Step 6 - Leading Edge |
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| Now here, I've added a bit of the skin between the hand and the shoulder.
This is known as the wing's Leading Edge, as it meets and cuts through
the air first. This little flap of skin is actually VERY important because
without it, the wing would face two weaknesses. Firstly, the airfoil curved
shape would be interrupted any time the wing bent, and this would lead
to poor flying. Secondly, the skin between the hand and the elbow always
keeps the dragon's wing flexed.
Unlike human arms, bird, bat and dragon elbows never fully extend to be straight. This provides a permanent shock-absorber for the wing and keeps it from snapping against stress or impacts. Imagine jumping from a six foot table to the floor WITHOUT your knees bent...Ouch. You wouldn't do that too many times happily, and soon you'd wear out or even break your knees. We instinctively bend our knees to absorb impact. Well, a dragon's wings are as important to him as any body-part he has. If anything happens to that elbow, the dragon couldn't fly, fight or hunt. So, as a safety precaution, nature built in a permanent state of flex. |
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