Unsteady lift mechanisms and energetic in flying insects

Recently, the interest has been developed in small autonomous flying vehicles. There are such like autonomous MAVs (micro-air vehicles) in nature: the insects. In the design of small flying machines, it is very helpful to understand first how these small animals fly. The achievements of the last decade in the field of insect flight aerodynamics are reviewed. The kinematics of the flapping motion of insects is summarized. The issues related to the unsteady lift mechanisms of flapping wings of the fruit fly and similar insects are presented. The power requirements of hovering and forward flight are discussed. Recent works on the insects that have two pairs of wings are discussed.