Direct Measurements of Instantaneous Lift in Desert Locust; Comparison with Jensen’s Experiments on Detached Wings

Abstract

Instantaneous values of lift in the locust Schistocerca gregaria, flying in a wind tunnel, were measured by means of a piezo-electric probe. The airflow velocity was adjusted to be equal to that which would have been experienced by the freely flying insect.In order to obtain the true aerodynamic forces, the inertial forces must be subtracted from the gross forces measured. These inertial forces were calculated from the movement of the centre of gravity and from the mass of the different wing sections.The lift curves obtained have a shape similar to the curves deduced by Jensen from measurements on isolated wings in steady flows, but an approximately doubled amplitude. These amplitude differences appear to be caused by the existence of significant unsteady effects.