Remote-controlled vehicles of any type can be a challenge to operate. Part of the trouble comes from the fact that we don't get the feedback from a remote vehicle that we get when driving a car or riding a bike. Another problem involves the fact that flight requires us to pay attention to an additional dimension. Ground vehicles are limited to two dimensions most of the time. Although a road may climb hills or descend into valleys, a car is restricted to moving backward and forward, and left and right on a surface. Birds, planes, and fish move in three-dimensional worlds that are at odds with our daily experiences.
In the case of flight, it's vital to ensure that the plane or bird is moving with a speed and direction that allows it to maintain enough lift that it stays in the three dimensional space, and doesn't collide with the two-dimension surface below. Because of the extra dimensions, pilots describe the orientation (or heading) of their craft with three parameters: yaw, pitch and roll. A poor combination of heading and speed can cause a plane to lose lift and crash.
While humans may have trouble learning to maneuver in three dimensions, creatures ranging from gnats to condors are masters of flight. Here are the top speeds for some of nature's aviators, as well as a few manmade machines.
- Butterfly:6 mph
- Honey bee: 17 mph
- Mosquito: 20 mph
- Sparrow: 37 mph
- Peregrine falcon: 200 mph
- Cessna airplane: 130 mph
- F-15 fighter jet: 1,530 mph
- SR-71 spy plane: 2,200 mph
- Space Shuttle: 17,400 mph