Wing in the context of Dactyly

Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, chickens, ants, most spiders), as compared with aquatic animals (e.g., fish, whales, octopuses, lobsters, etc.), who live predominantly or entirely in bodies of water; and semiaquatic animals (e.g., crocodilians, seals, platypus and most amphibians), who inhabit coastal, riparian or wetland areas and rely on both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. While most insects (who constitute over half of all known species in the animal kingdom) are terrestrial, some groups, such as mosquitoes and dragonflies, spend their egg and larval stages in water but emerge as fully terrestrial adults (imagos) after completing metamorphosis.

Terrestrial animals conduct respiratory gas exchange directly with the atmosphere, typically via specialized respiratory organs known as lungs, or via cutaneous respiration across the skin. They have also evolved homeostatic features such as impermeable cuticles that can restrict fluid loss, temperature fluctuations and infection, and an excretory system that can filter out nitrogenous waste in the form of urea or uric acid, in contrast to the ammonia-based excretion of aquatic animals. Without the buoyancy of an aqueous environment to support their weight, they have evolved robust skeletons that can hold up their body shape, as well as powerful appendages known as legs or limbs to facilitate terrestrial locomotion, although some perform limbless locomotion using body surface projections such as scales and setae. Some terrestrial animals even have wings or membranes that act as airfoils to generate lift, allowing them to fly and/or glide as airborne animals.

In fluid dynamics, a vortex (pl.: vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in the wake of a boat, and in the winds surrounding a tropical cyclone, tornado, or dust devil.

Vortices are a major component of turbulent flow. The distribution of velocity, vorticity (the curl of the flow velocity), as well as the concept of circulation are used to characterize vortices. In most vortices, the fluid flow velocity is greatest next to its axis and decreases in inverse proportion to the distance from the axis.

Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in patterns of erosion or stream beds.

The term derives from the Latin word pinna meaning "feather", "wing", or "fin". A similar concept is "pectination", which is a comb-like arrangement of parts (arising from one side of an axis only). Pinnation is commonly referred to in contrast to "palmation", in which the parts or structures radiate out from a common point. The terms "pinnation" and "pennation" are cognate, and although they are sometimes used distinctly, there is no consistent difference in the meaning or usage of the two words.

Winged genie is the conventional term for a recurring motif in the iconography of Assyrian sculpture.Winged genies are usually bearded male figures sporting birds' wings. The Genii are a reappearing trait in ancient Assyrian art, and are displayed most prominently in palaces or places of royalty. The two most notable places where the genies existed were Ashurnasirpal II’s palace Kalhu, and Sargon II’s palace Dur-Sharrukin.

Sailing into the wind is a sailing expression that refers to a sail boat's ability to move forward despite heading toward, but not directly into, the wind. A sailboat cannot sail directly into the wind; the closest it can point is called close hauled, typically at an angle of about 45 degrees to the wind.

This maneuver is possible due to the interaction between the sails and the keel. The sail generates lift (similar to an airplane wing), and the keel resists lateral movement through the water, converting the side force from the wind into forward motion. Although the sail force acts partly sideways, the keel’s counteracting force keeps the boat on course and propels it forward.

Gnathostomata (/ˌnæθoʊˈstɒmətə/; from Ancient Greek: γνάθος (gnathos) 'jaw' + στόμα (stoma) 'mouth') are jawed vertebrates. Gnathostome diversity comprises roughly 60,000 species, which accounts for 99% of all extant vertebrates, including all living bony fishes (both ray-finned and lobe-finned, including their terrestrial tetrapod relatives) and cartilaginous fishes, as well as extinct prehistoric fish such as placoderms and acanthodians. Most gnathostomes have retained ancestral traits like true teeth, a stomach, and paired appendages (pectoral and pelvic fins, limbs, wings, etc.). Other traits are elastin, horizontal semicircular canal of the inner ear, myelinated neurons, and an adaptive immune system which has discrete lymphoid organs (spleen and thymus) and uses V(D)J recombination to create antigen recognition sites, rather than using genetic recombination in the variable lymphocyte receptor gene.

It is now assumed that Gnathostomata evolved from ancestors that already possessed two pairs of paired fins. Until recently these ancestors, known as antiarchs, were thought to have lacked pectoral or pelvic fins. In addition to this, some placoderms were shown to have a third pair of paired appendages, that had been modified to claspers in males and pelvic basal plates in females — a pattern not seen in any other vertebrate group. The jawless Osteostraci are generally considered the closest sister taxon of Gnathostomata.

Gliding flight is heavier-than-air flight without the use of thrust; the term volplaning also refers to this mode of flight in animals. It is employed by gliding animals and by aircraft such as gliders. This mode of flight involves flying a significant distance horizontally compared to its descent and therefore can be distinguished from a mostly straight downward descent like a round parachute.

