What is the fastest flying animal?
Fastest animals
The fastest land animal is the cheetah, which has a recorded speed of . The peregrine falcon is the fastest bird and the fastest member of the animal kingdom with a diving speed of . The fastest animal in the sea is the black marlin, which has a recorded speed of .
Tyrannosauridae
Jack Horner and Don Lessem argued in 1993 that "Tyrannosaurus" was slow and probably could not run (no airborne phase in mid-stride). However, Holtz (1998) concluded that tyrannosaurids and their close relatives were the fastest large theropods. Christiansen (1998) estimated that the leg bones of "Tyrannosaurus" were not significantly stronger than those of elephants, which are relatively limited in their top speed and never actually run (there is no airborne phase), and hence proposed that the dinosaur's maximum speed would have been about , which is about the speed of a human sprinter. Farlow and colleagues (1995) have argued that a 6-8 ton "Tyrannosaurus" would have been critically or even fatally injured if it had fallen while moving quickly, since its torso would have slammed into the ground at a deceleration of 6 "g" (six times the acceleration due to gravity, or about 60 meters/s²) and its tiny arms could not have reduced the impact. However, giraffes have been known to gallop at 50 km/h (31 mph), despite the risk that they might break a leg or worse, which can be fatal even in a "safe" environment such as a zoo. Thus it is quite possible that "Tyrannosaurus" also moved fast when necessary and had to accept such risks; this scenario has been studied for "Allosaurus" too. Most recent research on "Tyrannosaurus" locomotion does not narrow down speeds further than a range from , i.e. from walking or slow running to moderate-speed running. A computer model study in 2007 estimated running speeds, based on data taken directly from fossils, and claimed that "T. rex" had a top running speed of . (probably a juvenile individual).
List of birds of Burkina Faso
The ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa. It is the largest living species of bird. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds.Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae
Time Traveler (roller coaster)
When the ride opened in 2018, it became the fastest and tallest full circuit spinning roller coaster. Although not a full circuit spinning roller coaster, Big Air located at E-DA Theme Park would be the fastest and tallest spinning roller coaster. In addition, the ride became the first spinning roller coaster in the world to have three inversions, taking the place of Gekion Live Coaster located at Tokyo Joypolis that has one inversion.
List of birds of Zambia
The ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa. It is the largest living species of bird. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds.Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae
Bald eagle
The bald eagle is a powerful flier, and soars on thermal convection currents. It reaches speeds of when gliding and flapping, and about while carrying fish. Its dive speed is between , though it seldom dives vertically. Regarding their flying abilities, despite being morphologically less well adapted to faster flight than golden eagles (especially during dives), the bald eagle is considered surprisingly maneuverable in flight, bounty hunters shooting from helicopters opined that they were far more difficult to hunt while flying than golden eagles as they would turn, double back or dive as soon as approached. Bald eagles have also been recorded catching up to and then swooping under geese in flight, turning over and thrusting their talons into the other bird's breast. It is partially migratory, depending on location. If its territory has access to open water, it remains there year-round, but if the body of water freezes during the winter, making it impossible to obtain food, it migrates to the south or to the coast. A number of populations are subject to post-breeding dispersal, mainly in juveniles; Florida eagles, for example, will disperse northwards in the summer. The bald eagle selects migration routes which take advantage of thermals, updrafts, and food resources. During migration, it may ascend in a thermal and then glide down, or may ascend in updrafts created by the wind against a cliff or other terrain. Migration generally takes place during the daytime, usually between the local hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., when thermals are produced by the sun.
Animal locomotion
Some semi-aquatic birds use terrestrial locomotion, surface swimming, underwater swimming and flying (e.g., ducks, swans). Diving birds also use diving locomotion (e.g., dippers, aulks). Some birds (e.g., ratites) have lost the primary locomotion of flight. The largest of these, ostriches, when being pursued by a predator, have been known to reach speeds over , and can maintain a steady speed of , which makes the ostrich the world's fastest two-legged animal: Ostriches can also locomote by swimming. Penguins either waddle on their feet or slide on their bellies across the snow, a movement called "tobogganing", which conserves energy while moving quickly. They also jump with both feet together if they want to move more quickly or cross steep or rocky terrain. To get onto land, penguins sometimes propel themselves upwards at a great speed to leap out the water.
Wingsuit flying
On 22 May 2017, British wingsuit pilot Fraser Corsan set world records for the fastest speed reached in a wingsuit of .
Kori bustard
The kori bustard ("Ardeotis kori") is the largest flying bird native to Africa. It is a member of the bustard family, which all belong to the order Otidiformes and are restricted in distribution to the Old World. It is one of the four species (ranging from Africa to India to Australia) in the large-bodied genus "Ardeotis". In fact, the male kori bustard may be the heaviest living animal capable of flight.
Hummingbird
With the exception of insects, hummingbirds while in flight have the highest metabolism of all animals – a necessity to support the rapid beating of their wings during hovering and fast forward flight. Their heart rate can reach as high as 1,260 beats per minute, a rate once measured in a blue-throated hummingbird, with a breathing rate of 250 breaths per minute, even at rest. During flight, oxygen consumption per gram of muscle tissue in a hummingbird is about 10 times higher than that measured in elite human athletes.
Common ostrich
With their acute eyesight and hearing, common ostriches can sense predators such as lions from far away. When being pursued by a predator, they have been known to reach speeds in excess of , and can maintain a steady speed of , which makes the common ostrich the world's fastest two-legged animal. When lying down and hiding from predators, the birds lay their heads and necks flat on the ground, making them appear like a mound of earth from a distance, aided by the heat haze in their hot, dry habitat.
Fly
Flies have rapid reflexes that aid their escape from predators but their sustained flight speeds are low. Dolichopodid flies in the genus "Condylostylus" respond in less than 5 milliseconds to camera flashes by taking flight. In the past, the deer bot fly, "Cephenemyia", was claimed to be one of the fastest insects on the basis of an estimate made visually by Charles Townsend in 1927. This claim, of speeds of 600 to 800 miles per hour, was regularly repeated until Irving Langmuir showed it to be physically impossible as well as incorrect. Langmuir suggested an estimated speed of 25 miles per hour.
