Birds have long been nature’s masters of flight. Their ability to glide, dive, and twist through the air with ease has ...

Research suggests that free-moving panels on aircraft wings can improve stability, reduce turbulence, and add fuel efficiency ...

Birds have long been our inspiration for flight, and researchers at Princeton University have found a new trick in their arsenal: covert feathers. These small feathers on top of birds’ wings lay ...

Postdoctoral researcher Girguis O. Sedky sitting inside of the wind tunnel, showing the covert feather-inspired flaps attached to the 3D-printed model airplane wing. The flaps deploy automatically ...

Unlike the larger contour and flight feathers that streamline a bird’s body, these covert feathers are smaller, softer, and arranged in layers, like overlapping shingles on a roof. They tend to ...