Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-26397825-20170714130723/@comment-25396609-20170724183643

Do... you not know how gliding works?

Gliding isn't about flexibility or materials; it's about surface area. To quote Toy Story, "That wasn't flying, it was falling with style" which when you get down to it is all that gliding is. A controlled, long-distance fall.

It doesn't need to be flexible to glide; there are plenty of solid-winged gliders around.

All you need to glide is enough surface area for a good wind to negate the weight, and something to push you; that is literally how airplanes fly. It's actually incredibly simple to make something glide.

Want me to go find some wing shaped rigid wing gliders? Because I can. They're actually quite common; though traditionally made of polyester fabric stretched over a frame a metal wing works as well; just less common. Look at any commercial airplane, or military aircraft.

Throw all the fancy words and meaningless dismissals you want at me, the axe glider isn't impossible; in fact it's rather simple. Making things fly is almost hilariously easy considering how long it took our species to figure it out.