Hi! I love your pegasi and have been subscribed to your blogs for several years now.
Do you think pegasi, gryphons and etc will land on their hind legs or forelegs after flying?
It seems to me that artists often draw creature's landing on their hind legs, like birds, but wouldn't it be more logical to repeat the landing of a four-legged animal after jumping? Even if it will be smooth like landing an airplane. They can land on their hind legs in place, but it requires a lot of wing work.
Hi there! And thanks for being here for so long :)
Great question, this was a fun one to work out lore for!
I think 4-legged flying creatures should land on their hind legs.
A horse jumping over a jump fence must land on its front legs and propel the momentum forward. That's generally harmless with standard jump heights, but is still stressful on the front legs, shoulders, neck, and spine. There's no way to slow the physics down and the front half of the body must absorb the full impact of the landing.
The reason airplanes flare (tip the nose up) while landing is to present the greatest wing surface possible forward to reduce the speed, and thus the reducing the force of the landing. This will minimize stress on the airframe and generate a much slower landing speed, which reduces stress on the brakes.
Here's some basic sketches on how that manifests in pegasi (and other four-legged flying creatures).
Essentially, landing without flaring is controlled crashing. So even if it may require a little more work from the wings, the benefits of a slower landing would make an animal prefer flaring to reduce the stress on their frame and avoid serious injuries.
~ Larn
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