Could a bird propel a skateboard by flapping its wings?
That is to say, could they get enough forward thrust to push themselves along, without taking off? Maybe with like a little perch to hang onto...
That is to say, could they get enough forward thrust to push themselves along, without taking off? Maybe with like a little perch to hang onto...
There's nothing in the laws of physics that precludes it. Skateboards can be extremely light and have ball bearings with extremely little friction. It's not all that unusual for a strong breeze to make a board start rolling all by itself
Someone has been playing Skatebird!
First I've heard of it, but now I kinda want to.
I'm sure an eagle could even pick it up and fly away with it. I've seen eagles pick up mountain goats.
Yea, but I was talking about taxiing like a plane on the runway.
Surely you can see the energy required to pickup and fly with a skateboard is orders of magnitude greater than simply pushing the skateboard?
Yes, and that's not the question I'm asking.
I'm asking whether they could sustain forward thrust in a standing position, and without actually taking off.
Most likely, yes. If anything, a bird may stand in reverse and flap the wings in front of itself.
But I would expect that its maneuver ability would allow it to do so in different ways ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I have no doubt a bin chicken could.
Is that a seagull or a pigeon?
An ibis
I’ll be damned
An ibis
A sparrow or a condor?
African or European swallow?
I don't know that! AAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Let's assume we size the board to fit the bird :)
To fit by size or by mass?
That's likely irrelevant, as rolling friction may be made quite low anyway
Any but the smallest of birds should do it easily.
I don't see why not, though I bet it can't go as fast as a turtle on a skateboard?
I AM SPEED 🐢
You were going so fast you dropped this: 🛹
I reckon a Pelican would easily be able to get a skateboard rolling. I'm just now sure the best steps to proceed testing it.
I'd try a skateboard at the top of a hill and see about getting a cockatoo to somehow get the board to roll under it's own propulsion so it can sit back and enjoy a ride down a hill. That'd be the way I'd try if I wanted the bird to do it repeatedly.