Questions tagged [flight]
For questions related to the act or process of flying through an atmosphere. Includes any means of propelling oneself through the atmosphere of a world, including biological or technological. Does not include flight outside an atmosphere (compare [space-travel]). Compare [aircraft] and [airships], which are about the machines themselves.
350
questions
6
votes
2
answers
190
views
How nimble can I make my aeroplanes?
Although I'm aware of the real life existence of aerosports involving planes, exactly how nimble can I expect my planes, of a similar size, to be. If I were to design or have a racing course for said ...
- 1,997
3
votes
2
answers
439
views
Would cold-blooded dragon be suitable for flying?
I am designing a cold-blooded dragon about the size of a house cat with a wingspan of 3 metres from tip to tip. It will climb on top of rocks at noon when there is ample sunlight overhead. I need it ...
- 46.3k
3
votes
3
answers
345
views
Scientific explanation for summoned creatures
Throughout the ages, The Summoners were a prominent family of mages (but technology is magic here), who possess the ability to call forth creatures from cards. Of course they can only summon creatures ...
- 19.3k
11
votes
1
answer
215
views
Air resistance speed limits on a broomstick
I'm working on a tabletop roleplaying game about witches. I have most of the mechanics of broomsticks worked out, but I'm having trouble deciding on top speeds. Speed limits are not a result of how ...
- 221
9
votes
7
answers
4k
views
Does gliding flight give any advantages to dragons in combat?
"They fly now?"
"They fly now!?"
"They fly now"
One of the most iconic characteristic of dragons is their ability to fly, on top of that, my intelligent (human level) dragons also use a fun ...
- 19.3k
4
votes
3
answers
271
views
Optimal posture for hexapodal dragon while flying?
So, the dragons of my setting were inspired by several things, which include D&D dragons, a mockumentary and Asian water monitors. Now, dragons look something similar to this:
They glide for most ...
- 19.3k
8
votes
2
answers
336
views
Would this dragon-rider combo be physically plausible?
Taking into account the some limitations of the square-cube law, biology, and aviation, I have tried to make a dragon-like creature and a hominid that participate in a symbiotic relationship. For ...
- 692
11
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How tattered can membranous wings get before flight becomes impossible?
It's a common trope in the visual design of dragons, giant bats and other fictional flying beings to have wings that appear to be severely torn, cut, pierced, and otherwise worn down. It's also quite ...
- 1,560
2
votes
4
answers
310
views
could a robot fly with powerful enough electromagnets?
The robot in question is a large, worm-like mining robot built for digging tunnels. It has electromagnets positioned throughout the segments of its body, for the purpose of pulling metals out of the ...
- 2,723
5
votes
2
answers
175
views
Can an Io-like world exist in such conditions to allow this character to fly?
This character has a set of dragonfly-like wings. These are not normal for her species, and would normally be something of a birth defect requiring amputation. But through liberal application of ...
- 2,021
5
votes
1
answer
227
views
Plausibility of Hexapodal Aerial Megafauna
How plausible is a six-limbed flying animal roughly the size of hatzegopteryx to be aerial? In this case, an aerial animal will be defined as a creature that solely inhabits the sky. I will call the ...
- 1,528
2
votes
1
answer
656
views
How big would the wings of my dragons have to be in order to fly? [duplicate]
I haven't really gotten into the size of my dragons, but I figured that a reasonable reference point for the size of my dragons would be Tyrannosaurus rex, since my dragons, as adults, look like ...
- 4,125
5
votes
3
answers
342
views
Large flying creature on super earth?
I am working on a habitable planet that orbits around a red dwarf star and it is about 1.5 times bigger and more massive than the Earth. Gravity there is stronger and the atmosphere is thicker.
Now, ...
- 51
4
votes
1
answer
205
views
Maximum scale for "bumblebee" flight?
Bumblebees famously cannot fly under fixed wing aerodynamics--and they don't. Rather, they "row" the air, moving their wings back and forth and varying the pitch to push air down like a reciprocating ...
- 37.6k
17
votes
4
answers
6k
views
Could you fly a Boeing 747 on Venus?
I have been making a future colonization scenario where people have vast colonies on Mars and cloud top bases on Venus. These things are unbelievably large. I've already thought of a way to travel ...
- 2,546
1
vote
2
answers
164
views
Would a flying, human sized species from a planet smaller than Earth be stronger, as strong or weaker than humans?
