  During the pull-out maneuver, Peregrine falcons were observed to adopt
specific flight configurations which are thought to offer an aerodynamic
advantage over aerial prey. Analysis of the flight trajectory of a falcon in a
controlled environment shows it experiencing load factors up to 3 and further
predictions suggest this could be increased up to almost 10g during high-speed
pull-out. This can be attributed to the high maneuverability promoted by
lift-generating vortical structures over the wing. Wind-tunnel experiments on
life-sized models together with high fidelity simulations on idealized models,
which are based on taxidermy falcons in different configurations, show that
deploying the hand-wing in a pull-out creates extra vortex-lift, similar to
that of combat aircraft with delta wings. The aerodynamic forces and the
position of aerodynamic center were calculated from Large Eddy Simulations of
the flow around the model. This allowed for an analysis of the longitudinal
static stability in a pull-out, confirming that the falcon is flying unstably
in pitch with a positive slope in the pitching moment and a trim angle of
attack of about 5$^\circ$, possibly to maximize responsiveness. The
hand-wings/primaries were seen to contribute to the augmented stability acting
as `elevons' would on a tailless blended-wing-body aircraft.
