Fly
Topic: Science
I've been told that aviator Charles Lindbergh discovered, while on his historic trans-Atlantic flight, a housefly in his aircraft. Fuel was a major consideration on this flight. He supposedly spent a lot of time thinking about whether or not the weight of the fly would adversely affect the fuel consumption, and would it matter if the fly were at rest, or in flight?
Keep in mind that the fly would be supporting itself on the air inside the cockpit during the flight. And that air would, in turn, be supported by the air underneath it, only distributed in a larger area, spreading out underneath the fly in a conical pattern. So, the question is this: at what point does the weight of the fly become wholly supported by the air, and will it ever need to be supported by the aircraft if the fly is in flight?

He couldn't just kill it, because he'd have to find some way to chuck it out of the plane, or it'd definitely be supported by the plane. Opening a port would cause air drag, which might be worse than the loss of lift caused by the fly over the entire distance of the flight. He might be better off just encouraging it to fly... but would it make a difference? Maybe he wouldn't lose much fuel to drag if he opened a port after all. But he might still be better off letting it live... but... but...

Whether or not the story is true, it's an interesting thought problem. I think I'd have waited until I landed. That way, if I made it, I'd be able to release the fly and say "Welcome to France, little guy! We made it!"

And if I didn't, I'd squash the damned thing, while screaming "You're going first, you little bastard! See you in Hell!"