List of birds of Mali
The ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa. It is the largest living species of bird. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds.Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae
List of birds of Tunisia
The ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa. It is the largest living species of bird. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds.Order: GaviiformesFamily: Gaviidae
Flying and gliding animals
Pterosaurs were the next to evolve flight, approximately 228 million years ago. These reptiles were close relatives of the dinosaurs (and sometimes mistakenly considered dinosaurs by laymen), and reached enormous sizes, with some of the last forms being the largest flying animals ever to inhabit the Earth, having wingspans of over 9.1 m (30 ft). However, they spanned a large range of sizes, down to a 250 mm (10 in) wingspan in "Nemicolopterus".
Bat flight
Bats that consume insects by hawking (aerial pursuit and capture) must be able to travel at fast speeds, and must employ a high level of maneuverability. Morphological adaptations that favor this style of flight include high wing loading, long and pointed wingtips, and wings with high aspect ratios. The bat family Molossidae is considered highly specialized at hawking, with unusually high aspect ratios and wing loading. These traits make them capable of incredibly-fast speeds. Mexican free-tailed bats are thought to be the fastest animal on earth, capable of horizontal flight speeds over a level surface up to 160 km/hr (99 mph).
List of birds of Angola
The ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa. It is the largest living species of bird. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds.Order: SphenisciformesFamily: Spheniscidae
Insect
Cockroaches are among the fastest insect runners and, at full speed, adopt a bipedal run to reach a high velocity in proportion to their body size. As cockroaches move very quickly, they need to be video recorded at several hundred frames per second to reveal their gait. More sedate locomotion is seen in the stick insects or walking sticks (Phasmatodea). A few insects have evolved to walk on the surface of the water, especially members of the Gerridae family, commonly known as water striders. A few species of ocean-skaters in the genus "Halobates" even live on the surface of open oceans, a habitat that has few insect species.
List of birds of Niger
The ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa. It is the largest living species of bird. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds.Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae
Costa Rica
Over 840 species of birds have been identified in Costa Rica. As is the case in much of Central America, the avian species in Costa Rica are a mix of North and South American species. The country's abundant fruit trees, many of which bear fruit year round, are hugely important to the birds, some of whom survive on diets that consist only of one or two types of fruit. Some of the country's most notable avian species include the resplendent quetzal, scarlet macaw, three-wattled bellbird, bare-necked umbrellabird, and the keel-billed toucan. The Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad is allowed to collect royalties on any biological discoveries of medical importance. Costa Rica is a center of biological diversity for reptiles and amphibians, including the world's fastest running lizard, the spiny-tailed iguana ("Ctenosaura similis").
Fastest propeller-driven aircraft
The more "traditional" class of propeller-driven aircraft are those powered by piston engines, which include nearly all aircraft from the Wright brothers up through World War II. Today piston engines are used almost exclusively on light, general aviation aircraft. The official speed record for a piston plane wass held by a modified Grumman F8F Bearcat, the "Rare Bear", with a speed of on 21 August 1989 at Las Vegas, New Mexico, United States of America. This record was retired as a new weight class based system was introduced to allow more pilots to set new records across a wider range of aircraft. On september 2, 2017, Steve Hinton Jr, in the modified P-51 Mustang "Voodoo" set the new record of in the C-1e class (the same weight class Rare Bear would fall into). This record is also the fastest for any propeller driven piston aircraft.
Animals in space
Monkeys Able and Baker became the first monkeys to survive spaceflight after their 1959 flight. On 28 May 1959, aboard Jupiter IRBM AM-18, were a 7-pound (3.18 kg) American-born rhesus monkey, Able, from Independence, Kansas, and an 11-ounce (310-gram) squirrel monkey from Peru, Baker. The monkeys rode in the nose cone of the missile to an altitude of 360 miles (579 km) and a distance of 1,700 miles (2,735 km) down the Atlantic Missile Range from Cape Canaveral, Florida. They withstood forces 38 times the normal pull of gravity and were weightless for about 9 minutes. A top speed of 10,000 mph (16,000 km/h) was reached during their 16-minute flight. The monkeys survived the flight in good condition. Able died four days after the flight from a reaction to anesthesia, while undergoing surgery to remove an infected medical electrode. Baker was the center of media attention for the next several months as she was watched closely for any ill-effects from her space flight. She was even mated in an attempt to test her reproductive system. Baker lived until 29 November 1984, at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Red-breasted merganser
The fastest duck ever recorded was a red-breasted merganser that attained a top airspeed of 100 mph while being pursued by an airplane. This eclipsed the previous speed record held by a canvasback clocked at 72 mph.
Red and white giant flying squirrel
The red and white giant flying squirrel ("Petaurista alborufus") is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is the largest species of giant squirrel and has blue eyes.
It is also known as the Chinese giant flying squirrel. At over a meter long including its tail, the red and white giant flying squirrel is the largest of its kind. Endemic to central and southern China and Taiwan, they inhabit dense hillside forests in mountainous terrain. They spend their days sleeping, emerging after sundown to forage in the trees. Their diet consists primarily of nuts and fruits, but also includes leafy vegetation as well as some insects and their larvae. Red and white giants move between trees by gliding, typically over distances of about 10–20 meters. This squirrel has a wide range and is relatively common, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as being of "least concern".
List of birds of Morocco
The ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa. It is the largest living species of bird. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds. It was extirpated from Morocco some time before 1990 (Snow & Perrins 1998); a re-introduction programme for the North African ostrich is in progress (National Environment Observatory of Morocco 2001).Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anatidae
Animal locomotion
Gravity is the primary obstacle to flight. Because it is impossible for any organism to have a density as low as that of air, flying animals must generate enough lift to ascend and remain airborne. One way to achieve this is with wings, which when moved through the air generate an upward lift force on the animal's body. Flying animals must be very light to achieve flight, the largest living flying animals being birds of around 20 kilograms. Other structural adaptations of flying animals include reduced and redistributed body weight, fusiform shape and powerful flight muscles; there may also be physiological adaptations. Active flight has independently evolved at least four times, in the insects, pterosaurs, birds, and bats. Insects were the first taxon to evolve flight, approximately 400 million years ago (mya), followed by pterosaurs approximately 220 mya, birds approximately 160 mya, then bats about 60 mya.
