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If you had a bird which was large enough to ride, how fast could it fly? I need this information to work out the scale for my maps as i know how long it takes for one of the birds to fly from A to B.

Ajnatorix Zersolar
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    Is it an african or european bird ? – Keelhaul Jan 24 '18 at 13:54
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    Will it be carrying coconuts? – Binary Worrier Jan 24 '18 at 14:01
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    I don't really know what to make of your question. It seemed like there was only one real question in there. If you would like to further edit to add more details on the bird's size, that would be good. I'm not sure what '7 feet high' means. Does that mean that the bird's back or head is 7 feet high when it is standing on the ground? What does the bird look like: an eagle, a goose, a stork? – kingledion Jan 24 '18 at 14:01
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    Ostriches are large enough to ride, and they don't fly very quickly at all – Binary Worrier Jan 24 '18 at 14:02
  • Are you asking if a bird can fly with a man on its back? – Lee Leon Jan 24 '18 at 14:02
  • i am asking if a bird (7 feet to the back) was flying with 1 person on its back what speed could it fly.it looks like a bird of prey only bigger – Ajnatorix Zersolar Jan 24 '18 at 14:15
  • sorry this is my first question on this site so i am still getting used to it – Ajnatorix Zersolar Jan 24 '18 at 14:22
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    A bird which can fly carrying a man is called an airplane. The most perfect Antonov An-2 airplane has a stall speed of 50 km/h or maybe a little less; you may consider this a reasonable speed for this particular Roc bird. – AlexP Jan 24 '18 at 15:15
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    This depends heavily on the exact physical structure of your bird. Peregrine Falcons are about the same size as Crows, but have dramatically different flight speeds – guildsbounty Jan 24 '18 at 16:33
  • Is this in an earth-like setting? – bendl Jan 24 '18 at 16:37
  • Worth reading this question on the difficulties of having a bird able to carry a human: https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/38550/could-a-large-bird-be-used-as-transportation

    It may be better to pick made-up numbers that fit your story, as the real-world physics of large-birds doesn't work out particularly in your favour.

     – Bilkokuya Jan 24 '18 at 17:27
  • I doubt a bird that big would be able to fly at all, even without carrying a person. If you take your favourite bird and scale it up to be twice as tall, it becomes eight times heavier but its wings only get four times as much area, so it becomes much less able to support its weight in the air. – David Richerby Jan 24 '18 at 18:44
  • bendl yes this in an earth like setting – Ajnatorix Zersolar Jan 25 '18 at 09:59
  • This has been open for a day, and the OP hasn't addressed my main question: what is the bird shaped like. This could be easily answered by comparing to an existing bird. Without these details, this question can't be answered, so I'm voting to close as 'unclear what you are asking.' – kingledion Jan 26 '18 at 02:02
  • @kingledion actually he did - "it looks like a bird of prey only bigger", from his comment above. So typical giant eagle type bird. – adaliabooks Jan 26 '18 at 10:50
  • https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0535/6917/products/limitationsdemotivator.jpeg?v=1430420134 – The Square-Cube Law Jan 26 '18 at 15:00

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If you read the excellent answers to this questions: Could a large bird be used as transportation? you'll learn there are a lot of interesting physical problems with a human riding on a large flying animal. But since that never stopped the determined worldbuilder let's discuss humans riding on birds in terms of what would strain suspension of belief. Because let's face it, riding birds (or dragons, or a pterosaur) is just too cool to let physics get in the way.

Correct or not there are some common intuitions about flying that I think most people are going to want satisfied by your world.

First let's talk about some real birds. A Falcon can dive at 90 mph, so there is an upper limit of sorts. We can say that our magical bird's body and bones can withstand up to 90mph. Geese can cruise at 40 mph. Winds up high can be pretty significant. If you told me your magical bird that carries humans cruised a little faster than geese and dove like a falcon I'd keep reading and hope for some cool aerial combat scenes! If you want your bird to go 200mph or mach 2 you are talking more about modern aircraft and I would have a hard time believing that something can get there by flapping.

If I'm riding a bicycle very fast it becomes risky to have my eyes unprotected. I need sunglasses or something to keep bugs and dust from getting in my eyes around 15-20 mph. If I'm riding a motorcycle, they are essential unless there is a wind screen, and then I can go up to maybe 60-70mph. Racing motorcycles can go a lot faster with the rider protected by substantial clothing and a helmet and somewhat by the bike itself. Open cockpit airplanes can travel over a hundred miles per hour and particularly crazy people have been known to exit the cockpit while in flight without being immediately blown off the airplane. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_walking This suggests to me that for speeds under 100mph I would expect the pilot could get away with protective clothing, goggles and a helmet. Some kind of saddle/harness would be advisable to keep said pilot in touch with his flying friend.

You're already using magic to make your bird fly while violating the squared/cubed law, bone density, and power to weight ratios so the truth is I can't give you a physics based answer. But hopefully I've given you a little perspective on what a nerd would think reasonable upon hearing about your world of giant bird riders.

intrepidhero
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