Timeline for Could you fly on the Moon, in Earth's atmospheric pressure, by flapping wearable wings?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
10 events
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| May 4, 2018 at 21:51 | comment | added | ThePlanMan | @hobbs Very true. I based the answer on arms alone since the image in the question seemed to just show wings on the arms (also the question seems to ask about flapping ones arms). But you're quite right, if we ever do this it will be much more feasible if legs are allowed! | |
| May 3, 2018 at 16:16 | comment | added | hobbs | @ThePlanMan well, you could have wings for lift, but also gain thrust from diving fins on the feet. With a correct angle of attack, the wings then convert that thrust into lift and you're flying, with help from the (much stronger) legs. | |
| Oct 13, 2016 at 21:53 | comment | added | ThePlanMan | @LocalFluff the OP asked about 'wings', although legs are probably stronger I can't help put state the obvious... as we all know wings evolved from arms :P - dinosaur-world.com/feathered_dinosaurs/wing_evolution.htm | |
| Oct 12, 2016 at 19:05 | comment | added | LocalFluff | Why the arms? Why not the legs? God Mercury did have winged calves in many ancient depictions, so it's not a new idea. And don't underestimate the power of the human ass! | |
| Jun 5, 2014 at 5:44 | comment | added | pericynthion | It looks like this assumes that the you have to be able to produce a thrust:weight ratio >= 1 in order to fly. But you don't; wings are more efficient than that. It's straightforward to create a wing with a lift:drag ratio of 10, and much higher ratios can be achieved with careful attention. Calculating the thrust available from a flapping motion is rather a complicated exercise, but the fact that human-powered sustained flight is possible (if unwieldy, and requiring extreme athletics) on Earth suggests that it would be straightforward in a 1 atm environment on the moon. | |
| Jun 5, 2014 at 3:36 | comment | added | Loren Pechtel | Your guy can't fly. You're showing that it takes all the guy's got to fly--but after making a flap he has to move his arm back for the next one. Is he really going to be able to reposition 10x as fast as he flapped? The athlete has a chance, though. | |
| Jun 4, 2014 at 19:42 | comment | added | ThePlanMan | That's true. Although, the values quotes for arm strength are average of a typical male. So you could expect an athlete to perform significantly better. Getting a running start would definatly help, I'd guess that you might even be able to run and take off into a glide (given the right wing profiles ofcourse). | |
| Jun 4, 2014 at 18:36 | comment | added | TK-421 | With numbers that close, it seems wing design is going to be critical for the experience. I wonder how getting a running start would help. Also to consider would be the range in arm motion and muscles required and the duration of muscular exertion forces needed during the flapping motion. | |
| Jun 4, 2014 at 14:09 | history | edited | ThePlanMan | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
added 365 characters in body
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| Jun 4, 2014 at 14:03 | history | answered | ThePlanMan | CC BY-SA 3.0 |