True flight was achieved between 250,000,000 to 65,000,000 years ago by the pterosaurs (Greek for feather winged lizard). Although most scientists feel the larger pterosaurs may have used thermals to soar and glide, these giant reptiles are believed to be the first noninsect to develop flapping, sustained flight. While the most well-known of these flying dinosaurs is the Pterodactyl, the largest of the pterosaurs was the North American Quetzalcoatlus with a wingspan of 40 feet from tip to tip. That is as wide as some planes today.

True flight in the natural world of today is accomplished only by insects, birds, and bats. They are the only animals who are able to propel themselves through the air for a sustained period of time by flapping their wings. Although their wings and appearances are similar, their structures and flight characteristics are different.

Insects, the first creatures to develop wings, are the oldest known true flyers. They have been flying for about 350 million years.. There are more than 800,000 species of insects living in all parts of the world including in fresh water and in oceans. Thousands more are discovered every year.

Fossils show that early flying insects may have had six wings. Today, most have only two or four. Unlike bats or birds, whose wings are modified limbs, insect wings are separate structures attached to the middle part of the insect's body.

Because they are also the smallest of all flying animals, insects need less power than birds and bats to fly. Their tiny, but powerful, muscles allow most insects to twist and sway their wings in figure eights, thus enabling them to fly forward, hover, or even fly backwards.

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Insect Trivia:

A dragonfly flaps its two pairs of wings alternately, the front ones rising as the rear ones fall. Although bees' wings seem too small to enable flight, their rapid beats of over 100 times a second allow them to move forward, backward and up and down. A housefly can somersault in flight to land upside down on a ceiling.

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While insects are considered the most maneuverable of all flying creatures, birds are considered nature's perfect flying machines. Every part of a bird is adapted to flying. Their bodies are as streamlined as an airplane, enabling them to slip easily through the air. Their bones are strong, yet lightweight, because they contain many air sacs. The chest muscle, which operates the wings, is extremely large and powerful. Their wings are covered in tightly fitting feathers that trap air.

The feathers have a stiff, straight part running through them called a shaft. On both sides of the shaft are vanes composed of barbs which are held together by barbules. The bird's wings, with each of its feathers, are shaped much like an aircraft's wing--curved on top and flatter underneath. This allows both wings to achieve lift in the same way. Considered the earliest true bird, the archaeopteryx (Greek for ancient winged-one) lived about 150 million years ago. It had perfect flight feathers, but many scientists believe it may have only been able to glide or parachute from high branches. Today, birds are found in all sizes and shape live in all parts of the world. They have been studied by man for hundreds of years in an effort to learn how to fly.

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Bird Trivia:

Most birds fly at low altitudes below 300 feet and only a few dozen species fly higher than 3,000 feet.

A world altitude record of 37,000 feet was set by a Ruppell's vulture that collided with a commercial aircraft over the Ivory Coast.

The fastest flying creatures in level flight are ducks and geese, while the peregrine falcon is found to be the fastest when diving from great heights.

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Of the nearly 4,000 mammal species on earth, bats are the only mammals capable of powered flight. They have gone beyond the gliding and parachuting abilities of flying squirrels and lemurs. Having first appeared on Earth about 60 million years ago, there are now nearly 1,000 species living in all parts of the world except for most of the Arctic and all of Antarctica. The most diversity is found in South and Central America, while the most numbers are found in Africa. Forty-three different species are found in the United State alone.

Bats belong to the animal order chiroptera (Greek for hand-wing). Their wing structure is very different from that of birds and insects. A bat's wing is composed of a thin, fleshy membrane stretching from the elongated bones of the forearm to the bat's legs (and sometimes tail). The membrane is supported by elongated finger bones; hence, the name "hand-wing". This wing structure enables bats to move their wings much like we move our fingers. As they fly they can flip and turn quickly often using their wings independently of each other. Like insects, bats are expert acrobatic fliers. Similar to insects and birds, strong muscles provide powerful wing strokes that aid flight. Unlike insects and birds, many bats rely on echolocation to fly and hunt for food. Echolocation works like the radar or sonar in planes or ships. A bat sends out beeps through the air that hit an object and bounce back as echoes. The bat hears the echoes and its brain works out a sound picture of the object. It can tell if the object is prey or part of the landscape.

True flight in the natural world is achieved by the presence of wings. But wings, while making these animals similar, also make them unique. As hard as he tried, man could not imitate animal flight. It was his brain that eventually enabled him to fly.

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