I don’t think the Balrogs could fly, which doesn’t mean they didn’t have wings.
It’s a bit like an Orange County chopper: it might have wheels and an engine, but that doesn’t mean it’s actually capable of riding out into the sunset.
They are cooling surfaces, to dissipate all that heat from them being, you know, on fire.
Another interesting note about flying evil creatures: the earliest forms of dragons in Tolkien’s works (and until after the primary writing of The Children of Húrin), were wingless. They were closer to dinosaurs rather than flying dragons. In fact, the father of dragons, Glaurung, was wingless and was similar to Fafnir in Norse mythology, with elements of Basilisk thrown in for good measure.
Unrelated thought - I wonder how many people who use this meme recognize where it’s from these days.
One of those Pawn Star shows, right?
American Chopper, so sort of.
Something about choppers. Dunno, didn’t watch Discovery reality shows.
Edit: the wingless choppers.
Edit2: on second thought, the flightless choppers.
Choppers of the Deep




