – the likely locomotory mode of the Chinese feathered dinosaur, Microraptor. Basic aerodynamic principles are used to define the minimum requirements for flight in terms of the necessary flight surfaces and flight stability. The results are applied to the interpretation of wind tunnel tests on a full scale model of the Chinese feathered dinosaur, Microraptor and show that complex aerodynamic surfaces offer no clear advantages for gliding flight in an arboreal environment. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 113, 828–835.