Although the human application of gliding flight usually refers to aircraft designed for this purpose, most powered aircraft are capable of gliding without engine power. As with sustained flight, gliding generally requires the application of an airfoil, such as the wings on aircraft or birds, or the gliding membrane of a gliding possum. However, gliding can be achieved with a flat (uncambered) wing, as with a simple paper plane, or even with card-throwing. However, some aircraft with lifting bodies and animals such as the flying snake can achieve gliding flight without any wings by creating a flattened surface underneath.

An aircraft catapult is an acceleration device used to help fixed-wing aircraft reach liftoff speed (V_LOF) faster during takeoff, typically when trying to take off from a very short runway, as otherwise the aircraft engines alone cannot get the aircraft to sufficient airspeed quickly enough for the wings to generate the lift needed to sustain flight. Launching via catapults enables aircraft that typically are only capable of conventional takeoffs, especially heavier aircraft with significant payloads, to perform short takeoffs from the roll distances of light aircraft. Catapults are usually used on the deck of a ship — such as the flight deck of an aircraft carrier — as a form of assisted takeoff for navalised aircraft, but can also be installed on land-based runways, although this is rare.

Historically it was most common for seaplanes (which have pontoons instead of wheeled landing gears and thus cannot utilize runways) to be catapulted from ships onto nearby water for takeoff, allowing them to conduct aerial reconnaissance missions and be crane-hoisted back on board during retrieval, although by the late First World War their roles are largely supplanted by the more versatile biplanes that can take off and land on carrier decks unassisted. During the Second World War before the advent of escort carriers, monoplane fighter aircraft (notably the Hawker Hurricane) would sometimes be catapulted from "catapult-equipped merchant" (CAM) vessels for one-way sorties to repel enemy aircraft harassing shipping lanes, forcing the returning pilot to either divert to a land-based airstrip, jump out by parachute, or ditch in the water near the convoy and wait for rescue. By the time fleet carriers became the norm in WW2, catapult launches have become largely unnecessary and carrier-based fighter-bombers would routinely perform self-powered takeoffs and landings off and onto carrier decks, especially during the naval aviation-dominated Pacific War between the United States and the Empire of Japan. However, escalating arms races during the Cold War accelerated the adoption of the heavier jet aircraft for naval operations, thus motivating the development of new catapult systems, especially after the popularization of angled flight decks further limited the practical distance available as takeoff runways. Nowadays, jet aircraft can launch from aircraft carriers via either catapults or ski-jump deck, and perform optics-assisted landing onto the same ship with help from decelerative arresting gears.

Wingtip vortices are circular patterns of rotating air left behind a wing as it generates lift. The name is a misnomer because the cores of the vortices are slightly inboard of the wing tips. Wingtip vortices are sometimes named trailing or lift-induced vortices because they also occur at points other than at the wing tips. Indeed, vorticity is trailed at any point on the wing where the lift varies span-wise (a fact described and quantified by the lifting-line theory); it eventually rolls up into large vortices near the wingtip, at the edge of flap devices, or at other abrupt changes in wing planform.

Wingtip vortices are associated with induced drag, the imparting of downwash, and are a fundamental consequence of three-dimensional lift generation. Careful selection of wing geometry (in particular, wingspan), as well as of cruise conditions, are design and operational methods to minimize induced drag.

A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage over a monoplane, it produces more drag than a monoplane wing. Improved structural techniques, better materials and higher speeds made the biplane configuration obsolete for most purposes by the late 1930s.

Biplanes offer several advantages over conventional cantilever monoplane designs: they permit lighter wing structures, low wing loading and smaller span for a given wing area. However, interference between the airflow over each wing increases drag substantially, and biplanes generally need extensive bracing, which causes additional drag.

Dumbo is a 1941 American animated musical fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, and illustrated by Helen Durney for the prototype of a novelty toy ("Roll-a-Book").

The main character is Jumbo Jr., an elephant who is ridiculed for his oversized ears and mockingly nicknamed "Dumbo", but in fact he is capable of flying by using his ears as wings. Throughout most of the film, his only true friend, aside from his mother, is a mouse named Timothy – a relationship parodying the stereotypical animosity between mice and elephants.

The auricle or auricula is the visible part of the ear that is outside the head. It is also called the pinna (Latin for 'wing' or 'fin', pl.: pinnae), a term that is used more in zoology.

A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension.

A stay is sometimes used as a synonym for strut, but some sources distinguish that struts are braces for holding compressive forces apart, while stays are braces for keeping stretching forces together.

Takeoff or take-off is the phase of flight during which an aerial vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For space vehicles that launch vertically, this is known as liftoff.

For fixed-wing aircraft that take off horizontally (conventional takeoff), this usually involves an accelerating ground run (known as the roll) on a runway to build up speed so the wings can generate enough lift. For aerostats (balloons and airships), helicopters, tiltrotors (e.g. the V-22 Osprey) and thrust-vectoring STOVL fixed-wing aircraft (e.g. the Harrier jump jet and F-35B), a helipad/STOLport is sufficient and no runway is needed.