So… I have a dragon in Gunslinger. How fast can a dragon realistically fly?

It’s a soaring animal, more than one that flaps its wings a lot. It’s also big. So what’s the comparable.

A little internet research turns up that Condors can fly at 35 mph (that’s not a top speed, more of an average). Buzzards can fly at 25 mph. Golden eagles can fly at around 30 mph.

I’m going to put my dragon toward the lower end of that scale. It’s really a hydrogen balloon with strong wings, so it’s not as aerodynamic as those flight birds. However, it makes up for it with a much bigger wingspan and stronger muscles.

So we’ll say 20 mph. Which means about 6 hours to fly from Casper, Wyoming to Laramie.