Timeline for Could a dragon use its wings to swim?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
7 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 2019 at 15:15 | comment | added | The Square-Cube Law | @MickO'Hea I like the idea. The dragon could otherwise skip swallowing water and use natural bowel methane for fuel + fire from stomach to provide thrust. | |
| Apr 1, 2019 at 15:08 | comment | added | Mohirl | What about steam powered jets, assuming these are fire-breathing dragons? Ingest water, add fire, expel as steam for initial propulsion | |
| Apr 1, 2019 at 14:15 | comment | added | Flater | @Delioth: Keep mind of the square cube law though. Surface area of the wing is a square, but a dragon's mass is a cube. When you scale the flying fish, you will reach a point where the wings won't properly glide anymore even though they may have the same relative size to the dragon's body as is the case for the flying fish. | |
| Apr 1, 2019 at 14:03 | comment | added | Delioth | @Flater I guess it also depends on the OP's definition of "flying" for the water dragons. If OP just needs short bursts of movement through air without fancy maneuvers or sustained flight, jump-and-glide could very well serve the purpose | |
| Apr 1, 2019 at 12:47 | comment | added | Flater | Since your answer is built on "flying fish can do it", it is relevant to consider that flying fish glide, they don't fly. They are limited by whatever force they can muster when they jump out of the water, and then they just coast until they land. | |
| Apr 1, 2019 at 12:17 | comment | added | Starfish Prime | There are of course other options for primarily aquatic animals who'd like to fly... water jets! blog.nationalgeographic.org/2013/02/20/… | |
| Apr 1, 2019 at 10:42 | history | answered | The Square-Cube Law | CC BY-SA 4.0 |