3
$\begingroup$

it has an elongated body, and the wings are 2 pairs and 2 pairs behind those, at a sufficient distance so they do not get in each other's way, unless the dragon wants them to, also not too far apart, as the draft created by the 1st pair could be reused here, the dragon has a 350Kg weight, the weight each wing has to support is around half and half, (a bit less in the 2nd pair, and would be a bit less than that in the 3rd, if you want that challenge)

P.S:not one on top of each other, there are a lot of those questions, and not like with the angel questions, as those are on a smaller body, and less weight

edit:also, if you could, please say how big would the wings need to be edit:remember the 9 limbs, not counting neck and head,

thank you for your time and have a great day

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
5
  • $\begingroup$ I don't understand your perceived problem, you've already moved them far enough apart they can't get tangled (not that that's really a problem, if it was dragonflies wouldn't exist would they) so I don't understand what you're asking, the question needs a bit of a rewrite perhaps? $\endgroup$
    – Pelinore
    Commented Mar 10, 2021 at 15:02
  • $\begingroup$ why do the wings need to be in such a specific relative shape? it should be more efficient to have them be only slightly shorter, so as to provide more support. $\endgroup$
    – zackit
    Commented Mar 10, 2021 at 15:09
  • $\begingroup$ @zackit yes, you could also do it like that, and that is part of the point, which is misunderstood, that the 2nd pair also receive part of the force of the other wings, giving a bit more power, plus they can be moved independently from one another, being able to have better acrobatics, a bit like a dragonfly $\endgroup$
    – Dexyan
    Commented Mar 10, 2021 at 19:39
  • $\begingroup$ @Dexyan i understand the purpose and advantages of independent wings versus dependant, but both generally work best when the hind wings are very close to the same as the front, so as to have more work done with less added drag. i dont understand the condition of having so much shorter hind wings than front, if you could please explain why you added this detail so as to make us able to give more detailed answers about them. $\endgroup$
    – zackit
    Commented Mar 10, 2021 at 20:44
  • $\begingroup$ @Dexyan which doesn't in any way address the query, merely provides another example to back it ;) $\endgroup$
    – Pelinore
    Commented Mar 10, 2021 at 21:13

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
7
$\begingroup$

How would a four (or more) winged dragon fly?

What's wrong with the implementation of an inverted dragonfly? (no pun intended, but the name is pretty apt in this case)

enter image description here

A dragonfly is an insect belonging to the order Odonata, infraorder Anisoptera (from Greek ἄνισος anisos, "unequal" and πτερόν pteron, "wing", because the hindwing is broader than the forewing).

Being predators their wings also seems to suit a dragon, which I suppose doesn't feed by grazing grass the whole day.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
7
  • $\begingroup$ yes, but what would the dimensions of the wings be? and i also do not think the shape will work either, could you develop it further? $\endgroup$
    – Dexyan
    Commented Mar 10, 2021 at 15:01
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @dexyan , if you want the dimensions of the wings, you'll probably need to specify more factor such as the length, the diameter of the body of the dragon, if they use pull thrust (wings in front of the center of mass), mid thrust (wings on either side of the center of mass), or push thrust (wings behind), etc. $\endgroup$
    – zackit
    Commented Mar 10, 2021 at 15:07
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @Dexyan: The question asks how would a four-winged flying beast fly. It does not ask how large the wings are etc. (And if you are interested in wing size, look a the Cessna 162 Skycatcher, which has about the required weight.) $\endgroup$
    – AlexP
    Commented Mar 10, 2021 at 15:16
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @Dexyan given that dragons don't exist, and in their various traditional designs couldn't fly, I feel like asking for plausible dimensions is a bit unreasonable. The largest living things to fly, like Quetzalcoatlus, don't look even slightly dragon like. $\endgroup$
    – Starfish Prime
    Commented Mar 10, 2021 at 16:22
  • $\begingroup$ @StarfishPrime many are just too big, but others which are not so big, could have a weight like a pterodactyl Quetzalcoatl, and i am trying a design, plus, i want it to be within boundaries of physics, i already have breath, internal organ positioning, scale materials, etc, now i just need this $\endgroup$
    – Dexyan
    Commented Mar 10, 2021 at 19:51
4
$\begingroup$

Note: answer was written before the question was changed to request separate wings from arms/legs.

Because dragons have been overdone, lets have a slightly different bodyplan.

Behold, the entirely non-terrifying Microraptor: artist's impression of Microraptor

Microraptor was an early avian dinosaur, back before everyone settled on the now-standard pair-o-wings-anna-couple-of-legs bodyplan. The back legs have big flight feathers on them, allowing them to assist with powered flight, manoevring and gliding (though they'd have hindered walking and running somewhat).

No-one is quite sure how they flew though, but a bunch of wind tunnel tests were made:

Microraptor wind-tunnel model

So, not much like a classical dragon, but not a terrible model for something a bit different compared to the usual. Note claws on both fore and hindwings and that lovely long tail. Shouldn't be too hard to adapt to fit your needs!

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
4
  • $\begingroup$ i'd like all 9 limbs (not counting neck and head) $\endgroup$
    – Dexyan
    Commented Mar 11, 2021 at 15:37
  • $\begingroup$ @Dexyan probably shoulda put that in the question ;-) $\endgroup$
    – Starfish Prime
    Commented Mar 11, 2021 at 15:40
  • $\begingroup$ done, how would you do it now $\endgroup$
    – Dexyan
    Commented Mar 11, 2021 at 17:38
  • $\begingroup$ @Dexyan well, I wouldn't have written this answer, but I'm not going to delete it now you've moved the goalposts. $\endgroup$
    – Starfish Prime
    Commented Mar 11, 2021 at 18:15

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .