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Picture is mostly unrelated to the subject at hand, it is just to meant to show what these hypothetical people would look like in terms of morphology .

My world has this anthropomorphized kangaroo-like race with extraordinary leg-strength + durability that can get around by hopping incredible distances and heights if they so choose. However their endurance isn't infinite and as such hopping over long distance would tire them kind of like how excessive walking or running would tire a human being.

Since they basically have to ability to "super jump", I'm wondering if should make them wear gliding suits for long distance transportation.

My rationale is that since they can already jump high why not just have them take advantage of the air currents to increase their mobility as well.

However I'm not too sure how good of an idea this would be, I'm assuming there are many factors that come in play such as the maximum jumping height or body-weight...etc.

Would it be sensible for this kangaroo-like race to wear gliding suits to make (individual) long distance transportation easier?

How high would they have to be able to jump to make gliding a sensible option?

And what other factors would I have to take into account to make my idea semi-plausible (even with my already outlandish setting and premise)?

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    $\begingroup$ It's not your design so this goes to the illustrator but his ears could easily be cut off, also a kangaroo cant jump very high so a super jump could be added to any creature. $\endgroup$
    – Roger Harris
    Dec 3, 2020 at 15:29
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    $\begingroup$ Kangaroos hop, if you want a high jumper..... Try bobcats or spiders... $\endgroup$
    – user80960
    Dec 3, 2020 at 16:17
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    $\begingroup$ Wouldn't using a deltaplane or parachute be the requirement to avoid a tragic fate when touching the ground? There's this same principle in the elder scrolls 3 morrowind : Jump high but just forget your parachute pants, and... $\endgroup$
    – Tortliena
    Dec 3, 2020 at 16:34
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    $\begingroup$ Also, remember you may not always fall on your legs, contrary to cats :p $\endgroup$
    – Tortliena
    Dec 3, 2020 at 16:44
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    $\begingroup$ define hopping incredible distances and heights, a 10ft jump would be well beyond anything human sized but useless for gliding. $\endgroup$
    – John
    Dec 3, 2020 at 19:09

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It sounds like an equivalent implementation of the skateboard.

However if you want to combine decent gliding with practical size of the suit, I think you will be forced on the smallish side of the size spectrum: on a rough approximation the area of the glide suit will grow with the square of the length of the animal, while the mass of the animal will grow with the cube of the length.

Therefore it will be easier to have a gliding kangaroo the size of a cat or a squirrel than the size of a cow.

However, since the gliding will only affect the descent rate, if they want to move further they will need to jump fast forward: the issue is not how high, but rather how fast. If they can glide 1 second, they will move forward as far as their horizontal speed, while if they jumped vertically they would not move at all, no matter how high they jump.

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    $\begingroup$ Your final paragraph ignores the practicalities of aerodynamic flight. Altitude is easily converted into horizontal speed with the aid of, for example, a glider. $\endgroup$
    – Separatrix
    Dec 3, 2020 at 15:49
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Consider humans who glide while wearing wingsuits.

You did not tag the question with , so... Supposing they are affected the same physics as us, they may use such suits when operating on mountainous areas. On a city you are basically doing base jumping, and you are unlikely to have the currents and the open space required to properly maneuver a wing suit. You could try, in theory... but if this is used ubiquitously, you are likely to have a lot of accidents.

Otherwise this is But if you are using cartoon physics, they can glide from top of buildings just like Batman.

You also tagged the question with . If the kangaroos are able to control air flow with magic, they may be able to glide like batman even if the physics of their world are otherwise realistic compared to ours. Depending on how well they can control it, they might even be able to achieve true flight like airbenders in Nicklodeon's Avatar animation series.

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  • $\begingroup$ No cartoon physics and especially no (elemental) magic, just an internally consistent "fantasy" world with slightly different rules. Otherwise good answer +1 $\endgroup$
    – Theexurbmm10a
    Dec 3, 2020 at 16:40

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