Flight

Flight is the process of flying: either movement through the Air by Aerodynamic ally generating Lift or Aerostatically using Buoyancy , or movement beyond Earth's Atmosphere by Spacecraft .

ANIMAL FLIGHT

The most successful groups of Living Things That Fly are Insect s, Bird s, and Bat s. Each of these groups' Wing s Evolved separately from different structures.

Pterosaur s were a group of flying Vertebrates contemporaneous with the Dinosaur s.

Bat s are the only Mammal s capable of true flight. However, there are several Gliding Mammals which are able to glide from tree to tree using fleshy membranes between their limbs; some can travel hundreds of metres in this way with very little loss in height. Flying Tree Frog s use greatly enlarged webbed feet for a similar purpose, and there are Flying Lizard s which employ their unusually wide, flattened rib-cages to the same end. Certain Snake s also use a flattened rib-cage to fly, with a back and forth motion much the same as they use on the ground.

Flying Fish can glide using enlarged wing-like fins, and have been observed soaring for hundreds of metres using the updraft on the leading edges of waves. It is thought that they evolved this ability to help them escape from underwater predators.

Most Bird s fly (''see Bird Flight ''), with some exceptions. The largest birds, the Ostrich and the Emu , are earthbound, as were the now-extinct Dodo s, while the non-flying Penguin s have adapted their wings for use under water. Most small flightless birds are native to small islands, and lead a lifestyle where flight would confer little advantage. The Peregrine Falcon is the fastest animal in the world; its Terminal Velocity exceeds 320 Km/h (199 Mph ) in a dive.

Among living animals that fly, the Wandering Albatross has the greatest wingspan, up to 3.5 metres (11.5 feet); the Trumpeter Swan and the Great Bustard compete for the greatest weight, at around 17 Kilogram s (38 pounds).

Among the many Species of Insect s, some fly and others do not (See Insect Flight ).

In fiction

Dumbo , the Disney -created Elephant , employs his comically oversized ears as wings for flight.

Many Dragons are depicted with wings.

Superman is a Superhero in comic books, cartoons, and films; flight is among the various superpowers he is portrayed to obtain from the yellow rays of Earth's Sun . Most Fictional Comic Book superheroes are said to fly by willpower rather than by telekinetically levitating themselves. Jean Grey of the X-Men is an exception who uses Telekinesis to levitate slightly above ground. Storm of the X-Men flies by controlling the weather in her immediate vicinity.

Santa Claus has a sleigh pulled by flying Reindeer .

In the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy books, Arthur Dent learns how to fly: the secret is learning how to "fall and miss the ground".

Pegasus was a winged horse in Greek Mythology . Pegasus appears in the 1980s film Clash Of The Titans .

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MECHANICAL FLIGHT

Mechanical flight is the use of any of a number of complex Machine s, called Aircraft , to fly. Examples are Aeroplane s, Helicopter s, Autogyro s, Airship s, Balloon s, and Spacecraft . Glider s provide unpowered flight.

The most common form of mechanical flight is Aeroplane flight. Several steps are involved: