Quetzal smiled as she chatted with her friends over the security of a computer line. In some ways it was rather amusing to see that all of them had regained much of the curves that they'd had while being enhanced by their previous employer, but there was now a more natural look to all of them in that regard. Their breasts didn't stay unnaturally firm to the point where they curved upward from their chests the way they had with all the implants they'd had. Of course, Holly had some things that were clearly different and showed her becoming a hermaphrodite Reindeer Animalian while Quetzal and Barb remained fully female. Holly's shoulders were a bit wider than before and her voice was also a bit deeper, but Quetzal was glad shi was happy.
Though with so much of their conversation focused on Quetzal being able to fly, that got her thinking back on the first set of flying lessons she'd gotten from Sophie and Roland. They had to be on Saturdays or Sundays, because of their college schedules and they had to be on the SMU campus because they didn't have a vehicle with which to come down to Dino City. Quetzal was happy to do that, and ultimately Rex and another paleontologist were happy to work with that. To Quetzal's surprise, this other paleontologist actually lived in Dallas and made his commute easier.
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"We seem to attract a lot of attention," Quetzal commented as a group of other students moved around them on one of the open lawn areas of the SMU campus.
"It's likely that while they know about Animalia and Dino City... they've never seen so many Dinotopians in one place before," Sophie answered with a chuckle as she looked from herself to Roland, to Buzz, to Quetzal, and then to Rex who was standing a bit further back with another man named Frederick Timm, though Fred Timm was Human, "and it's a good thing you wore pants."
"Pants..." Quetzal asked.
"Let's just say that skirts are not conducive to Animalians that can fly," Sophie answered, "one Duck Animalian that was uplifted in the initial outbreak wore a skirt because she found it looser and easier on her feathers... and being an uplifted Animalian... I think she was initially unaware of some things. For, from the stories I heard, she also went commando and when the people Lyre found out about this... teenage boys took to following her around waiting for her to take off or watch her land."
Quetzal looked over to Roland.
"I wasn't among them," Roland said quickly, making Sophie giggle.
"So it's to fly and keep my dignity," Quetzal surmised.
Sophie and Roland both nodded.
"And also settle on if you can fly," Frederick Timm spoke, "as various Pterosaur experts have gone back and forth on whether or not Quetzalcoatlus and other giant Azhdarchids could fly. A lot of it has had to deal with weight issues and what muscle and wing capacity can do. Humans have made planes that are well heavier than any flying animal in both dimensions and weight, but they also rely on engines that have capabilities that would greatly exceed what a living animal, reliant on muscle power could produce."
"But I'm not as big as the actual animal," Quetzal pointed out.
"True, but you are going to be well bigger than most flying birds today," Rex added, "and technically so would Buzz, Roland, and Sophie here, though to a lesser degree since Pteranodon was comparable to a Human in weight when looking at the upper size estimates..."
"And Pterodactylus is actually comparable to the size of some modern birds that can fly," Sophie spoke, "thus, Roland and I are bigger than the animal our conversion was based on and WE can fly."
"So can I," Buzz added.
"Thus if you can fly and fly under your own power," Fred Timm commented, "we can theoretically apply the same principle to a scaled up model. For if Quetzalcoatlus and other Azhdarchids were too heavy to fly, you shouldn't be able to fly as a lot of the muscles in your wings would be repurposed for other means, which has happened with various flightless birds. If you can fly, we can better speculate on the bio-mechanical abilities of Quetzalcoatlus to fly."
"And what do you think?" Quetzal asked curiously. She wasn't that big on paleontology and science, but she could recognize that her conversion did provide those that were interested in it with some avenues to try and prove things beyond calculations based on just the bones of the extinct animal. It was also something that kept Buzz from either getting handsy or anything of that nature. Buzz wasn't bad, but he was also proof that conversion into an Animalian did not make Humans smarter.
