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We probably won't, at least not at human-scale and not on Earth. Flapping wings don't scale; there's a reason you have to get to #12 of the heaviest birds list
by jdmichal 10y ago
We probably won't, at least not at human-scale and not on Earth. Flapping wings don't scale; there's a reason you have to get to #12 of the heaviest birds list to get one that flies, at ~13% the maximum mass of the heaviest bird.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_birds#Table_of_heaviest_living_birds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_birds#Table_of...
- DigitalJack 10y agoI wonder where pterodactyls would fall on that scale.
- jdmichal 10y agoLooks like Wikipedia has us covered: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterosaur_size#Speculation_about_pterosaur_size_and_flight https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterosaur_size#Speculation_abo... From the references, this is a pretty good read: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-pterosaurs-first-took-flight/ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-pterosaurs-fir...