Author Topic: Bird strike (Read 4612 times)

Bob Reeves · « **on:** July 27, 2008, 06:04:40 PM »

Saw something happen today I never seen before, sure I've seen bird strikes, even had one or two with less than desirable results but a poor barn swallow is no match for an APC prop. This was a direct hit with the prop and Lee's LA 40 didn't miss a beat.

Of course we had to give it a proper burial.

De Hill · « **Reply #1 on:** July 27, 2008, 06:41:27 PM »

Bird, born of egg, full of lice.....

Joe Messinger · « **Reply #2 on:** July 27, 2008, 09:13:30 PM »

Last year at Brodak's Fly In, Bob Zambelli was flying after dark with a plane equipped with running lights. After landing they found a bat plastered to the leading edge of the wing and dead as a hammer. Probably never knew what hit him. Apparently the bat's sonar system malfunctioned?

I'm not sure if the bat received a propper burial as did the swallow.

Joe

Dalton Hammett · « **Reply #3 on:** July 28, 2008, 06:28:50 AM »

**** At our field we have swallows chase the planes quite often but so far haven't hit one.
Likely will sooner or later. Now hitting a bat, That has to be a fairly rare occurance....

Dalton H.

minnesotamodeler · « **Reply #4 on:** July 28, 2008, 10:00:07 AM »

I was combatting a bird one evening (great practice) and it went THROUGH the outboard wing (Voodoo type). Both bird and plane kept flying but both left with a horrible limp!

Larry Cunningham · « **Reply #5 on:** July 28, 2008, 10:43:45 AM »

I thought the burial was quite impressive. Birds are often indicators of a
decent environment.

L.

"If one cannot catch the bird of paradise, better take a wet hen." -Nikita Khruschev

Charlie Pate · « **Reply #6 on:** July 28, 2008, 11:53:49 AM »

Am I wrong in my thinking? or are Bird strikes more likely to occur at night?
Or around dusk?

Randy Cuberly · « **Reply #7 on:** July 28, 2008, 12:14:50 PM »

Quote from: Joe Messinger on July 27, 2008, 09:13:30 PM

Last year at Brodak's Fly In, Bob Zambelli was flying after dark with a plane equipped with running lights. After landing they found a bat plastered to the leading edge of the wing and dead as a hammer. Probably never knew what hit him. Apparently the bat's sonar system malfunctioned?

I'm not sure if the bat received a propper burial as did the swallow.

cJoe

When I was a kid in Kansas City MO, several of us flew fairly often in a vacant lot about a block from an old church with tall steeples....Bat haven.
Around dusk every evening the sky would blacken with the bats flying out from those steeples. Many times bats were struck by our planes....much more often than birds....Being brilliant scientific minded young hoodlums (it was that part of KC) we postulated that the sound of the engines attracted the bats and confused their sonar. I have no idea if that could actually be true. We did over the course of several summers, however, pile up and impressive number of squashed bats.

Randy Cuberly

Just One-eye · « **Reply #8 on:** July 28, 2008, 12:22:37 PM »

In Texas, there are birds named Nighthawks that also go by the name "Bull-bats", that come out in the evening to catch flying insects, and have a darting flight pattern quite similar to bats' flight, save that they are faster than bats are by quite a lot. Their bodies are fairly small for the size wings, so collisions are one-sided. They will attack model planes the same as they would a larger bird in their territory, and the most common plane to bird collision with them seems to be very close to head-on.

When you hit one of those with the prop hub, all that's left is the feathers, and sometimes you get the intake filled up with those, so the engine dies, but mostly the model just "bumps" when you hit them that way, and never slows down.

Larrys4227 · « **Reply #9 on:** July 28, 2008, 01:53:04 PM »

Quote from: Ty Marcucci on July 28, 2008, 12:40:30 PM

...The other is I think castor oil attracts flying insects.....

I think castor oil also attracts fire ants. I can't leave anything on the ground ... start stick, glow ignitor, fuel bulb. Even my flight box sitting on a chair will have a trail of ants up the leg and into the box. I now carry a spray can of ant killer as a flight line neccessity.

Made the mistake of missing the ants on my start equipment once.... fired the plane up and ran to the handle. As soon as the plane was up ... I got attacked. Bites all over my hands and arms. That was one interesting (and long) flight I'll never forget. Of course, I then had welts for 2 weeks

but I didn't crash .... even with all the jumping around.

FlySafe! Larry (Larrys4227)

Randy Cuberly · « **Reply #10 on:** July 28, 2008, 04:16:02 PM »

Quote from: Larrys4227 on July 28, 2008, 01:53:04 PM

I think castor oil also attracts fire ants. I can't leave anything on the ground ... start stick, glow ignitor, fuel bulb. Even my flight box sitting on a chair will have a trail of ants up the leg and into the box. I now carry a spray can of ant killer as a flight line neccessity.

