THE AIRSPEED VELOCITY OF AN UNLADEN SWALLOW
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James Joyner | Monday, November 24, 2003 |
Jonathan Corum has undertaken to answer this age-old question. The short answer:
Although a definitive answer would of course require further measurements, published species-wide averages of wing length and body mass, initial Strouhal estimates based on those averages and cross-species comparisons, the Lund wind tunnel study of birds flying at a range of speeds, and revised Strouhal numbers based on that study all lead me to estimate that the average cruising airspeed velocity of an unladen European Swallow is roughly 11 meters per second, or 24 miles an hour.
Read the post for the actual calculations.
(Hat tip: Max Jacobs)
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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Comments
Okay, call me thick, but why didn't they just use a radar gun on a few birds and take the average? Seems much faster and simpler.
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Posted by Meryl Yourish | November 24, 2003 | 06:53 pm | Permalink
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