On 18/12/2020 16:38:36, T i m wrote:
On Fri, 18 Dec 2020 16:11:44 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

snip


It's amazing to watch.

Animals are amazing and most show us to be the pathetic creatures we
really are.

With great (albeit artificial) power comes great responsibility and
that includes protecting not exploiting and killing those around us,
*especially* for no real reason.

Millions of years after birds could fly together in vast numbers, man
has just managed to get some drones doing a fraction of what even a
starling can do (but not the flying nearly 1000 miles in one go). ;-)

This is pretty impressive:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_SR-71_Blackbird

Maximum speed: 1,910 kn (2,200 mph, 3,540 km/h) at 80,000 ft (24,000 m)
Maximum speed: Mach 3.32[N 5]
Ferry range: 2,824 nmi (3,250 mi, 5,230 km)
Service ceiling: 85,000 ft (26,000 m)
Rate of climb: 11,820 ft/min (60.0 m/s)

I'm not sure how many starlings can beat that?