I'm working on a sci fi story where one of the species has batlike wings and comes from a moon around the size of Titan with roughly the same atmospheric pressure as Earth. Initially, I thought they'd ...
3
votes
1
answer
176
views
What would be the wingspan and lifting surface area for a 5kg canard-configuration squid glider?
I need my jet-propelled squid to be an efficient glider, something similar to an albatross but he's built in the canard configuration like a real flying squid (below).
His combined weight is 5 kg
...
- 6,995
7
votes
3
answers
369
views
Anatomically Correct Propellers
NOTE: I previously asked the same question regarding wheels, because I thought that the answers would still help me and that wheels were more applicable to a wider audience than propellers. However, I ...
- 6,212
11
votes
2
answers
845
views
Can a horse-sized flying creature grab and carry a human's weight while flying?
As you know, mythical animals like the gryphon, dragon, wyvern, roc, etc can carry things as they fly.
For a big creature to fly, it either needs to massively increase the spread of their wings or ...
- 8,919
2
votes
3
answers
172
views
Telekinetic Vacuum Balloons?
Generally, when someone uses telekinesis to fly, it's either by riding an object that can be levitated, or by applying the power to their body. Would there be any advantages to alternative techniques, ...
- 2,021
2
votes
3
answers
784
views
How high can dragons fly? [closed]
I know about the square-cube law, and this question is not whether dragons can fly at all, but how high they can fly. This link may help deal with some of the problems that come up.
Edit: Assume ...
- 594
1
vote
2
answers
100
views
The characteristics and effects of high speed rotating domes
I'm currently designing a world for a story that I'm writing that is based on a system of magic that deals with barriers, specifically domes. To get to the point one key characteristic is that these ...
- 337
2
votes
2
answers
325
views
Nonflammable flight gas
What would be a lighter-than-air gas that is also not flammable, and would be fairly easy to produce in a modern-style world?
9
votes
1
answer
273
views
Can a feathered wing be also compliant?
So, to quote pterosaur.net:
Unlike the wings of birds, the wings of pterosaurs would have tended
to change shape under aerodynamic load - something often referred to
as 'passive cambering'. ...
- 19.3k
5
votes
1
answer
523
views
How fast could a bird-like human fly under optimal conditions?
So I have a race of people who look mostly like humans, but share a lot of traits with birds, most notably:
Wings placed midway down the back, roughly double their armspan (varies by species)
Hollow, ...
- 205
5
votes
1
answer
192
views
Could a living tube kite creature evolve/ exist?
On Deviantart I found a sketch of this creature:
It's called a "flying tube beetle" or more often a "flying lampshade". Think of it like a living tube kite that makes its own tether and catches what ...
- 2,982
2
votes
3
answers
613
views
Actual scientific requirements for human flight
I want to make a human able to fly, much as Superman or any other superhero can (meaning without wings or any other non-human physical characteristics), but respecting the physical laws otherwise. ...
- 23
11
votes
5
answers
4k
views
How big would my character's wings realistically be?
I'm not a professional at world building or character building, still starting out, but I do want to make an attempt at having my fantasy character be somewhat realistic.
He's 11 years old, 4.8 ft (...
- 111
4
votes
2
answers
274
views
Can you actually swing, shoot, throw while suspended in the air with a jetpack?
Disclaimer: I don't know a single thing about aerodynamics but I'm hoping to get a little pointers in where to start.
I'm currently writing a fantasy story where jetpacks are a very practical and ...
6
votes
5
answers
658
views
Armor design for bird people? | Gliding
So, there are birdpeople/birdfolk in my setting. They're ~170 cm tall bipedal humanoids with a pair of functioning wings, slightly below the shoulders. They're covered with feathers, except for the ...
- 19.3k
15
votes
6
answers
5k
views
Can birds evolve without trees?
I wonder whether the birds or other flying animals heavier than air could evolve without trees of other protruding objects?
- 4,883
31
votes
13
answers
10k
views
What clothes would flying-people wear?
What clothing would people who have wings, and weren't prone to just being naked, choose to wear that wouldn't interfere with their flying?
Note: I am assuming arm-wings like a bird, but I know some ...
- 421
8
votes
3
answers
782
views
Foldable, multipart helicopter blades
What would it take to build helicopter blades that can fold in several parts?
This is the continuation of a question on Aviation. Unfortunately, there have been no use case for this for existing ...
