Jaak Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 As in, a habitual maneuver in their gait repertoire?A whiffling eagle:http://pamswildimages.com/Pams_Wild_Images/Eagles.html#3Other birds also whiffle. Like geese:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/5353933/Goose-photographed-flying-upside-down.htmlSo, do dragons?I see an obvious problem with whiffling: Bird wings are covered with stiff feathers, and possess permanent camber. It is therefore a good idea to increase drag by turning the wings the other way.Bat wings, by contrast, are thin skin membranes. They acquire temporary camber under the wind pressure. Therefore a bat whiffling would simply have an opposite camber, so should not gain much drag.Do bats actually whiffle, or not?Jabberwock certainly did whiffle: it came whiffling through tulgey wood.Targaryens have chains to affix themselves to saddle. When they neglect to affix the chains, like Joffrey or Daenerys, that´s dangerous.How does it feel to ride a whiffling dragon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maester of Valyria Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 I think we really need Winds to come out soon.By the way, The Jaberwocky is a great poem And seriously: I have no idea, and I doubt that it makes that much of a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaak Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 It obviously does make a difference. For birds, whiffling is a standard maneuver for rapid descent.If dragons habitually whiffle, that´s an important reason to make sure to saddle your dragon and fasten the chain/s. Meaning bareback riding, like Daenerys, is either dangerous - or if the dragon cares not to endanger the rider, handicaps the dragon by denying it its preferred flight maneuvers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maester of Valyria Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Sorry, I shouldn't have made fun of it. From the Oxford English Dictionary website:Move or cause to move lightly as if blown by a puff of air: 'the geese came whiffling down on to the grass'This seems to indicate that whiffling, as it is such a gentle movement, wouldn't be a very big problem when compared with the other difficulties of flying (winds, the dragon's bucking, enemy action, etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son of Man Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 As in, a habitual maneuver in their gait repertoire?A whiffling eagle:http://pamswildimages.com/Pams_Wild_Images/Eagles.html#3Other birds also whiffle. Like geese:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/5353933/Goose-photographed-flying-upside-down.htmlSo, do dragons?I see an obvious problem with whiffling: Bird wings are covered with stiff feathers, and possess permanent camber. It is therefore a good idea to increase drag by turning the wings the other way.Bat wings, by contrast, are thin skin membranes. They acquire temporary camber under the wind pressure. Therefore a bat whiffling would simply have an opposite camber, so should not gain much drag.Do bats actually whiffle, or not?Jabberwock certainly did whiffle: it came whiffling through tulgey wood.Targaryens have chains to affix themselves to saddle. When they neglect to affix the chains, like Joffrey or Daenerys, that´s dangerous.How does it feel to ride a whiffling dragon?Those who experienced it without safety belts never got the chance to write about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Universal Sword Donor Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Good Guy Garlan Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 George, please, release Winds now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maester of Valyria Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 ^ I've a feeling we're going to be needing that GIF a lot in the next few months... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaak Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 A lot of people have been described as riding dragons bareback. Daenerys has so far survived.Does an unchained rider seriously handicap a dragon?Tyrion has designed saddles for self and for Bran. And he has read a lot on dragons. Could we see a Tyrion-designed saddle on a dragon? Especially, compare maneuverability of a properly saddled and chained dragon against a dragon handicapped by need to keep on a bareback rider? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walda Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 There are a lot of fruit bats here. I'm not sure if it is strictly whiffling, but they do a lot of hanging upside down when sleeping/feeding, so their take-off manoeuvre involves turning right way up. And they land upside down.The 'whiffling' part is done by collapsing a wing and kind of pirouetting around it, like an ice skater spinning. The take-off is done at slow speed, and their manoeuvrability is not so good at that point, so it is hard to tell if they are flying or falling onto your head in the night when you unsuspectingly walk underneath their trees. I'm pretty sure they are flying, though. Not been hit by a falling bat yet.Dragons, though ... they would need a taller tree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen of Thornes Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 This may be my favourite post ever....I am going to tell someone I don't like to "go ride a whiffling dragon". And enjoy the confusion on their faces... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sly Wren Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 Jabberwock certainly did whiffle: it came whiffling through tulgey wood.An excellent point.So, if dragons, do end up whiffling, would that mean that they also burble?And that the only way to defeat them is with a vorpal blade, going snicker-snack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Not Appearing Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 Dragon wings go a-whistling while they're softly whiffling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ McLannister Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 Am I the only one who thought this thread was about dragon farts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slant Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 now, am sure they do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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