Theory 54/Organism/Flight
Wing Size Is Lift Against Drag
The claim
Wing size is set by the ratio of required lift to acceptable drag, so slow fliers need larger wings than fast ones at the same mass.
01Mechanism
Lift scales with area and speed squared while drag rises with speed; the ratio sets the area needed.
02Prediction
Wing loading should track the ratio.
03Refutation
Wing size tracking mass would remove speed.