Fastest propeller-driven aircraft
A number of aircraft have been claimed to be the fastest propeller-driven aircraft. This article presents the current record holders for several sub-classes of propeller-driven aircraft that hold recognized, documented speed records in level flight. Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) records are the basis for this article. Other contenders and their claims are discussed, but only those made under controlled conditions and measured by outside observers. Pilots during World War II sometimes claimed to have reached supersonic speeds in propeller-driven fighters during emergency dives, but these speeds are not included as accepted records. Neither are speeds recorded in a dive during high-speed tests with the Supermarine Spitfire, including Squadron Leader J.R. Tobin's 606mph (975 km/h, Mach 0.89) in a 45° dive in a Mark XI Spitfire (date unknown) and Squadron Leader Anthony F. Martindale's breaking 620mph (998 km/h, Mach 0.92) in the same aircraft in April 1944. Flight Lieutenant Edward Powles' 690 mph (1110 km/h, Mach 0.96) in Spitfire PR.XIX PS852 during an emergency dive while carrying out spying flights over China on 5 February, 1952 is also discounted. This would otherwise be the highest speed ever recorded for a piston-engined aircraft.
Andean condor
The Andean condor ("Vultur gryphus") is a South American bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae and is the only member of the genus Vultur. Found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America, the Andean condor is the largest flying bird in the world by combined measurement of weight and wingspan. It has a maximum wingspan of exceeded only by the wingspans of four seabirds and water birds—the roughly maximum of the wandering albatross, southern royal albatross, great white pelican and Dalmatian pelican.
Terrestrial locomotion
The fastest terrestrial animal is the cheetah, which can attain maximal sprint speeds of approximately 104 km/h (64 mph). The fastest running lizard is the black iguana, which has been recorded moving at speed of up to 34.9 km/h (21.7 mph).
Mexican free-tailed bat
The Mexican free-tailed bat or Brazilian free-tailed bat ("Tadarida brasiliensis") is a medium-sized bat that is native to the Americas, regarded as one of the most abundant mammals in North America. Its proclivity towards roosting in huge numbers at relatively few locations makes it vulnerable to habitat destruction in spite of its abundance. The bat is considered a species of special concern in California as a result of declining populations. It has been claimed to have the fastest horizontal speed (as opposed to stoop diving speed) of any animal, reaching top ground speeds of over 160 km/h; its actual air speed has not been measured.
Swift
Swifts are among the fastest of birds, and larger species like the white-throated needletail have been reported travelling at up to . in level flight. Even the common swift can cruise at a maximum speed of 31 metres per second (). In a single year the common swift can cover at least 200,000 km.
List of largest birds
The heaviest bird ever capable of flight was "Argentavis magnificens", the largest member of the now extinct family Teratornithidae, found in Miocene-aged fossil beds of Argentina, with a wingspan up to , a length of up to , a height on the ground of up to and a body weight of at least . Rivaling "Argentavis" in wingspan if not in bulk and mass, another contender for the largest known flying bird ever is "Pelagornis sandersi", which had a wingspan of up to .
List of birds of Israel
The ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa. It is the largest living species of bird. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds.Order: GaviiformesFamily: Gaviidae
Parrot Coaster
Parrot Coaster (formerly known as Flying Over the Rainforest) is a steel Wing Coaster at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, Guangdong, China. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, upon its opening in 2014, it became the first Wing Coaster in Asia and also features the first splashdown on a Wing Coaster. With a height of , it is also the third tallest of its kind, behind Wild Eagle at Dollywood and GateKeeper at Cedar Point. The roller coaster is the longest and fastest Wing Coaster in the world, at in length and reaching a top speed of . The ride was named Flying Over the Rainforest for the first two months of it operating before being renamed at the end of March 2014.
Crinoid
Most modern crinoids, i.e., the feather stars, are free-swimming and lack a stem as adults. Examples of fossil crinoids that have been interpreted as free-swimming include "Marsupitsa", "Saccocoma" and "Uintacrinus". In 2005, a stalked crinoid was recorded pulling itself along the sea floor off the Grand Bahama Island. While it has been known that stalked crinoids move, before this recording the fastest motion of a crinoid was 0.6 metres/hour (2 ft/h) 0.0167 cm/s (centimeters per second). The 2005 recording showed a crinoid moving much faster, at a rate of 4-5 centimeters/second (144 to 180 meters per hour).
Bird flight
The peregrine falcon has the highest recorded dive speed of 242 mph (389 km/h). The fastest straight, powered flight is the spine-tailed swift at 105 mph (170 km/h).
The Life of Birds
Broadcast 28 October 1998, the second programme deals with the mechanics of flight. Getting into the air is by far the most exhausting of a bird's activities, and Attenborough observes shearwaters in Japan that have taken to climbing trees to give them a good jumping-off point. The albatross is so large that it can only launch itself after a run-up to create a flow of air over its wings. A combination of aerodynamics and upward air currents (or thermals), together with the act of flapping or gliding is what keeps a bird aloft. Landing requires less energy but a greater degree of skill, particularly for a big bird, such as a swan. Weight is kept to a minimum by having a beak made of keratin instead of bone, a light frame, and a coat of feathers, which is maintained fastidiously. The peregrine falcon holds the record for being fastest in the air, diving at speeds of over 300 km/h. Conversely, the barn owl owes its predatory success to flying slowly, while the kestrel spots its quarry by hovering. However, the true specialists in this regard are the hummingbirds, whose wings beat at the rate of 25 times a second. The habits of migratory birds are explored. After stocking up with food during the brief summer of the north, such species will set off on huge journeys southwards. Some, such as the snow goose, travel continuously, using both the stars and the sun for navigation. They are contrasted with hawks and vultures, which glide overland on warm air, and therefore have to stop overnight.
Wally West
Wally West is the fastest Flash and is arguably the fastest being that has ever existed as said by Max Mercury—and it has been remarked that Wally and Barry are the only two speedsters that were fast enough to even outrun death. Wally himself has made several references to be faster than Barry and having surpassed him.
Zipline International
On April 3, 2018, Zipline announced their next generation drone named the Zip 2, and what is claimed to be the fastest commercial delivery drone on the planet. The new drone, is again a fixed wing style autonomous airplane is capable of flying at a speed of up to , and a cruising speed of . According to Zipline, overall the new craft is faster than previous generation aircraft. The new aircraft also has a range of round trip and carries up to of cargo. The drone can also fly in high altitude, heavy rain, or wind. The new drone is part of a complete redesign of the company's logistics system, which aims to dramatically improve capabilities and decrease the amount of time between receiving an order and the launch of a fulfillment flight from 10 minutes to 1, and also increase the number of daily Zipline flights from the distribution center from 50 to 500, whilst also dramatically expanding the radius each distribution center could serve.