"Well, from what I've seen... I'd tend to think that Quetzalcoatlus as an animal could fly, despite its weight," Fred Timm answered, "Donald Henderson's calculations were all based on weight and some of his numbers may have been miscalculated. And if we're looking solely based on those factors he would be right... but there are some situations where his calculations were wrong and thus he was massively increasing Quetzalcoatlus' weight. I've also helped send some of my notes and observations on the bones of Quetzalcoatlus Northropi that are here in Texas to some of the researchers in the UK that have concluded that the bones in Quetzalcoatlus would indicate more than just quadrupedal movement on land. Which in turn would mean that some measure of flight was quite possible."
"Possible?" Quetzal wondered, not noticing Buzz being lead off by Roland to get him to practice flying in the air where things like wind and air currents would affect his flying, leaving Quetzal with Rex and Fred Timm for the moment.
"More an indicator that they have use beyond just walking on land," Rex spoke, "with some Theropods... and Tyrannosaurs and Abelisaurs specifically... it's been suggested that they weren't using their arms for much and that has lead to the reduction in the size of their arms. For if they're not being used, they will get smaller. Now, with Tyrannosaurs, they may have had some use for them, but Abelisaurs had seen that their arms were clearly getting smaller as a result of a lack of need for them. Thus that Quetzalcoatlus' bones showed signs of the ability to do more than just walk, it's likely that they could do more than walk."
"The real question is then going to be how well," Fred Timm continued, "and how would you fly?"
He then pointed up into the air and Quetzal followed to where he was pointing. She could clearly see Sophie and Roland leading Buzz over the green that they were standing on. There, Quetzal could notice some differences. Sophie and Roland frequently beat their wings and were able to move and roll over and around Buzz's position in the air fairly easily, but was requiring a lot of wing beats for powered flight and simply to move. Buzz could fly well as well, and at times he tried to mimic Sophie and Roland's wing beats, and while could, Quetzal also noticed that Buzz's greater size and the width of his wings also seemed to tire him out a bit when trying to keep up with Sophie and Roland. It was only when he slowed his wing beats and glided more that he got more comfortable.
"Some have suggested that the Giant Azhdarchids would fly much like Pteranodon... they would ride thermals or glide for long distances and would use only a minimum of powered flight," Fred Timm continued, "in some ways similar to modern sea birds. A few others have countered with some calculations that Quetzalcoatlus would have been inefficient at that kind of long range gliding or soaring. They could attain powered flight, but would have done so rarely. As I've said... I think they can fly, but it's been the how they can fly that I'm more unsure of."
"In what way?" Quetzal wondered, while following Sophie, Roland, and Buzz move through the air and were now circling back toward them.
"Well... even if some of the weight calculations that were used to suggest Quetzalcoatlus couldn't fly were in error," Fred Timm said slowly, "we cannot deny that it and other Giant Azhdarchids were large animals. And at the same time, most of the birds we know of today that are known for long range soaring tend to be seabirds that go out to sea for fish and other food. Thus they NEED to be able to efficiently soar because they will be going for long distances before landing as that would save on the energy consumed beating their wings. But the fossil record has not shown Quetzalcoatlus fossils found in areas that would have been over a sea when it lived, and thus it was over land areas. And while there are large birds known to soar over land, it isn't often for great distances in the same way that seabirds do. Thus based on the likely movement of hot air up in the regions where Quetzalcoatlus have been found... and that combined with its size, it could be possible that Quetzalcoatlus was not efficient at soaring. It could get into the air when necessary, and given that it lived with Tyrannosaurus Rex, it may have to, but would be more like the Kori Bustard. It flies when it has to but may not actually fly that far... But even some of those calculations could be wrong or based off of incomplete data because of the fact that animals like Quetzalcoatlus went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period. It's where all Dinotopians and Cenozoic era Animalians are helping paleontologists and all others that study ancient animals."
Quetzal nodded and focused more as Sophie, Roland, and Buzz came in for a landing. Their wing beats slowed, but were made with more force before their feet touched down and they took a few steps before finally being able to settle into a stop. Buzz relaxed for a bit, while Sophie and Roland both turned to a small bag that was sitting at Quetzal's feet, producing some packets of jerky. They quickly sliced through the plastic packaging and were snacking on them as they moved to regain their energy. Quetzal waited patiently as they had their snack and recovered from checking on Buzz's progress.
