Re: Conway's Nyctosaurus Restoration or Introducing the Bennett Prize!

["James R. Cunningham" <jrccea@bellsouth.net>]

Chris Bennett wrote:

> Verticality is not essential to me, I just want a sail up there above the
> center of gravity so as to produce a roll moment.

Chris, as a more serious response, we have looked at the roll moment and
several methods for resisting it (from memory, the roll moment is
usually on the loose order of nine inch-pounds) and we will be
continuing to look at it in considerably more detail over the coming
months.  As always, I am not pushing a membraned Nyctosaurus.  We are
just extremely interested in what the ramifications of such a membrane
might be.  This is as much an issue of applied aero/hydrodynamics and
applied physics as it is a question of paleontology.

Jim