Orana Wildlife Park
The world's fastest land mammal, the cheetah, arrived in 1988 and since that time Orana has been involved in the zoo-based breeding programme for these swift cats. Cheetah have become one of Orana's flagship conservation species and over 24 cats have been raised to adulthood. Cheetah are a notoriously difficult species to breed in captivity. In 1991, a ‘Cheetah Chase’ was introduced. This public presentation gave visitors the opportunity to witness the blistering speed of cheetah.
Aerial locomotion in marine animals
Jet propulsion generates thrust and momentum by shooting out water jets. Flying squid is known for their behavior of leaping out of the water. Ommastrephinae and Todarodinae are two subfamilies of squids under the family of Ommastrephidae. They utilize jet propulsion to jump out of water as they do underwater, including Japanese flying squid.., Humboldt squid, Neon flying squid, sevenstar flying squid, and Wellington flying squid. Squid flight may be thought to reduce the cost of migration. The acceleration of Sthenoteuthis pteropus in air is 265 body lengths/s (24.5 m/s), which is found to exceed that in water (79 body lengths/s).
Air time (rides)
In 2001 the Guinness World Records recorded , located at Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, California, USA, as the fastest roller coaster in the world, where riders experienced a then record 6.5 seconds of 'airtime' or negative G-force. Hypercoasters, such as Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point, Behemoth at Canada's Wonderland, Superman the Ride at Six Flags New England, at PortAventura Park and Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia, along with many wooden roller coasters, such as Balder at Liseberg, The Voyage at Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana, and El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, are rides known for having a particularly high total air time.
Elephant
Elephants can move both forwards and backwards, but cannot trot, jump, or gallop. They use only two gaits when moving on land: the walk and a faster gait similar to running. In walking, the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground. With no "aerial phase", the fast gait does not meet all the criteria of running, although the elephant uses its legs much like other running animals, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground. Fast-moving elephants appear to 'run' with their front legs, but 'walk' with their hind legs and can reach a top speed of . At this speed, most other quadrupeds are well into a gallop, even accounting for leg length. Spring-like kinetics could explain the difference between the motion of elephants and other animals. During locomotion, the cushion pads expand and contract, and reduce both the pain and noise that would come from a very heavy animal moving. Elephants are capable swimmers. They have been recorded swimming for up to six hours without touching the bottom, and have travelled as far as at a stretch and at speeds of up to .
Animal locomotion
Some aquatic animals also regularly use gliding, for example, flying fish, octopus and squid. The flights of flying fish are typically around 50 meters (160 ft), though they can use updrafts at the leading edge of waves to cover distances of up to . To glide upward out of the water, a flying fish moves its tail up to 70 times per second.
Several oceanic squid, such as the Pacific flying squid, leap out of the water to escape predators, an adaptation similar to that of flying fish. Smaller squids fly in shoals, and have been observed to cover distances as long as 50 m. Small fins towards the back of the mantle help stabilize the motion of flight. They exit the water by expelling water out of their funnel, indeed some squid have been observed to continue jetting water while airborne providing thrust even after leaving the water. This may make flying squid the only animals with jet-propelled aerial locomotion. The neon flying squid has been observed to glide for distances over 30 m, at speeds of up to 11.2 m/s.
Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge
Through placement of nesting boxes on 10 bridges maintained by VDOT, the endangered peregrine falcons – considered the world's fastest birds – once again fly high over Virginia's eastern seaboard. Because of the significant role it played in the recovery of the peregrine falcon in Virginia, VDOT earned the 1998 Federal Highway Administration Excellence Award in the category of Environment Protection and Enhancements.
Fairey Delta 2
The Fairey Delta 2 is the first jet aircraft to exceed 1000 mph in level flight, flying faster than the sun moves across the sky. On 10 March 1956, it set a new world speed record of 1,132 mph during a test flight. The Delta 2 held the absolute World Air Speed Record for over a year. It continued to be used for test flights, and was allocated to the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) in 1958.
List of birds of South Africa
Ostriches are flightless birds native to Africa. They are the largest living species of bird. They are distinctive in appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds.
Petrified Forest National Park
Some of the larger animals roaming the grasslands include pronghorns, black-tailed jackrabbits (hares), Gunnison's prairie dogs, coyotes, bobcats and foxes. Pronghorns, the fastest land animals in North America, are capable of sprints. They are the second fastest land animal on Earth. The blood vessels in the huge, thin-walled ears of the jackrabbits act as heat exchangers. These hares are known for their bursts of speed, long leaps, and zigzag routes, all of which protect them from being eaten by golden eagles and other predators. The prairie dogs live in large colonies or "towns", near which many other species find food and shelter. Coyotes dine largely on rodents but also eat fruits, reptiles, insects, small mammals, birds, and carrion.
Amphibious vehicle
Sealegs Amphibious Craft, a three-wheeled amphibious boat designed in New Zealand, has been in production since 2005.
In 2010, a Southern California-based company named WaterCar, set the Guinness World Record for Fastest Amphibious Vehicle, with their prototype, The Python, which reached top land speeds of 204 km/h (127 mph) and water speeds of 96 km/h (60 mph; 52 knots). Since then, the company launched their first commercial vehicle, The Panther, which has been featured on ABC's "The Bachelor" as well as USA's "Royal Pains". The WaterCar can do 80 mph (129 km/h) on land, and 44 mph (38 knots; 71 km/h) on sea, and can transition from land to sea in less than 15 seconds.
List of birds of Mozambique
The ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa. It is the largest living species of bird. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds.Order: SphenisciformesFamily: Spheniscidae
Thomson's gazelle
Thomson's gazelle ("Eudorcas thomsonii") is one of the best-known gazelles. It is named after explorer Joseph Thomson and is sometimes referred to as a "tommie". It is considered by some to be a subspecies of the red-fronted gazelle and was formerly considered a member of the genus "Gazella" within the subgenus "Eudorcas", before "Eudorcas" was elevated to genus status. Thomson's gazelles can be found in numbers exceeding 550,000 in Africa and are recognized as the most common type of gazelle in East Africa. The Thomson's gazelle can reach speeds of . It is the fifth-fastest land animal, after the cheetah (its main predator), pronghorn, springbok, and wildebeest.
Thermoregulation
In April 2014, the South Californian mite "Paratarsotomus macropalpis" has been recorded as the world's fastest land animal relative to body length, at a speed of 322 body lengths per second. Besides the unusually great speed of the mites, the researchers were surprised to find the mites running at such speeds on concrete at temperatures up to , which is significant because this temperature is well above the lethal limit for the majority of animal species. In addition, the mites are able to stop and change direction very quickly.