Made the mistake of missing the ants on my start equipment once.... fired the plane up and ran to the handle. As soon as the plane was up ... I got attacked. Bites all over my hands and arms. That was one interesting (and long) flight I'll never forget. Of course, I then had welts for 2 weeks but I didn't crash .... even with all the jumping around.

FlySafe! Larry (Larrys4227)

Sorry about your bites Larry.

That would have made one interesting flight film however....never a camera around when you need one.

Randy Cuberly

Glen Wearden · « **Reply #11 on:** July 28, 2008, 05:55:14 PM »

When flying RC, some of us like to chase buzzards. Make flying RC less boring. The buzzards seem to get into it, also. Glen

Louis Rankin · « **Reply #12 on:** July 28, 2008, 08:10:22 PM »

Yep, used to chase buzzards with R/C combat models. It was all fun and games until one of them nasty suckers puked all over my plane. Man, what a stinch. I should have immediately thrown the whole thing away; however, I left it in my truck for two hot steamy days. God, what a mistake that was!!!!!!!!! The smell could have knocked that same buzzard off of a gut wagon.

Steve Scott · « **Reply #13 on:** July 28, 2008, 10:14:11 PM »

Quote from: Larrys4227 on July 28, 2008, 01:53:04 PM

I think castor oil also attracts fire ants.
FlySafe! Larry (Larrys4227)

I know for sure the ground squirrels love the stuff. Two years ago at Sig I left my Flite Streak ARF on the ground in our "bivouac area" only to come back and find this:

raglafart · « **Reply #14 on:** July 28, 2008, 10:47:11 PM »

One of our club members hit a pigeon at our field with his Thunderbird, that put an early end to both the pigeon and Thunderbird.
We used to get Sea Eagles at an R/C field I used to fly at, that was the WRCS Club at Belrose on the North Sydney beaches area. He was cautious of powered models but left his talon marks all over the wings of a Thermal Soarer! That was a few years ago now, John Adams was the unfortunate glider pilot.
Amazing to watch though.
Cheers John

Larrys4227 · « **Reply #15 on:** July 29, 2008, 05:30:51 AM »

Interesting thing about the fire ants .... they only seem to bother me over in the C/L area of the field. In the R/C area, you can leave your stuff on the ground all day, and you wont find one crawling on your stuff. The only difference is that I have extra castor added to my fuel for C/L ...... or they simply dont like me and trying to kick me out of that section of field.

Back to the thread subject .... we've got birds, but they dont seem to be a problem. They scatter as soon as a plane goes up. Our field has been around since the '60s ... so maybe they pass the word down from generation to generation.

FlySafe! Larry (Larrys4227)

Phil Coopy · « **Reply #16 on:** July 29, 2008, 05:59:51 AM »

Funny thing......been flying RC since the '70's never hit a thing.....went back to C/L a couple of years ago and hit a swallow the second week.

Phil

Zuriel Armstrong · « **Reply #17 on:** July 29, 2008, 06:10:51 AM »

Quote from: Louis Rankin on July 28, 2008, 08:10:22 PM

Yep, used to chase buzzards with R/C combat models. It was all fun and games until one of them nasty suckers puked all over my plane. Man, what a stinch. I should have immediately thrown the whole thing away; however, I left it in my truck for two hot steamy days. God, what a mistake that was!!!!!!!!! The smell could have knocked that same buzzard off of a gut wagon.

Lou,

Is the smell worse than a TEXAS WAFFLE

Jack Pitcher · « **Reply #18 on:** July 29, 2008, 06:22:21 PM »

This past weekend I traveled north from my home in Oregon to attend the Western Canada Stunt Championship held at the Rice Mill Road flying site near Richmond, BC. While sitting around the circle we were treated to the sight of several Eagles, one an adult Bald Eagle, occasionally crossing back and forth over the field at not much above tree top height. They were alternating between perches on opposite sides of the field. Interestingly they were almost constantly being harassed in flight by Sea Gulls that also inhabit the area.

During my first official flight I started up into the Hourglass maneuver and as I turned the second corner to cross the top I was startled to see the image of a LARGE Eagle appear straight overhead (accompanied by the harassing Gull) and directly in my flight path! There was no time to react as I watched the images of my airplane and bird cross! Since there was no crunch he must have been a bit higher although it didn't look like much from my vantage point. A collision certainly would have meant destruction of the airplane and it couldn't have gone much better for the Eagle.

I was able to regain my composure and complete the Hourglass and the rest of the pattern. After landing several people commented that it looked like a close call. I don't know what Canadian wildlife laws are but I only half jokingly asked "if I hit and destroy an Eagle with a model airplane, do I go to jail"?

My thanks to CD Al Resinger and the members of VGMC for a "memorable" and well done contest.

