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There are already many answers to the general question of why birds or planes can fly. But my question is more specific: I would like to understand the relative importance of the viscosity. The air has a very low viscosity, so I am wondering whether it really makes a difference that the viscosity is non-zero. Or could a bird fly in a non-viscous fluid?

PMD
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  • Please let us know if the link adequately address your question. That proposed dupe target only talks about fixed wings, not flexible flapping bird wings. – PM 2Ring Jan 25 '21 at 17:25
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    The proposed dupe also discusses it from a very different perspective (why an inviscid theory gives a value for lift) -- the top level takeaway is the same, "lift cannot exist without viscosity," but there might be some additional points to bring up in an answer to this question. – tpg2114 Jan 25 '21 at 17:40
  • Thank you for your answers! The link almost addresses my question. I would have wished a more intuitive answer, but it's already good! – PMD Jan 25 '21 at 18:02

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