This New Scientist article from last month raises an interesting question on whether or not dinosaurs “invented” the technology that was used in biplanes, 125 million years before man first took to the sky.
Fossilized remains uncovered in China from Microraptor gui show that this four limbed, feathered organism may have glided through the air with 2 sets of parallel wings.
Some scientists remain unconvinced that the Microraptor glided through the air this way however. Sankar Chatterjee of Texas Tech University says that gliding this way would be “aerodynamically inefficient and that Microraptor’s legs could not be splayed sideways.”
More information:
Wikipedia - Microraptor
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