Flying and gliding animals
Powered flight has evolved unambiguously only four times—birds, bats, pterosaurs, and insects. In contrast to gliding, which has evolved more frequently but typically gives rise to only a handful of species, all three extant groups of powered flyers have a huge number of species, suggesting that flight is a very successful strategy once evolved. Bats, after rodents, have the most species of any mammalian order, about 20% of all mammalian species. Birds have the most species of any class of terrestrial vertebrates. Finally, insects (most of which fly at some point in their life cycle) have more species than all other animal groups combined.
Seahorse
Seahorses swim very poorly, rapidly fluttering a dorsal fin and using pectoral fins (located behind their eyes) to steer. The slowest-moving fish in the world is "H. zosterae" (the dwarf seahorse), with a top speed of about per hour. Since they are poor swimmers, they are most likely to be found resting with their prehensile tails wound around a stationary object. They have long snouts, which they use to suck up food, and their eyes can move independently of each other like those of a chameleon.
Pursuit predation
While most big cat species are individual, ambush predators, Cheetahs ("Acinonyx jubatus") are pursuit predators. Widely known as the fastest terrestrial animal, with speeds reaching 61–64 miles per hour, cheetahs take advantage of their speed during chases. However, their speed and acceleration also have disadvantages, as both can only be sustained for short periods of time. Studies show that cheetahs can maintain maximum speed for a distance of approximately 500 yards. Due to these limitations, cheetahs are often observed running at moderate speeds during chases. There are claims that the key to cheetahs' pursuit success may not be just their speed. Cheetahs are extremely agile, able to maneuver and change directions at very high speeds in very short amounts of time. This extensive maneuverability can make up for unsustainable high speed pursuit, as it allows cheetahs to quickly close the distance between prey without decreasing their speed when prey change direction.
Cheetah (Wild Adventures)
Cheetah is a wooden roller coaster by Custom Coasters International, located in the African Pridelands Section of the Wild Adventures theme park, in Valdosta, Georgia. The coaster was named after the Cheetah, the fastest land animal, because of its top speed reaching 65 mph when the coaster first opened, but after years of friction and track deformation the coaster was recorded in 2009 reaching a top speed of 52 miles per hour. It has a standard out and back layout with five bunny hops and a figure-eight ending. Built in 2001, Cheetah is the largest roller coaster at Wild Adventures. In Wild Adventures off season between 2009 and 2010, the Cheetah was given a $1.3 Million renovation by Martin & Vleminckx replacing the track on the figure-eight and smoothing out the rest of the track.
Cheetah (disambiguation)
The cheetah ("Acinonyx jubatus") is the fastest of all land animals, and a member of the family Felidae.
Argentavis
The largest known flying creatures overall are not birds, but instead the azhdarchid pterosaurs of the Cretaceous. The wingspans of larger azhdarchids, such as "Quetzalcoatlus" and "Hatzegopteryx", have been estimated to exceed , with less conservative estimates being or more. Mass estimates for these azhdarchids are on the order of .
List of birds of Eritrea
The ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa. It is the largest living species of bird. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds.Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae
Møns Klint
In recent years, the peregrine falcon, the fastest of all birds as it swoops down to its prey at 350 km/h, has been observed breeding on Møns Klint. And the extremely rare large blue butterfly (Maculinea arion) can also be found in the area.
Lepidoptera
Some species of butterflies can reach fast speeds, such as the southern dart, which can go as fast as 48.4 km/h. Sphingids are some of the fastest flying insects, some are capable of flying at over 50 km/h (30 mi/h), having a wingspan of 35–150 mm. In some species, sometimes a gliding component to their flight exists. Flight occurs either as hovering, or as forward or backward motion. In butterfly and moth species, such as hawk moths, hovering is important as they need to maintain a certain stability over flowers when feeding on the nectar.
Solifugae
Solifugae are the subject of many legends and exaggerations about their size, speed, behaviour, appetite, and lethality. They are not especially large, the biggest having a leg span of about . They are fast on land compared to other invertebrates, with their top speed estimated to be , close to half as fast as the fastest human sprinter.
Fairey Delta 2
On 10 March 1956, the Fairey Delta 2 broke the World Air Speed Record, raising it to 1,132 mph (1,811 km/h) or Mach 1.73. This achievement exceeded the prior recorded airspeed record by 310 mph, or 37 per cent; never before had the record ever been raised by such a vast margin. The achievement had also made the Fairey Delta 2 the first jet aircraft to exceed 1,000 mph (1,600 km/h) in level flight. At this speed, when flying westward the aircraft flies faster than the apparent motion of the sun, making the sun appear to move backwards in the sky; Peter Twiss thus became the first man to fly faster than the rotation of the earth.
List of birds of Equatorial Guinea
The ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa. It is the largest living species of bird. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds.Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae
XTE J1739-285
It had previously been claimed that XTE J1739-285 was the fastest-spinning celestial body yet known, with a frequency of 1122 Hz (approximately 67,320 RPM). However, a re-analysis of these data by other astronomers has been unable to reproduce this result.
Flying Dutchman
There is a 20-foot one-design high-performance two-person monohull racing dinghy named the "Flying Dutchman" (FD). It made its Olympic debut at the 1960 Olympic Games and is still one of the fastest racing dinghies in the world.
Glider (aircraft)
NASA's Space Shuttle first flew on April 12, 1981. The Shuttle re-entered at Mach 25 at the end of each spaceflight, landing entirely as a glider. The Space Shuttle and its Soviet equivalent, the Buran shuttle, were by far the fastest ever aircraft. Recent examples of rocket glider include the privately funded SpaceshipOne which is intended for sub-orbital flight and the XCOR EZ-Rocket which is being used to test engines.
Flying and gliding animals
A number of animals have evolved aerial locomotion, either by powered flight or by gliding. Flying and gliding animals ("volant" animals) have evolved separately many times, without any single ancestor. Flight has evolved at least four times, in the insects, pterosaurs, birds, and bats. Gliding has evolved on many more occasions. Usually the development is to aid canopy animals in getting from tree to tree, although there are other possibilities. Gliding, in particular, has evolved among rainforest animals, especially in the rainforests in Asia (most especially Borneo) where the trees are tall and widely spaced. Several species of aquatic animals, and a few amphibians and reptiles have also evolved to acquire this gliding flight ability, typically as a means of evading predators.
