# You can have the power of flight, but you have to give up walking...any takers? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 1, 2009, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559 "2009-07-01T08:53:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/1 "2009-07-01T08:53:36Z")
Here’s the deal. You can fly! Yay! But that’s all you can do. No more ambulation for you. Ever. The way the flying works: you hover, at whatever height you want between 1 and 1000 feet above the ground. But you can’t move any faster than you could walking/running, so no zooming around all superman-like. Flying also takes just as much energy as walking/running, but is obviously no-impact, so if you have joint problems or whatever, the flying thing will be an advantage. Do you take it? ---
**Author:** ![PuddingCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b4bc9f/32.png) [@PuddingCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PuddingCat)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/2 "2009-07-01T10:20:46Z")
Yes! It would be so cool 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/3 "2009-07-01T10:42:03Z")
Very tempting… ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/4 "2009-07-01T10:56:56Z")
Hell yeah, I’d hover around the place like a mofo. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/5 "2009-07-01T12:16:43Z")
I would need to see a demo tape first. The inability to move around any other way could be a big problem in lots of indoor spaces. Also, you have to be off the ground so that would mean that I would be over 7 feet tall and most buildings are not built for that. Getting in and out of cars would be a bitch too. I have never known anyone that can do this so it is hard to choose. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo\_Pin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mojo\_Pin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo_Pin)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/6 "2009-07-01T12:21:13Z")
Yes. I can sit in a wheelchair for when I need to get around tight places and indoors, and soar in my free time. More than worth it. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/7 "2009-07-01T12:38:42Z")
No. Walking is healthy and fun. Flying would just be weird, and would probably give me a case of the willies. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/8 "2009-07-01T17:26:20Z")
Would the flying involve wings? If yes, then no flying for me. Wings would mean not being able to be moving and near/holding hands with someone else. No way to I want to spend the rest of my life 6’ away from people. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/9 "2009-07-01T17:40:15Z")
Can I swim, or at least “hover” underwater just like in the air? Do my legs atrophy and dangle uselessly under me, or do they stay healthy so I can stand in one place while not flying? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/10 "2009-07-01T17:43:13Z")
I fail to see the downside. Surely flying at a foot above the ground can do anything walking can, no? And if it takes up the same energy as walking, then exercise wouldn’t be a problem, either. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/11 "2009-07-01T17:44:19Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > No. Walking is healthy and fun. Flying would just be weird, and would probably give me a case of the willies. Yeah. I also wouldn’t want to give up running either–I’d go insane without satisfying my running habit. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/12 "2009-07-01T17:55:01Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Yeah. I also wouldn’t want to give up running either–I’d go insane without satisfying my running habit. Yeah, But when was the last time you, Just for the hell of it, decided to run straight up for a change? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/13 "2009-07-01T18:00:26Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Yeah, But when was the last time you, Just for the hell of it, decided to run straight up for a change? Well only the time someone put a raccoon in the treadmill. I’m still recovering. In all seriousness, though, maybe flying fast would be fun…if it’s as much exertion as a run, I might get the same endorphin rush/exercise high from it. Maybe. And it’s probably pretty easy to find fly-space whereas there are few places to run without bumping into people. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/14 "2009-07-01T18:04:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > if it takes up the same energy as walking, then exercise wouldn’t be a problem, either. Maybe we should revisit the whole energy expenditure thing then. What type of energy? Would flying be aerobic? Does it burn calories? Or does it take mental energy? Also, is this a choice given to everyone in the world, or just me? If the latter, I would expect most everyone around me to freak out. The talk show circuit alone would make me very unhappy. And working legs are useful for more than just walking. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/15 "2009-07-01T18:45:12Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > And working legs are useful for more than just walking. That’s true. Like kickboxing with kangaroos! ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/16 "2009-07-01T18:48:00Z")
Can I stand ever again? Sit ever again? Lay down ever again? Seems you’re talking about some sort of built-in repulsor field that would push you away from a horizontal surface, wherever it was–else, you could just get around this by building some platform a foot or more above the ground. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/17 "2009-07-01T18:55:03Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > That’s true. Like kickboxing with kangaroos! Exactly. Wow, great minds and stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/18 "2009-07-01T19:20:28Z")
Having trouble with knees and feet, this sounds pretty darned good to me. But - would I be any less klutzy? At least if I’m on foot, there’s only so far I can fall. ---
**Author:** ![Baby\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@Baby\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baby_Driver)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/19 "2009-07-01T20:35:15Z")
Yeah, I think we need more logistical direction. Is it just a matter of hovering at whatever height we wish? (No wings & such…fatigue like that of running vs. rowing or swimming.) Would I get tired “standing” around, 1’ off the ground? Or do I stand on earth but the moment I take a step my feet leave the ground? If I pick someone up off the ground do I bear their weight in the same way I would on the ground? Would increased altitude increase excursion in the same way climbing a hill would? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559/20 "2009-07-01T21:56:46Z")
I’m scared of heights, so, probably not. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-have-the-power-of-flight-but-you-have-to-give-up-walking-any-takers/501559.md?page=2)