If only airlines could likewise take cues from nature to learn how to maximize the number of passengers WITHOUT minimizing legroom and comfort.

shibakoen : Very well said! - let's hope they are listening!

Interesting article. Gliding fish seems to be more appropriate. Maybe comparisons to birds are not fair as they have additional mechanics for their wings related to flapping and changes in direction.

"When the shape of a wing creates more lift from the air passing around it than it does drag (air resistance), an aircraft will fly" - that's a fairly misleading statement. Better to say that the higher the lift to drag ratio, the more efficiently an aircraft will fly. Airliners have an L/D ratio of ~15, whilst gliders can be as high as 50.

There is nothing new here. The scientists have learned nothing from their fish.

"once aloft they can glide for more than 40 seconds, cover 400 metres (1,312 feet) and move at about 70kph (43mph)"

Wow ! I had no idea !

I guess we'll have to switch from ground effect to surface effect.

Got to love Asia - catch the fish and have them stuffed in different positions and place them in a wind tunnel.... Let's hope they don't get too interested in an endangered species:)!

The most important skill was missed when killing the fish.
The fish adjust their fins AND their body to continually maximize their glide ratio.
That is what really needs to be learned from the fish, and thus we will have planes that adjust to different conditions better than they do now.