List of birds of Djibouti
The ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa. It is the largest living species of bird. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds.Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae
Flightless bird
Flightless birds are birds that through evolution lost the ability to fly. There are over 60 extant species including the well known ratites (ostrich, emu, cassowary, rhea and kiwi) and penguins. The smallest flightless bird is the Inaccessible Island rail (length 12.5 cm, weight 34.7 g). The largest (both heaviest and tallest) flightless bird, which is also the largest living bird, is the ostrich (2.7 m, 156 kg). Ostriches are farmed for their decorative feathers, meat and their skins, which are used to make leather.
Animal migration
Some winged insects such as locusts and certain butterflies and dragonflies with strong flight migrate long distances. Among the dragonflies, species of "Libellula" and "Sympetrum" are known for mass migration, while "Pantala flavescens", known as the globe skimmer or wandering glider dragonfly, makes the longest ocean crossing of any insect, between India and Africa. Exceptionally, swarms of the desert locust, "Schistocerca gregaria", flew westwards across the Atlantic Ocean for 4500 km during October 1988, using air currents in the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone.
List of birds of Egypt
The ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa. It is the largest living species of bird. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds.Order: GaviiformesFamily: Gaviidae
Cheetah
The cheetah is the fastest land animal. It was called the "felid version of the greyhound", as both have similar morphology and the ability to reach tremendous speeds in a shorter time than other mammals.
List of birds of Senegal
The ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa. It is the largest living species of bird. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds.Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae
Joseph Kittinger
Kittinger set historical numbers for highest balloon ascent, highest parachute jump, longest duration drogue-fall (four minutes), and fastest speed by a human being through the atmosphere. These were the USAF records, but were not submitted for aerospace world records to the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Kittinger's record for the highest ascent was broken in 1961 by Malcolm Ross and Victor Prather. His records for highest parachute jump and fastest velocity stood for 52 years, until they were broken in 2012 by Felix Baumgartner.
For this series of jumps, Kittinger was profiled in "Life" magazine and the "National Geographic Magazine", decorated with a second Distinguished Flying Cross, and awarded the Harmon Trophy by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Aircraft
Prior to the X-43A, the fastest recorded powered airplane flight (and still the record for the fastest manned, powered airplane / fastest manned, non-spacecraft aircraft) was of the North American X-15A-2, rocket-powered airplane at 4,520 mph (7,274 km/h), Mach 6.72, on October 3, 1967. On one flight it reached an altitude of 354,300 feet.
Fastest propeller-driven aircraft
The FAI record for the fastest piston-powered aircraft over a long-distance circuit is the 2000-km record of set on 22 May 1948 by Jacqueline Cochran in a P-51C. (She also holds the 100-km record of 755.67 km/hr, set in December 1947.) Higher speed records exist; some are unofficial and some were officially-timed one-way trips aided by tailwinds. Examples of the latter: a B-29 averaged from Burbank to Floyd Bennett Field (3957 km in 5.455 hours) on 11 December 1945, and Joe DeBona averaged from Los Angeles LAX to New York Idlewild (3981 km (2472mi) in 4.405 hours) in a P-51 on 30 March 1954. On September 12, 2003, the modified P-51 "Dago Red", piloted by Skip Holm, averaged 507.105mph (816.1 kph) during the 6 lap (c.50 miles) Reno Air Races Friday Gold Race.
List of birds of Chad
The ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa. It is the largest living species of bird. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds.Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae
Scramjet programs
In August 2015, it was reported that a Chinese researcher had been awarded for the successful development and test flight of a new scramjet engine, the first of its kind in China. This would make China the third country in the world, after Russia and the United States, to have successfully test flown a scramjet. A new near-hypersonic drone, with a variable-cycle turbo-ramjet engine, has also been flown. It is reportedly the fastest air-breathing recoverable vehicle in the world.
Douglas A. Lawson
When the discovery of the fossils was reported in 1975, "Quetzalcoatlus" was the largest flying creature known to have lived. A fellow researcher challenged Lawson's estimates of the dimensions of the wing architecture of "Quetzalcoatlus". However, Lawson responded by demonstrating that while inconsistent with those of modern-day birds, his estimates were consistent with extrapolations of other pterosaurs, such as "Pterodactylus antiquus". In 2010 the U.S. National Park Service described "Quetzalcoatlus" as the world's second-largest known flying creature.
Four Bird Brothers
The third possible riddle is "Which bird will fly fastest?" The proper answer for this is that the bird that drinks water will fly fastest.
MABEL (robot)
MABEL (robot) is a robot engineered in 2009 by researchers at the University of Michigan, which is well known for being the world's fastest bipedal (two-legged) robot with knees. MABEL is able to reach speeds of up to 3.6 m/s (6.8 mph). The name MABEL is an acronym for Michigan Anthropomorphic Biped With Electronic Legs. The creators include J.W. Grizzle, Jonathan Hurst, Hae-Won Park, Koushil Sreenath, and Alireza Ramezani. MABEL weighs 143 pounds (65 kilograms) with most of its weight being in the top torso area. The legs contain large springs and are jointed to form knees. The robot is attached to a safety boom for lateral stability.
In order to make MABEL functional for extended periods of time, the researchers focused on ways to optimize powertrain efficiency. Unlike the RABBIT, MABEL was designed to have all four motors in the midsection instead of the legs. This makes the legs lighter and more agile. Secondly, most of MABEL’s power is stored in large springs that act to reduce shock and store energy. MABEL uses a differential so that the spring can be grounded by the torso of the robot instead of directly connected in series with a motor. This allows the compression in the springs to better apply force that pushes up the center of mass. Another innovative aspect of the springs is that they are referred to as “unilateral” because they don’t extend past the rest length, causing undirected force.
List of Maximum Ride characters
Max also has the ability to fly extremely fast, her top speed at roughly 240–250 miles per hour (verified by the Director through a microchip in her arm), or over 350 miles per hour in a fast dive. Unlike any other member of the Flock except for Fang - this may be because in "", Max donated her blood to Fang; afterwards, he says he is experiencing the same heat waves that Max suffered from before she gained her supersonic flight abilities. In "MAX", it turns out she also has gills like Angel. Her bird DNA is from a hawk, as confirmed in the excerpt from "Nevermore", found in the Deluxe paperback of "ANGEL".
