Wing Structure
The fighting units of dragons are organized in groups known as Wings. A collection of three Wings is known as a Flight, and is the largest permanent organizational structure within a Weyr.
A Wing is led by a Wingleader. The Wingleader is responsible for ensuring that his Wing is capable of safely fighting thread. He also appoints Wingseconds and recruits newly graduated weyrlings. Ideally a Wing has two Wingseconds, which are also typically bronze or brown dragons. They fill the Wingleader’s position in the case of an emergency, and help to convey the Wingleader’s orders to the rest of the Wingriders. A healthy Wing contains thirty Wingriders and their dragons, of which more than 3/4 are blue or green. The smaller blue and green dragons do not have the stamina to safely fly an entire threadfall and must be rotated out in two or three shifts. If a Wing falls to fewer than 12 healthy dragon/rider pairs, the Wing is disbanded and absorbed by other Wings.
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—William Morris (1834–1896)
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—Sydney J. Harris (1917–1986)