STOP! Answer These Questions Three! What.... Is Your Name???

1, What.... is your user name?

2, What.... does it mean?


Oh yes and question 3..... What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Hello Docking Bridge Keeper!

My User Name is General Kahn!

I've gone by the user name General Kahn for some time now, in short, I've always loved the military rank General, just sounds cool, I name most special things I own, like my guitars and stuff, and the first of everything I own becomes The General, my first guitar, my first rifle etc. etc. all called The General, so when I first signed up to the forums it seemed the logical choice, I had also used the name previously in several video role play games so I just stuck with it. The Kahn part is just because it sounds bad ass, I've always associated the name with evil people for two main reasons, Kahn from Star Trek II, When he puts that worm thing in Chekov's ear, that scene haunted as a kid and I thought you evil bastard! Also, I kind of always liked Kobra Kahn in He-Man
So, that's my name and what it's all about  

Oh..... and question 3? It depends whether your referring to an African or European swallow?  

Captain Antilles wrote:
1, What.... is your user name?

My username, for those hard of sight and unable to see the name next to my avatar, is Ian_C.  

Captain Antilles wrote:2, What.... does it mean?

In ancient times, Ian_C was at different times synonymous with "ruler of the lands", "the sex god", and of course "unearthly intelligence".  While only loosely associated with those definitions in modern times, it is now most commonly associated with extreme jackassery, and the inability to know the difference between being honest and being a dick.  

Captain Antilles wrote:Oh yes and question 3..... What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Is this a trick question?  I'm not quite sure anyone has devised a test to measure the rate at which an unencumbered load gets swallowed........oh, sorry.  Wrong site.

Maybe this will have to suffice.

To begin with, I needed basic kinematic data on African and European swallow species.

Although 47 of the 74 worldwide swallow species are found in Africa,1 only two species are named after the continent: the West African Swallow (Hirundo domicella) and the South African Swallow (Hirundo spilodera), also known as the South African Cave Swallow.

Since the range of the South African Swallow extends only as far north as Zaire,2 I felt fairly confident that this was the non-migratory African species referred to in previous discussions of the comparative and cooperative weight-bearing capabilities of African and European swallows.3

Kinematic data for both African species was difficult to find, but the Barn or European Swallow (Hirundo rustica) has been studied intensively, and kinematic data for that species was readily available.

A 54-year survey of 26,285 European Swallows captured and released by the Avian Demography Unit of the University of Capetown finds that the average adult European swallow has a wing length of 12.2 cm and a body mass of 20.3 grams.4

Because wing beat frequency and wing amplitude both scale with body mass,5 and flight kinematic data is available for at least 22 other bird species,6 it should be possible to estimate the frequency (f ) and amplitude (A) of the European Swallow by a comparison with similar species. With those two numbers, it will be possible to estimate airspeed (U).

In order to maintain airspeed velocity, a swallow needs to beat its wings forty-three times every second, right?

Actually, wrong. By comparing the European Swallow with bird species of similar body mass, we can estimate that the swallow beats its wings 18 times a second with an amplitude of 18 cm:

Species Body mass Frequency Amplitude
Zebra Finch 13 g 27 Hz 11 cm
European Swallow 20 g ≈ 18 Hz? ≈ 18 cm?
Downy Woodpecker 27 g 14 Hz 29 cm
Budgerigar 34 g 14 Hz 15 cm


Note that even the tiny Zebra Finch flaps its wings no more than 27 times a second while cruising.

If we ignore body mass and look only at bird species with a similar wingspan, we can estimate an average frequency of 14 beats per second and an amplitude of 23 cm:

Species Wingspan Frequency Amplitude
Budgerigar 27 cm 14 Hz 15 cm
European Swallow ≈ 28–30 cm ≈ 14 Hz? ≈ 23 cm?
Downy Woodpecker 31 cm 14 Hz 29 cm
European Starling 35 cm 14 Hz 26 cm


By averaging all 6 values, we can estimate that an average European Swallow flies at cruising speed with a frequency of roughly 15 beats per second, and an amplitude of roughly 22 cm.

An article on The Strouhal Number in Cruising Flight showed how simplified flight waveforms that graph amplitude versus wavelength can be useful for visualizing the Strouhal ratio (fA/U), a dimensionless parameter that tends to fall in the range of 0.2–0.4 during efficient cruising flight.

For a European Swallow flying with our estimated wingbeat amplitude of 24 cm, the predicted pattern of cruising flight ranges from a Strouhal number (St) of 0.2:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

... to a less efficient 0.4:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

If the first diagram (St = 0.2) is accurate, then the cruising speed of the European Swallow would be roughly 16 meters per second (15 beats per second * 1.1 meters per beat). If the second diagram (St = 0.4) is accurate, then the cruising speed of the European Swallow would be closer to 8 meters per second (15 beats per second * 0.55 meters per beat).

If we settle on an intermediate Strouhal value of 0.3:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

We can estimate the airspeed of the European Swallow to be roughly 11 meters per second (15 beats per second * 0.73 meters per beat).

Airspeed can also be predicted using a published formula. By inverting this midpoint Strouhal ratio of 0.3 (fA/U ≈ 0.3), Graham K. Taylor et al. show that as a rule of thumb, the speed of a flying animal is roughly 3 times frequency times amplitude (U ≈ 3fA).5

We now need only plug in the numbers:

   U ≈ 3fA
   f ≈ 15 (beats per second)
   A ≈ 0.22 (meters per beat)
   U ≈ 3*15*0.22 ≈ 9.9

... to estimate that the airspeed velocity of an unladen European Swallow is 10 meters per second.


With some further study, it became clear that these estimates are accurate, though perhaps coincidental.

