University of Virginia Library

Supporting Area of Birds.

One of the things which all producing aviators seek to copy is the motive power of birds, particularly in their relation to the area of support. Close investigation has established the fact that the larger the bird the less is the relative area of support required to secure a given result. This is shown in the following table:

     

Bird	Weight in lbs.	Surface in sq. feet	Horse power	Supporting area per lb.
Pigeon	1.00	0.7	0.012	0.7
Wild Goose	9.00	2.65	0.026	0.2833
Buzzard	5.00	5.03	0.015	1.06
Condor	17.00	9.85	0.043	0.57

So far as known the condor is the largest of modern birds. It has a wing stretch of 10 feet from tip to tip, a supporting area of about 10 square feet, and weighs 17 pounds. It. is capable of exerting perhaps 1-30 horsepower. (These figures are, of course, approximate.) Comparing the condor with the buzzard with a wing stretch of 6 feet, supporting area of 5 square feet, and a little over 1-100 horsepower, it may be seen that, broadly speaking, the larger the bird the less surface area (relatively) is needed for its support in the air.