"That was very good, Buzz," Roland said to him, "and good that you were able to adjust to the changes in the wind as needed to stay balanced."
"That seemed to come automatically... like my mind said that was what to do," Buzz stated.
"A result of our pycnofibers being thinner than a bird's feathers and in a thinner layer," Sophie spoke, "thus allowing for you to feel your way through the air." With that the two of them turned to Quetzal, though it was Sophie who asked, "are you ready?"
"I suppose," Quetzal said slowly, "you're sure I wouldn't crash into anyone?"
"We'll start out relatively low and slow," Roland spoke, "just enough powered flight to move slowly and staying low to the ground. That should prevent injury and so long as we stay over the green, we'll have the room to avoid flying into anyone."
"We'll also stay underneath you to catch you should there be anything that goes wrong," Sophie added.
From there, Sophie and Roland went through the basic introduction to Pterosaur flying and using their wings being the catapult to get them into the air. This was complete with both turning around to give Quetzal a view of their wings and noting on how the muscles around where their wings met their back were also more muscular than their arms. Fred Timm from his point noted that proportionately speaking, Sophie's wing muscles and Quetzal's were comparable. Quetzals wing muscles were bigger, but mostly because of her overall larger size and that gave Fred Timm the private confidence that Quetzal would be able to fly, particularly given that Animalians often didn't have the land limitations that they animals they were based on had. Quadrupedal animals could still move as quadrupeds as Animalians, but they were more often on two feet than not.
Quetzal asked her share of questions about things like a running start some of the other mechanics that related to how she was to take off. Sophie and Roland gave their answers based on how they flew, though gave the comment that if Quetzal couldn't get into the air from a stopped position, a running try could be attempted. Though they also made sure that that was only to be attempted if Quetzal couldn't get into the air from a stopped position. There was also the assurance that the open area of the college green would have the room for it. Quetzal nodded and listened carefully and then watched as Sophie and Roland gave a few demonstrations of how they moved their wings in how to get into the air and how that transitioned into flight before returning back to being in front of Quetzal.
Eventually they did get to a point where they actually began practicing. Quetzal found herself amazed at just how strong her own wing muscles were and the first launch had enough force to get her into the air and get at least one wing beat in, but she was so surprised by how she got on the launch that she landed feet first a fair distance from where she started.
"I didn't expect to get that high or this far," Quetzal spoke in awe over things.
"Which shows on how strong your wing muscles are," Fred Timm encouraged.
"Try again, but beat your wings quicker when getting into the air," Sophie instructed as she circled over Quetzal's head, "that will get you lift and the forward momentum to get going. From there you'll need to find the right pace to maintain momentum and height and so on. And Roland and I will be there to catch you if you get too high and lose control..."
They then followed through a series of testing movements. And again Quetzal was amazed by how she was able to get into the air, though it took a few steps to get her into stable flight. Some of her attempts got a few wing beats were more experimental than anything else. Some got her higher into the air and others barely moved her forward. It was essentially a series of short flights with a fair number of landings coming after a few short moves. Quetzal did try to glide at first, as she could feel the movement of air over her wings and body as well, but at the low altitudes where they were started didn't have enough movement and gliding resulted in her having to land. This essentially required her to continually flap her wings in order to fly and move forward. Eventually, Quetzal had managed to fly over the college green.
She didn't get too high into the air and it'd only been in a straight line, but it worked in many ways. She found that she couldn't glide on the basis of being held up by the winds, but they hadn't gone high enough to try thermal soaring, but with the wing beats she made, she could engage in powered flight and that was something that made Quetzal smile, her lips behind her beak lifted.
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"And there will be more lessons to take before testing to see if I could get high enough to glide from thermal to thermal," Quetzal thought to herself, "particularly if there is going to be any flight around the world to be done... but that'll be the test for the future and being able to fly is a good start."