Air bladders in bat-like skin wings for better lift?

Answers to this question note that human (and by extension mammal) wings would use naked skin instead of feathers, as we see on bats. However, with feathers, birds can have wings with shaped more like those of an aircraft (often with bell-shaped spanload, it seems), which is more efficient than a flat surface for generating lift, without adding as much weight as would flesh. In comparison, bat wings are very flat.

Would having inflatable air bladders under the skin, in order to give a similar shape, be beneficial for generating lift? Or would the gains be too marginal to be worth it for a flying mammal?

Some answers to this question note that bat wings are more agile, at the cost of being less efficient for generating lift. The idea here would be to compromise differently and have better gliding wings.

posted about 5 years ago

Eth‭

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