Formation Flight
Migratory birds take advantage of each others' wingtip vortices by flying in a V formation so that all but the leader are flying in the upwash from the wing of the bird ahead. This upwash makes it easier for the bird to support its own weight, reducing fatigue on migration flights.
Read more about this topic: Smoke Angel
Famous quotes containing the words formation and/or flight:
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Its shrill scream seems yet to linger in its throat, and the roar of the sea in its wings. There is the tyranny of Jove in its claws, and his wrath in the erectile feathers of the head and neck. It reminds me of the Argonautic expedition, and would inspire the dullest to take flight over Parnassus.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)