(August 23, 2017 at 5:37 pm)Clueless Morgan Wrote:(August 23, 2017 at 4:55 pm)pocaracas Wrote: Hollow bones!
Thick skin, but hollow chicken bones!
The largest flying animal ever found is Quetzalcoatlus which had a wingspan of 10-12m, unknown flying mechanics (gliding/thermal-assisted vs powered, flapping flight), and a possible weight of anywhere from 200kg to 500kg, or 400-1100 pounds. Google it, it's body-size is itty bitty compared to its wingspan and compared to Dany's dragons! Even if they have similar wingspans, those dragons definitely weigh more than Quetzalcoatlus, and definitely have powered flight so they would need some seriously huge wing muscles to get their bodies into the air even with hollow bones which would still weigh a pretty penny due to their size alone. By the looks of them they have a muscle to body-weight ratio appropriate to a much smaller flying animal.
There's also the question of how the ancient atmosphere affected pterosaurs' ability to fly - it's thought they would not have the same ability in our atmosphere today. Which raises the question, then, of whether the atmosphere in Westeros is sufficiently different from our own such that it makes flight for large reptilian animals possible.
Point is, if you're going to nitpick the aerodynamics of a wounded dragon, your problems should really have started with the biology of an adult-sized flying dragon to begin with.
Now who's the nerd?Nitpicking... dragons exist?
We can build some pretty heavy flying machines with much smaller wing to body ratios than those dragons....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-5...tofortress
- 160,000kg?! O.o (360,000 pounds)
- plus 32,000 kg of weapons!?! (70,000 pounds)
I wouldn't have a problem with those beast being able to actually fly...
http://tabletopwhale.com/img/posts/09-29-14.gif
Taking off, however... never a vertical ascent. I like it that they sometimes just plunge off a cliff on the show... at least that may give them enough boost for the wings to start working!... or just to glide.
