Re: Campbell's even crazier than a MANIAC? (archeopteryx climbing)

[David Marjanovic <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

> Also worth noting is anything capable of powered flight, is capable of 
> gliding flight.
> Even rotorcraft like helicopters can glide (and indeed there are foot 
> launched autogyro gliders - i can supply video)
>
> So I find the concept of a powered flight ability before a gliding ability 
> as some proposed completely false (although some of their examples of 
> gliding were albatross and vultures - such specialized gliding forms 
> aren't needed to glide, and soaring should be differentiated from 
> gliding).
> Its either powered flight in tandem with gliding, or gliding, then powered 
> flight later.

I don't see how this follows.

> I think its highly likely powered flight did not come before soaring.

The fossil record points in the opposite direction: the bats still haven't 
got the idea of soaring, and the birds seem to only have evolved it after 
the Mesozoic was over. Even the pterosaurs started with small forms that 
didn't have particularly long wings.