What would likely happen if you hit a duck with a metal prop. Ok, I reckon I can work out what would happen to the duck but what about the prop, etc?
Cgoldy
What would likely happen if you hit a duck with a metal prop. Ok, I reckon I can work out what would happen to the duck but what about the prop, etc?
Cgoldy
Back Country O-375 wide body extended wing cub
Pray the prop actually gets it... most likely will sneak through and get your windshield instead!
Here's what a seagull does to a leading edge.. after he wraps around and sticks his beak in it.
I had an experience last fall I would hope to never repeat.
A friend and I were fishing for Silvers on the far side of the Susitna Valley and got a little too interested in fishing and didn't leave before dark. Had to fly home in pitch black conditions. After about 25 minutes, hard on the instruments and at 3000', there was an incredible BANG on the front of the plane. The whole plane rocked. Everything stayed in the green and there were no vibrations. My first thought was a cylinder parted ways with the engine. But no, all was running good. My passenger was quite for a minute then politely asked what the Hell was that? I had no answers. Once we got near some outside lights, he's busy looking at his side of the wind screen and said he thought that there was someting on the screen. We landed at home, got a flashlight and saw what happened. We'd hit a Seagull on the passenger side of the screen. It apparently hit us at an angle, bypassing the prop. I have no idea why it didn't come through the windshield. Cruise speed is 130 mph. We were exceptionally lucky. The blood and guts went above and below the wing and all down the side of the AC with some guts hung up on the horizontal. It was dramatic enough that I got a couple calls from neighbors asking what we killed.
I dislike night time Seagulls.
For the last 15 years almost every warm evening I fly down a couple hunded feet from shore and at about 10' above the water on the 9 mile long lake nearby. I fly thru hundreds if not a thousand seagulls every evening and have never hit one. They get real close but never hit me, I don't even move anymore, I just let them do their thing and get out of the way.
Glenn
Well... I got mine at 1000 feet AGL over camp. I yelled at the wife to cover her face as it looked like it was coming through the windshield and then it drifted to our left and got the left wing.. 3 feet from the end. I watched it spiral down and land in the bow of a Lund going up the lake... "wtf raining sea gulls"! It was then the quietest, quickest circuit I ever did not knowing how much damage it did. Took a LOT of water to wash the mess off the aircraft... was only the next day when on a back lake that my wing just cleared a shoreline rock and I was sitting their having lunch, using the wing as a table, and saw that dent and deformed skin.
The other close one I had.. coming over the home strip at 500 agl.. I met face to face with a Falcon with a squirrel in his claws. Clear as day.. he thought he was food.. stopped, fluttered his wings... dropped the squirrel. The squirrel went under and the Falcon went over.... as I blasted between them at 75mph !
Depends on the bird and your relative speed. At a 100K a sparrow strike from behind is just a stain you wash off. A 15Lbs goose struck head on is an engine and prop change, or leading edge section change and spar inspection (don't ask me how I know). Worse, it could take half your stab right off.
A dime to live; a place to fly.
Glenn and APEX, not sure what you hit, but there's no such bird as a seagull. There are Black Tip Gulls, Hearing Gulls,Swallow-Tailed gulls, etc.. I remember years ago at New Holstien, Boz was chasing Gulls ( not sure what kind they were ) away from the airport, he said he tried for years to hit one but never could.
Tim
Last edited by Tim; 02-20-2013 at 06:55 AM.
Cruising along one day I spotted a small hawk tucked in trying to dive away from us. Not enough time for me to react. It missed the prop, passed under the right wing inside the strut and missed the stab. Quite an impressive display of precision flying, I thought.
Tim, I believe that species is called fukin gulls, that's all I have ever heard them called. Never hit one in the Cub but hit birds on a daily basis when working. The absolute worst smell in the world has to be gull guts and feathers fried on a 1340 cylinder head. Most sky meat just vaporizes above about 130 mph, metal props slice through with no damage. Got a duck on takeoff roll last year, had guts on 3 out of 5 blades and duck burger on the cowl and windshield but no damage. You have to hit one really square to a surface like the leading edge, tail, cowl, windshield, tailpipe, to do damage, most just glance off.Originally Posted by Tim
Glenn and APEX, not sure what you hit, but there's no such bird as a seagull
Tim
If you see a bird right in front of you, NEVER try to go under it. I've never seen a bird try to climb to get out of the way, they always fold up and dive. The worst place to be is about 10 ft below it.
Last edited by SuperCub MD; 02-20-2013 at 11:17 AM.
Boz, I'll have to look fukin gulls up, I think we have some of them around here
I find that the geese just look back at you and give you a look like " I hope that a$$hole doesn't run into me" and the ducks do the coolest split S and dive inverted. The worst when low on a river or lake are those stupid Blue Heron, they are very slow and goofy and take off about 50' in front of you.
Glenn
Goes both ways: A gander boasting a 6' wingspan commands respect. They also fly at night (asleep at the wheel, so to speak) at all altitudes if they like the tailwind they're getting.
A dime to live; a place to fly.
Had a ditto about 40 years ago.
We have lots of birds in southwestern Alaska, and they're always something to watch out for. Eight or 10 years ago I hit a gull with the leading edge of the wing, near where the wing tip bow attaches. It was so loud a bang that I thought I had hit another plane. I was on floats, so quickly landed and found the dented leading edge. Gulls usually try to get out of the way. Not so with eagles. They seem to think they're bigger than everything else, so you really need to watch for them. One time while doing caribou surveys in an R-44 we had an eagle lock up it's talons and wings and stoop on us. We left the area,...quickly. Gyrfalcons also seem to be especially aggressive.
Here's what it looks like when a loon goes throught the windshield of a 206 on floats. Luckily, no one was in the passenger seat.
Jim W.
P8270877.JPG
P8270876.JPG
Last edited by cgoldy; 02-20-2013 at 04:50 PM.
Back Country O-375 wide body extended wing cub
See you just need to fly in harmony with the birds. You guy's that hit them are just pissin them off first.
Glenn
Very common towing & flying gliders. Our 260 HP Pawnee climbs pretty aggresively even with a glider in tow, and that throws the hawks off their game a bit. You can usually count on them to tuck & dive, but occasionally they will do a wingover out of the way.
Of course, when we see them thermalling, we head their general direction so we can get into the lift.
Starting up this weekend, can't wait.
my first flying job was scaring birds off crops in outback australia. i flew a 235 cherokee and hit many birds and learnt quite a bit along the way... the best lesson is Dont fly under water birds.. most will simply fold their wings and bomb down to get away. the duck i hit in this way glanced off the windscreen thankfully. as for prop strikes, there are at least 20 cockatoos, galas and crows sliced and diced in northern New Sth Wales with no prop damage as a result. however, my leading edges looked like someone had taken to them with a baseball bat!
Had a guy here in Ohio hit a Redtail Hawk many years ago in a J-3. It missed the prop, came through the windshield and missed the tubing structure at the windshield. The guy ducked and the hawk was scouped into the baggage area that didn't have a door on it. When the guy turned around the hawk was dazed but very much alive and staring back at him eye to eye. He about S**t himself. He got the Cub on the ground and ran away from the plane. The hawk jumped out too, walked around for about 5 minutes and flew off.
Steve
Steve
We had a police helicopter (MD500) hit a hawk. The hawk came through the window and seriously hurt the pilot. I think the observer landed. It's been a while- not sure the exact outcome. But I don't think it was a lot faster than 130 mph.
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