Resumen
An extant bird resorts to flapping and running along its take-off run to generate lift and thrust in order to reach the minimum required wing velocity speed required for lift-off. This paper introduces the replication hypothesis that posits that the variation of lift relative to the thrust generated by the flapping wings of an extant bird, along its take-off run, replicates the variation of lift relative to the thrust by the flapping wings of a protobird as it evolves towards sustained flight. The replication hypothesis combines experimental data from extant birds with evidence from the paleontological record of protobirds to come up with a physics-based model of its evolution towards sustained flight while scaling down the time span from millions of years to a few seconds. A second hypothesis states that the vertical and horizontal forces acting on a protobird when it first encounters lift-off are in equilibrium as the protobird exerts its maximum available power for flapping, equaling its lift with its weight, and its thrust with its drag.