Wing Span of a Human?

[chrispenycate]

Oh, angels. Angels don't have to be aerodynamicaly stable, they fly upright. I suspect that halo is a very fast-rotating propellor; can you imagine one stretching its arms in front of its head and going flat out, in those robes?
They're nearly as bad a flight design as your average dragon.
And you're not even allowed to go after them with a shotgun.

[asher marquering]

just a thought

wat would be the sensitivity of the area where the wing attaches to the body would it be ticklish on one side like arm pits(hmmm sounds weird)

[pyan]

Originally Posted by asher marquering

just a thought

wat would be the sensitivity of the area where the wing attaches to the body would it be ticklish on one side like arm pits(hmmm sounds weird)

Yes.... it would be very inconvenient if you just had to scratch at 3000 feet up!

[Steve Jordan]

Here's something to think about: The wings don't have to extend upward from the back, like (X-men) Angel's wings; they could extend downward, have a joint at about knee-level, then up to a joint at or above the head, and down again. (Like having your biceps down, your forearms up, and your hands and fingers down. No comments from the Python fans! Or, think Pterodactyl.)

Presto: Wings that can span about 5 meters each, or 10 meters total span, comparable to hang-glider size, and you can still get through the door.

[kythe]

This conversation reminds me of "Changing Fate" by Elisabeth Waters:
Amazon.com: Changing Fate: Books: Elisabeth (Lisa) Waters

It's one of my favorite fantasies, and I think the author is quite thorough in how she deals with the issue of flying humans. The story is about a woman born with shape-shifting abilities, and how she learns to use them. She finds that her weight is the same in any shape she takes since she cannot alter her mass. When she is a bird, her wingspan is much larger than any other birds in order to support her body since she does not have hollow bones.

It's a little hard to describe, but the book itself is much better. I would highly recommend it if you are into this kind of thing.

[gully_foyle]

Aren't angels meant to be divine creations? If so, then function doesn't come into it, the wings are just there to awe and humble us ground dwellers. So you could get away with the sort of wings Duran Duran sported in Barbarella. Personally I'd like a nice big leathery pair of bats wings. You'd probably have to sleep upside down with them, or at least I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be allowed in bed with them.