Edit history

It's not clear what the terms in the equation denote.

Am I correct to establish from the Calculations spreadsheet and Burgers & Chiappe (1999) that:

Cl is the lift coefficient (taken as 1)

f the flapping frequency

Amp the amplitude of a flap

U the ground speed of the running animal (?)

S the wing area

It's not clear whether p corresponds to the "average factor that considers lift being generated only during the downstroke (0.5)", or whether it represents air density (ρ); presumably this is given as the constant 1.23 in the spreadsheet.

by Martin Smith ·
Definition of terms used in equation

It's not clear what the terms in the equation denote.

Am I correct to establish from the Calculations spreadsheet and Burgers & Chiappe (1999) that:

Cl is the lift coefficient (taken as 1)

f the flapping frequency

Amp the amplitude of a flap

U the ground speed of the running animal (?)

SS the wing area

It's not clear whether p_ corresponds to the "average factor that considers lift being generated only during the downstroke (0.5)", or whether it represents air density (ρ); presumably this is given as the constant 1.23 in the spreadsheet.

by Martin Smith ·