Could wings be grafted onto a human back?

[D.B. Cooper]

Could wings be grafted on to a human back? Nerve endings and all. I realize we would need particularly robust backbones. Is there a thereotical wing size which could enable an average man to fly? If not, why not? Why is the human body ill-equipped to fly, such that simply attaching large enough wings wouldn't cut it?

[Icewolf]

the body would probably reject it as a foreign invader and they would rot off

furthermore we arent designed for flight and if the nerves were attached we have no "directory" for flight in our brain, it would be dead weight

[GrnEyedDvl]

Well lets assume that you could graft wings on to a human body, and that the brain could cope with the extra appendages.

But the first problem is finding wings large enough. I doubt the biggest bird wings in the world would be enough. Large birds like the ostrich weigh in at 150-200 lbs and they dont fly. Most birds have a low body weight when compared to their total surface area. Their bone structure is completely different from ours, and their bodies are full air pockets where ours are not.

[Sphere]

You would also need a huge keel bone and pectoral muscles over a foot thick.

[Ascarona]

I don't think the problem lies at how big the wings must be, where the heck would we need to place them? As far as I know, the human body has no more spare joints...
We would also need much bigger organs to handle the flapping, bigger lungs, bigger hart etc. Not to mention the extra brain capacity to learn the flying functions.

[Alkarin]

I don't think the problem lies at how big the wings must be, where the heck would we need to place them? As far as I know, the human body has no more spare joints...
We would also need much bigger organs to handle the flapping, bigger lungs, bigger hart etc. Not to mention the extra brain capacity to learn the flying functions.

also a bird that can fly tends to have a body that in every way possible has reduced its weight whether it be hollow bones or what not. it could be possible but the wings must be extremely powerful

[D.B. Cooper]

also a bird that can fly tends to have a body that in every way possible has reduced its weight whether it be hollow bones or what not. it could be possible but the wings must be extremely powerful

Or we lighten the skeleton, as suggested earlier. But this skeleton still has to support the weight of two new organs and the associated muscles...hmm.

[PurPul]

. Not to mention the extra brain capacity to learn the flying functions.

I know some people who have plenty of extra brain capacity.

[CtrlAltDe1337]

You would probably be too heavy and would have to flap your wings at an impossible rate to get airborne.

[D.B. Cooper]

An enhanced heart and circulatory system to support two huge new organs would be difficult, but doable. The required energy is another obvious problem. And modifying the skeleton to make it lightweight. We would have to replace each bone with our lighter version. We're basically looking at some sort of super-human with a modified skeleton. It would take many trials, perhaps, but I'm sure it could be done. Let's disregard the ethics of engineering a new kind of human here.

Anything else is needed to make a human ready for flight? And assuming we had two huge bird wings on hand, any ideas on how we could attach them? I'm talking about the "Angel wings" i.e. wings on back. One significant issue is whether or not wings can flap by themselves, or if new muscles would have to be included on a person's back as well.

[Francebunkerer]

One significant issue is whether or not wings can flap by themselves

Why should they?
Ever eaten chicken breast? That's one of the flight muscles, and it's quite large compared to the rest of a chicken.

[Lord Tomyris]

I swear I've seen this exact thread on here months before, but it's so randomly specific that maybe I've got TWC deja vu!

[Alba gu Brath]

Jetpack anyone?

[Aetius]

Jetpack anyone?

srs

Looks stupid anyway;

[gambit]

The energy and strength you'd need to actually keep yourself afloat, modifying the skeleton, hoping the brain could cope with any of it and about 5 other biological impossibilities all add up to a big old "no, come back in a couple centuries"

One day however.. lets keep hoping.

[D.B. Cooper]

sadface

It's fun to think about.

[Shadowcry]

Lol You could graft a rocket! Now that would be kwl, messing around with angels with a rocket growing out of your back!

[LSJ]

Humans just don't have the muscular or bone structure required to operate wings. And any wings a human had would need to be damn huge to make up for our inefficient design and relatively high weight. And storing the energy to fly would be a major issue, because flapping your massive wings a dozen times would sap your strength.

[D.B. Cooper]

Humans just don't have the muscular or bone structure required to operate wings. And any wings a human had would need to be damn huge to make up for our inefficient design and relatively high weight. And storing the energy to fly would be a major issue, because flapping your massive wings a dozen times would sap your strength.

What about pterosaurs, which surely weighed nearly as much as or more than the average man? They could fly. We could make our model after their's, if anything. As for bone structure, again it's certainly possible but not today or anytime soon with current technology.

[LSJ]

What about pterosaurs, which surely weighed nearly as much as or more than the average man? They could fly. We could make our model after their's, if anything. As for bone structure, again it's certainly possible but not today or anytime soon with current technology.

Yeah, but look at the design of pterosaurs:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Skinny body structure, streamlined, its wings are its arms, the wings are attached from its shoulders to its legs, and it has a very muscular chest with small legs.

One very deformed human...