I'm in the mood for a nerd rant after seeing another random internet article mentioning the Lord of the Rings and why the Eagles didn't just transport Frodo to Mt. Doom.
I'm not bothered by many of the arguments that result from this topic, except for one. There's always at least one person who says, in a matter-of-fact tone, something along the lines of, "Sauron could have just sent orc archers to shoot them down." Nobody seems to question that logic, either.
Okay, just how friggin' far do people think a bow can shoot an arrow? Here on planet Earth there are eagles that can fly up to 10,000 feet. The world record accuracy shot with a bow and arrow is ~900 feet and that was at an optimal parabolic trajectory, not straight up in the air. I get that it's a fantasy novel, but come on.