Prasad 1

Vinathi Prasad
Mrs. Seader
Science
May 3, 2011
Factors that Enable Birds To Fly

One of the most fascinating characteristics of many birds is their ability to fly. Many

people, including Leonardo da Vinci and the Wright Brothers, tried to mimic their flight and

enable the future generations to do so too. Although we have planes and jets, we still are unable

to fly as the birds do. The factors that enable birds to fly are thrust, weight, lift, drag, type of

wing, and bone structure.

Thrust, weight, lilft, and drag are the four forces that keep the birds in the air. Thrust and

drag oppose each other, and lift and weight oppose each other. Thrust is the force that pushes the

bird foreward. Drag is unwanted because it slows the bird down. To reduce drag, birds tuck their

feet into their bodies. Lift is proportional to the square velocity of the bird, so when it speeds up,

the lift is greater. As the bird moves foreward, the weight decreases and the lift increases until

they are equal, so then the bird can fly.