- 4,638
8
votes
2
answers
365
views
Wings for orbital transfer bioships? - The ascent
I've been looking at the altitude boosted SSTO designs from the 90s that were designed to be lifted to launch altitude by modified jetliners and thinking about bumblebees and wondering if bioships ...
- 44.7k
10
votes
3
answers
213
views
Power of flight vs weight of object in free fall
In my story there are people with super powers, but they only get to have one. So, if someone’s power is to start a fire, then they can’t also control it once it starts. My problem currently is with ...
- 101
6
votes
8
answers
827
views
What limitations can I put on wings for more tense/risky action scenes?
This is my first post on Stack Exchange, so I'm not sure if this follows the right format. Let me know what I can change to make this more helpful on the site. Anyways, let's get to the backstory of ...
- 392
0
votes
2
answers
155
views
How can a medieval-era village keep out aerial intruders? [duplicate]
In my fantasy world, I have humanoid beings who are as adept in the air as they are on the ground. They can walk around just as humans do, but they can also just as easily float into the air or shoot ...
5
votes
7
answers
923
views
Why would a bird have split wings?
On my world there is a creature that has a 'split' in the plumage of its wings and tail.
Instead of having a singular D-shaped surface (when viewed from above, the bird facing to the left), it is ...
- 6,820
4
votes
10
answers
503
views
How would a fixed altitude magical Airship be propelled?
Background
In my world, there are vehicles that can spatially "lock" themselves to a single altitude. The locking mechanism is a magical core, combined with runic metal bands extending around the ...
- 43
6
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Air bladders in bat-like skin wings for better lift?
Answers to this question note that human (and by extension mammal) wings would use naked skin instead of feathers, as we see on bats. However, with feathers, birds can have wings with shaped more like ...
- 4,638
5
votes
2
answers
206
views
Hot air balloons lifting bridges in volcanic areas are possible?
In this world, there is a land isolated by a lava line, and the only way to get in there, is across a bridge levitated by hot air balloons.
I had the idea of making a wooden bridge being supported by ...
- 59
9
votes
4
answers
162
views
How to define operational altitude on other planets?
Since different planets have different gravity, atmospheric pressure, air density and composition, it's obvious that a definition of operational altitude based on earth sea level is inadequate for a ...
- 439
3
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Could an aircraft fly or hover using only jets of compressed air?
In a world with practically unlimited energy and advanced technology they have no need to burn fuels for energy or even use fire. To travel around their huge planet cities they use aircraft and hover ...
- 649
8
votes
2
answers
972
views
Could a dragon use hot air to help it take off?
So a friend of mine came up with an interesting question. Considering the fairly universal following facts about western-style fantasy dragons:
a) dragons can breath fire
b) dragons themselves are ...
- 2,788
1
vote
0
answers
107
views
How could my "tumbler field" steer projectiles away from its user? [closed]
In order to allow melee weapons, firearms, (and dragons) to exist side by side, I need the wheel of fortune that can turn the battle's tide to favor one over the other, then spin it.
One such wheel ...
- 19.3k
4
votes
1
answer
210
views
How can I increase wingbeat frequency for large flying creatures?
Flapping flight bumps into a size limit after a while because of wingbeat frequency.
My knowledge on birds is rather limited, so here's how I interpreted that:
A longer wing is a longer lever -> ...
- 19.3k
23
votes
11
answers
3k
views
Biological Blimps: Propulsion
A while back, I asked this question about the plausibility of giant floating whales and received an excellent and high-scoring answer from Dubukay demonstrating that, given the assumptions that ...
- 10.9k
2
votes
0
answers
97
views
What is the minimum tech level for manned flight? [closed]
For instance, a hot air balloon is really pretty simple; I suspect that even thousands of years ago, it would have been possible to make - steam engines existed in 1AD, after all.
So, just how far ...
- 2,201
6
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Can a medieval gyroplane be built?
A hang-glider or a gyro-glider would suffice also, with the purpose of actually working.
I was hoping it wouldn't require a motor, because I doubt a motor could be built in medieval times.
If it ...
- 507
6
votes
2
answers
804
views
What is the science of fairy flight?
Assume these homo super-dwarf aka fairy and homo sapiens come from a common ancestor, and somehow they evolved a pair of wings and can do vertical takeoff.
The average adult is approximately the ...
- 46.3k