Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander
Proportionally much thinner scales, as the creature wants to fly. Yes, it has supermuscles and magic providing lift, but the less we have to trick physics, the better. One day, physics might be in a position to get us back.
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Heh. I have an aerodynamics calculation program I wrote a while back. Assuming a 200m wingspan and making a whole bunch of assumptions about lift and drag (I'm treating it as a 200m wingspan with an aspect ratio of 8 and a drag coefficient (aircraft-style) of 0.025,) with a maximum lift coefficient of 2), I get:
Stall: 45 m/s (100 mph); requires 56 MW
Loiter Speed (least power): 55 m/s (120 mph); requires 53 MW.
Cruise Speed (least energy/distance): 73 m/s (160 mph); requires 60 MW
Lift/Drag ratio: 15
Hover (non-stall, using a helicopter approximation): 120 MW; downdraft 18 m/s.