An actual study of two European Swallows flying in a low-turbulence wind tunnel in Lund, Sweden, shows that swallows flap their wings much slower than my estimate, at only 7–9 beats per second:

   “Compared with other species of similar size, the swallow has quite low wingbeat frequency and relatively long wings.” 7

The maximum speed the birds could maintain was 13–14 meters per second, and although the Lund study does not discuss cruising flight in particular, the most efficient flapping (7 beats per second) occurred at an airspeed in the range of 8–11 meters per second, with an amplitude of 90–100° (17–19 cm).

Averaging the above numbers and plugging them in to the Strouhal equation for cruising flight (fA/U = 7 beats per second * 0.18 meters per beat / 9.5 meters per second) yields a Strouhal number of roughly 0.13:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

... indicating a surprisingly efficient flight pattern falling well below the expected range of 0.2–0.4.

Although a definitive answer would of course require further measurements, published species-wide averages of wing length and body mass, initial Strouhal estimates based on those averages and cross-species comparisons, the Lund wind tunnel study of birds flying at a range of speeds, and revised Strouhal numbers based on that study all lead me to estimate that the average cruising airspeed velocity of an unladen European Swallow is roughly 11 meters per second, or 24 miles an hour.



Ian

For me that is quite easy

1. Stinger
2. it is the Englich translation for my German Surename
3. I will measure the time when I do some speed tests

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

You are the King!!! I guess you have to know these things

I'm going to refrain from answering questions 1 & 2 as I prefer to remain somewhat of an enigma

With regards to question 3, I believe that Ian's brief answer sums it all up very nicely

1.Aussie Fortuna aka Tony
2. Im an Aussie that likes catching tuna
3. 1 swallow doesnt make a summer.

AussieFortuna wrote: 1 swallow doesnt make a summer.

One swallow doesn't make a good date.

Ian

PS. Obviously, my swallow answer above was a cut and paste job. I wanted to be a smartass and see if google had a quick answer, and saw that crazy long explanation. I can't take credit for it, lol.

1. Akial aka Dirk
2. Akial was a Jawa who became a Jedi. As I like Jawas, I thought it is a cool Avatar.
3. fast

1, Dr Ball MD

2. This [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

3. What Ian said.

Dr_Ball_MD wrote:

2. This [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

That is awesome. Now I get the reference.

Robot Chicken Star Wars shorts were the best.

Ian

I'm going to 2 part this. Well one of the answers anyway.

1. Paul Armory previously Galactic Armory

2a. I can thank my Bride for this. Galactic Armory came about when I started SW interacting socially on the web. I had kind of a little work shop where I had plenty of ships. Dirty with years of finger dirt, grime, nicotine and who knows what else  and non working. Well I would detail the ships and get them working if possible; basically restoration in a sense. I would attempt to fix broken wings or legs. My wife would come down stairs, have no where to walk while carrying a laundry basket, and get pissed at me   One day she says "your going to have to move those dam toys and boxes out of the way down in your Armory" and the name stuck. She saw it as if I were working on weapons  The Galactic part stems from SW of course in a galaxy far, far away.

2b. I dropped the Galactic due to Facebook. Either 1. my name was reported or 2. Facebook mods themselves took notice  . I had to then prove to Facebook I was a human (which isn't true) so I simply changed the Galactic to my given name of Paul and kept the Armory for screen name purposes.

3. I have absolutely no idea at all but will search the ends of the earth to locate the answer 

1 - Commander Clint
2 - Just tried to come up with something interesting, while also trying to incorporate my name.  Just makes it easier for everyone to call me by my real name.
3 - Are we talking about the air speed in the icy cold air of Canada, or the tropical paradise like of NorthYorkshire?

1-My username is Arohk
2-It is taken from a game called Drakan the dragon in the gan
me is called argkh or pronounced ar-ohk. As I am a huge dragon lover it seemed fitting.
3- The speed velocity of an unladen Swallow is 1,915 km/h, he was stuck to the nose of an F-18

1. cantina_patron.

2. The cantina scene has always been one of my favourites & I wanted a name that reflected this.

3. I don't know the maximum speed of an unlaiden swallow, but they can certainly have a very short stopping distance (especially when they fly into a window ).

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

1. Mosh has been both my surname since I was around 14 years old and online since around 2005.
2. It derived from my original name being mutated during elementary school by my friends. Said mutation involved my thick-glassed eyeglasses, flies and had nothing to do with moshing, which I have never executed. I started signing my drawings under that surname and eventually it stuck. Now it has become my real name.
3. Swallows' ability to fly has been proven to be a myth.

Great story Mosh

Although I have to admit that I was hoping you were a Metal Moshing Fanatic

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

My greatest related feat was just stage-diving in a Bang Tango concert at the Marquee Club but that was it : D

Hello Docking Bridge Keeper!

What is your Name?
My User Name is TheGent!

What does it mean?
As in Goodfellas, DeNiro plays James Burke aka Jimmy Burke aka Jimmy 'The Gent' Burke. Had that Alias since first days of internet forums, before that (mail adresses etc) it was Sergio like Sergio Aragonez (vintage MAD readers will know!)

Oh..... and question 3? I don't think she'd swallow, I think that's naughty!

the89thchris

I have anecdotally heard that there are a disproportionally large number of people named Chris that are preoccupied with collecting vintage Kenner Star Wars.

11 meters per second.

Welcome aboard Chris

Chris. Nice to see another local Canuck on board.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thanks. I've been listening to some of the relevant podcasts and I got the impression that some of the other forums aren't quite as active anymore. Not sure on the actual numbers though. Are most of you are on the other forums as well?

to TXI Chris. I hope you are enjoying the site.