Golden eagle
Golden eagles are sometimes considered the best fliers among eagles and perhaps among all raptorial birds. They are equipped with broad, long wings with somewhat finger-like indentations on the tips of the wing. Golden eagles are unique among their genus in that they often fly in a slight dihedral, which means the wings are often held in a slight, upturned V-shape. When they need to flap, golden eagles appear at their most laboured, but this is less common than soaring or gliding––. Flapping flight usually consists of 6–8 deep wing-beats, interspersed with 2–3 second glides. While soaring, the wings and tail are held in one plane with the primary tips often spread. A typical, unhurried soaring speed in golden eagles is around . When hunting or displaying, the golden eagle can glide very fast, reaching speeds of up to . When stooping (diving) in the direction of prey or during territorial displays, the eagle holds its legs up against its tail, and holds its wings tight and partially closed against its body. When diving after prey, a golden eagle can reach . Although less agile and manoeuvrable, the golden eagle is apparently quite the equal and possibly even the superior of the peregrine falcon’s stooping and gliding speeds. This makes the golden eagle one of the two fastest living animals. Although most flight in golden eagles has a clear purpose (e.g., territoriality, hunting), some flights, such as those by solitary birds or between well-established breeding pairs, seem to be play.
Crocodile
Crocodiles can move quickly over short distances, even out of water. The land speed record for a crocodile is measured in a galloping Australian freshwater crocodile. Maximum speed varies between species. Some species can gallop, including Cuban crocodiles, Johnston's crocodiles, New Guinea crocodiles, African dwarf crocodiles, and even small Nile crocodiles. The fastest means by which most species can move is a "belly run", in which the body moves in a snake-like (sinusoidal) fashion, limbs splayed out to either side paddling away frantically while the tail whips to and fro. Crocodiles can reach speeds of when they "belly run", and often faster if slipping down muddy riverbanks. When a crocodile walks quickly, it holds its legs in a straighter and more upright position under its body, which is called the "high walk". This walk allows a speed of up to 5 km/h.
Insects in music
The Canadian violinist Eric Speed broke the record for the fastest performance of the "Flight of the Bumblebee" at the "Just For Laughs" festival in Montreal on 22 July 2011, playing the piece in 53 seconds. The song has a direct connection to martial arts master Bruce Lee, who starred on the radio program Green Hornet. "Flight" was the show's theme music, blended with a hornet buzz created on a Theremin. The play upon which the opera was based – written by Alexander Pushkin – originally had two more insect themes: the Flight of the Mosquito and the Flight of the Fly. Neither was made into musical pieces. One was made into an illustration for the original publication.
Dragonfly
Old and unreliable claims are made that dragonflies such as the southern giant darner can fly up to . However, the greatest reliable flight speed records are for other types of insects. In general, large dragonflies like the hawkers have a maximum speed of with average cruising speed of about . Dragonflies can travel at 100 body-lengths per second in forward flight, and three lengths per second backwards.
Eldridge Park
The current version of the Eldridge Park carousel boasts 56 animals available for riding, as well as two dragon benches. It is thought to be the fastest carousel in the world moving at 18 miles per hour. Each animal has a name. They are listed below.
Hot air balloon
On January 15, 1991, the 'Virgin Pacific Flyer' balloon completed the longest flight in a hot air balloon when Per Lindstrand (born in Sweden, but resident in the UK) and Richard Branson of the UK flew from Japan to Northern Canada. With a volume of 74,000 cubic meters (2.6 million cubic feet), the balloon envelope was the largest ever built for a hot air craft. Designed to fly in the trans-oceanic jet streams, the "Pacific Flyer" recorded the fastest ground speed for a manned balloon at . The longest duration record was set by Swiss psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard, Auguste Piccard's grandson; and Briton Brian Jones, flying in the Breitling Orbiter 3. It was the first nonstop trip around the world by balloon. The balloon left Château-d'Oex, Switzerland, on March 1, 1999, and landed at 1:02 a.m. on March 21 in the Egyptian desert south of Cairo. The two men exceeded distance, endurance, and time records, traveling 19 days, 21 hours, and 55 minutes. Steve Fossett, flying solo, exceeded the record for briefest time traveling around the world on 3 July 2002 on his sixth attempt, in 320 h 33 min. Fedor Konyukhov flew solo round the world on his first attempt in a hybrid hot-air/helium balloon from 11 to 23 July 2016 for a round-the world time of 272h 11m, awaiting official confirmation as the new record.
Shyena (Hinduism)
Shyena and Suparna, both, refer to the eagle and the falcon (hawk), two of the swiftest birds (of prey). In the Rig Veda mantra (I.164.20) - द्वा सुपर्णा सयुजा सखाया समानं वृक्षं परि षस्वजाते – there is in fact a reference to these two types of suparnas which are identified as the golden oriole, having beautiful wings, and the eagle. In a mantra addressed to the Vedic god Indra,
Mammal
Bats are the only mammals that can truly fly. They fly through the air at a constant speed by moving their wings up and down (usually with some fore-aft movement as well). Because the animal is in motion, there is some airflow relative to its body which, combined with the velocity of the wings, generates a faster airflow moving over the wing. This generates a lift force vector pointing forwards and upwards, and a drag force vector pointing rearwards and upwards. The upwards components of these counteract gravity, keeping the body in the air, while the forward component provides thrust to counteract both the drag from the wing and from the body as a whole.
Gallimimus
As an ornithomimid, "Gallimimus" would have been a fleet (or cursorial) animal, using its speed to escape predators; its speed has been estimated at 42-56 km/h (29-34 mph). It may have had good vision and intelligence comparable to ratite birds. "Gallimimus" may have lived in groups, based on the discovery of several specimens preserved in a bone bed. Various theories have been proposed regarding the diet of "Gallimimus" and other ornithomimids. The highly mobile neck may have helped locate small prey on the ground, but it may also have been an opportunistic omnivore. It has also been suggested that it used small columnar structures in its beak for filter-feeding in water, though these structures may instead have been ridges used for feeding on tough plant material, indicative of a herbivorous diet. "Gallimimus" is the most commonly found ornithomimosaur in the Nemegt Formation, where it lived alongside its relatives "Anserimimus" and "Deinocheirus". "Gallimimus" was featured in the movie "Jurassic Park", in a scene that was important to the history of special effects, and in shaping the common conception of dinosaurs as bird-like animals.
