Ship's Propulsion Using the Principle of Hovering Flight of a Small Insect

작은 곤충의 정지비행 원리를 이용한 배의 추진

A mechanism of hovering flight of small insects which is called the Weis-Fogh mechanism is applied to ship propulsion. A model of the propulsion mechanism is based on a two-dimensional model of the Weis-Fogh mechanism and consists of one or two wings in a square channel. A model ship equipped with this propulsion mechanism was made, and working tests were performed in a sea. The model ship sailed very smoothly and the moving speed of the wing was small compared with the advancing speed of the ship.