A twist in the tail: Flying fish give clues to ‘tandem wing’ airplane design

Ribbon halfbeak are a species of fish with the ability to fly above the sea surface – but unlike true ‘flying fish’, they lack the necessary hind wing fins. So how do they fly? Dr Yoshinobu Inada from Tokai University, Japan says, “Investigating the design of ribbon halfbeak could provide useful information for the optimal design of tandem wing airplanes.”