Asiatic cheetah
The cheetah is the fastest land animal in the world. It was previously thought that the body temperature of a cheetah increases during a hunt due to high metabolic activity. In a short period of time during a chase, a cheetah may produce 60 times more heat than at rest, with much of the heat, produced from glycolysis, stored to possibly raise the body temperature. The claim was supported by data from experiments in which two cheetahs ran on a treadmill for minutes on end but contradicted by studies in natural settings, which indicate that body temperature stays relatively the same during a hunt. A 2013 study suggested stress hyperthermia and a slight increase in body temperature after a hunt. The cheetah's nervousness after a hunt may induce stress hyperthermia, which involves high sympathetic nervous activity and raises the body temperature. After a hunt, the risk of another predator taking its kill is great, and the cheetah is on high alert and stressed. The increased sympathetic activity prepares the cheetah's body to run when another predator approaches. In the 2013 study, even the cheetah that did not chase the prey experienced an increase in body temperature once the prey was caught, showing increased sympathetic activity.
Gazelle
Gazelles are known as swift animals. Some are able to run at bursts as high as or run at a sustained speed of . Gazelles are found mostly in the deserts, grasslands, and savannas of Africa; but they are also found in southwest and central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. They tend to live in herds, and eat less coarse, easily digestible plants and leaves.
Frank Hawks
Frank Monroe Hawks (March 28, 1897 - August 23, 1938) was a pilot in the United States Army Air Service during World War I and was known during the 1920s and 1930s as a record breaking aviator, using a series of Texaco-sponsored aircraft, setting 214 point-to-point records in the United States and Europe. Prolific in the media and continually in the "public eye", in the 1937 "The Mysterious Pilot" movie serial, Hawks was billed as the "fastest airman in the world." A popular saying from the time was, "Don't send it by mail ... send it by Hawks." After retiring from a career as an air racer, he died in 1938, flying an experimental aircraft.
Born in Marshalltown, Iowa on March 28, 1897, Hawks attended grammar school before his parents who were actors, joined a stock company and toured Minnesota. Hawks took on juvenile parts during his parent's engagements but when the family settled in California, Hawks resumed his formal schooling and graduated in 1916 from a high school in Long Beach. An early exposure to the thrill of flying came when Hawks convinced local Long Beach air field owners, the Christofferson brothers to give him a free flight in exchange for a newspaper article. He had convinced the owners that a high school student's impressions would result in increased interest in flying and more business for the air field. It worked and Hawks was able to parlay a series of pleasure flights. After enrolling at the University of California where he played halfback on the freshman football team, Hawks enlisted in 1917 when war was declared.
Bio-inspired robotics
One of the tasks commonly performed by a variety of living organisms is jumping. Bharal, hares, kangaroo, grasshopper, flea, and locust are among the best jumping animals. A miniature 7g jumping robot inspired by locust has been developed at EPFL that can jump up to 138 cm. The jump event is induced by releasing the tension of a spring. The highest jumping miniature robot is inspired by the locust, weighs 23 grams with its highest jump to 365 cm is "TAUB" (Tel-Aviv University and Braude College of engineering). It uses torsion springs as energy storage and includes a wire and latch mechanism to compress and release the springs. ETH Zurich has reported a soft jumping robot based on the combustion of methane and laughing gas. The thermal gas expansion inside the soft combustion chamber drastically increases the chamber volume. This causes the 2 kg robot to jump up to 20 cm. The soft robot inspired by a roly-poly toy then reorientates itself into an upright position after landing.
Frank Kendall Everest Jr.
Everest test-flew the Bell X-1B to a speed of Mach 2.3 (2.3 times the speed of sound) in December 1954, making him the second fastest man in the world, Later flights in the Bell X-2 rocket plane established him as "the fastest man alive" when he attained a new unofficial speed record of 1,957 mph or Mach 2.9.
Fastest propeller-driven aircraft
The Tupolev Tu-114, a large aircraft with four turboprop engines, has a maximum speed of 878 km/h (540 mph, Mach 0.73). The Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprop engines designed for the Tupolev Tu-95 (and used to power the derivative Tu-114) are the most powerful turboprops ever built and drive large contra-rotating propellers. This engine-propeller combination gives the Tu-114 the official distinction of being the fastest propeller-driven aircraft in the world, a record it has held since 1960.
Probably the fastest aircraft ever fitted with an operating propeller was the experimental McDonnell XF-88B, which was made by installing an Allison T38 turboshaft engine in the nose of a pure jet-powered XF-88 Voodoo. This unusual aircraft was intended to explore the use of high-speed propellers and achieved supersonic speeds. This aircraft is not considered to be propeller-driven since most of the thrust was provided by two jet engines.
An oft-cited contender for the fastest propeller-driven aircraft is the XF-84H Thunderscreech. This aircraft is named in Guinness World Records, 1997, as the fastest in this category with a speed of 1,002 km/h (623 mph, Mach 0.83). While it may have been "designed" as the fastest propeller-driven aircraft, this goal was not realized due to its inherent instability. This record speed is also inconsistent with data from the National Museum of the United States Air Force, which gives a top speed of 837 km/h (520 mph, Mach 0.70), slower than the Tu-114.
What Is the Fastest Thing in the World?
What Is the Fastest Thing in the World? is a Greek fairy tale collected by Georgios A. Megas in "Folktales of Greece".
Sphingidae
Sphingids are some of the faster flying insects; some are capable of flying at over 5.3 m/s (12 miles per hour). They have wingspans from 4 to over .
Largest organisms
The largest living bird, a member of the Struthioniformes, is the common ostrich ("Struthio camelus"), from the plains of Africa and Arabia. A large male ostrich can reach a height of and weigh over . A mass of has been cited for the common ostrich but no wild ostriches of this weight have been verified. Eggs laid by the ostrich can weigh and are the largest eggs in the world today.
The largest bird in the fossil record may be the extinct elephant birds ("Aepyornis") of Madagascar, which were related to the ostrich. They exceeded in height and . The last of the elephant birds became extinct about 300 years ago. Of almost exactly the same upper proportions as the largest elephant birds was "Dromornis stirtoni" of Australia, part of a 26,000-year-old group called mihirungs of the family Dromornithidae. The largest carnivorous bird was "Brontornis", an extinct flightless bird from South America which reached a weight of and a height of about . The tallest carnivorous bird was "Kelenken", which could reach 3 to 3.2 meters in height and 220 to 250 kilograms. The tallest bird ever was the giant moa ("Dinornis maximus"), part of the moa family of New Zealand that went extinct around 1500 AD. This particular species of moa stood up to tall, but weighed about half as much as a large elephant bird or mihirung due to its comparatively slender frame.