Detect. Lock on. Intercept. The remarkable hunting ability of the robber fly
A tiny fly, the size of a rice grain, might be the Top Gun of the fly world, with a remarkable ability to detect and intercept its prey mid-air, changing direction mid-flight if necessary before sweeping round for the kill.
When it sees a potential prey, the fly launches itself upwards while maintaining a ‘constant bearing angle’ – in other words, it moves in a direction such that while moving closer and closer to its prey, it still maintains the same relative bearing. This ensures it will intercept its prey.
Once the fly is around 29 cm away from its prey – though exactly how it judges this distance is still unclear – the fly displays a remarkable strategy never before observed in a flying animal. It ‘locks-on’ to its prey while changing its own trajectory, enabling it to sweep round, slow down and come alongside the prey to make its final attack.
Images 1-2: Sam Fabian; small robber fly Holcocephala, waiting patiently on a stick until an unsuspecting prey is detected with the help of those highly specialized eyes. Image 3: Sam Fabian; Unlucky fruit fly did not escape the keen eyes and aerial virtuosity of Holcocephala, who now sits on a stick consuming its prize. Image 4: Sam Fabian, with assistance for processing by the CAIC centre; scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of the three predatory dipterans
A little bit from a commission I worked on earlier this year illustrating the dare-devil antics of Edith Maude Jones for the RAF Museum. Needless to say it was a total treat to not only do but read up on what Jones got up to (mostly throwing herself from crazy-high altitude balloons)
This is the shadow of Ingenuity, the test helicopter carried by NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover, during its first ever powered flight this morning. The helicopter did a quick test hover and landed successfully afterwards.
A Bristol-based startup, UK, has recently revealed footage of its electric aircraft prototype, which is capable of carrying loads up to 250kg. According to the company, Vertical Aerospace, the electrical vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) is the first electrical aircraft in the world to carry such weight.
With the aim of contributing to the decarbonisation of the commercial aviation industry, the company created the prototype with new technologies from Formula 1 to provide city-to-city passenger transport. Named Seraph, the air taxi prototype completed its first flight at Llandbedr Airfield, Wales, on 22 August.
‘Today is another major milestone on the path towards carbon free flight. One year ago, we flew a full-scale electric VTOL aircraft, the UK’s first,’ said Vertical Aerospace Founder and CEO, Stephen Fitzpatrick.
‘We are revealing flight footage of our second full scale prototype, the Seraph, an air taxi prototype capable of carrying 250kg. Air travel is one of the worst contributors to climate change and among the slowest sectors to decarbonise. Our mission at Vertical Aerospace is to make personal, on demand and carbon free flight a reality.’
Carrying loads of up to 250kg, the aircraft can also reach speeds of up to 80km per hour. The Seraph also features a passive cooling system and a customisable design, which means it can be made larger or smaller with wheels or floats to facilitate water landings. The prototype is testing new technologies in order to integrate into the upcoming passenger model, expected to be unveiled next year.
The company is integrating technologies and agile processes from F1 to develop the aircraft including best practice in building fast, lightweight composite structures.
‘We have long believed that the technologies and approaches from Formula 1 could be applied to a range of engineering challenges,’ said Vertical Advanced Engineering CTO, Mike Gascoyne. ‘Vertical Aerospace’s vision provides a fantastic outlet for our experience and a unique opportunity to shape the future of flight.’