Jack Pitcher

Robert McHam · « **Reply #19 on:** July 29, 2008, 07:01:49 PM »

Quote by Steve Scott:
"I know for sure the ground squirrels love the stuff."

One has to wonder at this point if the castor has the same effect on the wildlife as...! Surely it must. Not sure about the ants however.

Robert

Shultzie · « **Reply #20 on:** July 29, 2008, 08:36:49 PM »

Last week we took our annual trip to FRIDAY HARBOR...to do a little yakin' n' Kayakin with friends...and commune with whales and nature...

Speaking of nature...Carol and I watched as an Eagle chase down a SeaGull...that Sea Gull ducked and weaved...but within about 20 sec. that eagle SNATCHED THAT GULL in mid flight.
The Gull however...dived with the eagle attached and both HIT THE WATER in what looked like a good rate of speed.
The water splashed and churned for about 2 minutes...
Everything was quiet for a few seconds...

Then the Eagle picked up the dead Sea Gull, out of the water...and tried to fly about a football field length to shore, but was so tired...he continued to lose altitude, getting lower and lower to the water until the Gull he was packin' finally touched the water...

The Eagle landed in the water...but then didn't have the strength to lift that water laden seagull out of the water.
The eagle let go of his prize seagull lunch...and then, barely had enough energy left to make it to a small tree snag just at the shoreline.
I continued to flew my kite on the beach for about 40 minutes...and by that time the eagle flew back and retrieved the dead floating sea gull and again...this time...almost didn't make it back to shore.
GADS WHAT A TOUGH WAY TO MAKE LUNCH!

Years ago when I lived near the water near DesMoines Beach near Seattle....I WAS FLYING MY NEW SPORT KITE AND.........UNFORTUNATELY..
I accidently snagged a SeaGull IN FLIGHT with my kite bridle lines but continued to fly across the wind window with him in tow, all the while doing my best in trying to untangle him.

I tried doing tight inside and outside loops (without luck and even made the tangle worse.) I flew back and forth the wind window for about 3 minutes. The wind was blowing about 25 mph..and SEA GULLS DO NOT WEIGH MUCH....THANKFULLY MY LARGE 9 FOOT KITE PULLED LIKE A TRUCK IN THAT WIND. Keeping all this in the air was not the problem...BUT THE FUN AND HELL BROKE LOOSE WHEN IT WAS TIME TO TRY AND UNTANGLE THIS SCREAMING MESS which was attracting quite a crowd on the fishing pier just a few yards to the south of us.
Fisherman and folks were laughing and yelling at me....

I landed the kite and ran toward the flapping sea gull that was trying to free itself all the while it was trying its damnest to make LUNCH OUT OF MY BEAUTIFUL NEW 1993 CUSTOM CHORO ZEPHYR KITE.
Thankfully that gull was so tangled and snared with not only the kites bridle line..but also the bullet proof 125 lb spectra flying line.
A bike rider noticed the event from the shore...hopped off and came to my aid.

It was a cold spring day...and lucky again...that I had on a pretty thick coat.

I grabbed the tangled mess of gull and kite...TUCKED THAT FLAPPING BITING CLAWING GULL FROM THE PITS OF HELL...UNDER MY ARM PIT...turned him upside down.....and the bike rider had a pocket knife that saved the day.
He cut the bridle lines and about 5 feet of my new $30.00 set of competition spectra lines...

(I was very surprised by that time...the Sea gull had completely relaxed...(upside down) and just after we cut the last line---------------
THAT DAMNED SEAGULL...(still UPSIDE DOWN..with the butt pointing straight up at both of us...LET GO WITH A BOWEL RELEASE WITH THE MOST STINKIN CAUSTIC SHOT OF FLYING SEAGULL POOP THAT HIT BOTH ME AND THE BIKER DUDE, RIGHT IN THE SUNGLASSES!
I blindly threw him away from us, into the water... The gull then was too tired to fly...but by that time the air above us was FILLED WITH SCREAMING FLAPPING SEAGULLS FROM ALL OVER THE BEACH LINE..
(Perhaps they sensed "LUNCH" and you already know that they have no problem EATING THEIR OWN RELATIVES.
His fellow SeaGulls kept dive bombing both us and the very tramatized and worn out SeaGull.

We (MY BIKER FRIEND AND THE TIRED SEAGULL managed to fight off the sky filled Sea Gulls until that poor ruffled GULL managed to recover long enough to fly under a near bye pier.
MORAL OF THE STORY..
Bye this time...an old grey hair lady that had been watching us from the shore was seen heading toward us with a DesMoines Wa. police officer in tow.

They informed both of us...that if we had HARMED THAT SEAGULL....THAT WE BOTH WOULD BE SERVED WITH A PRETTY SIZEABLE FINE. We were again reminded that SEA GULLS ARE PROTECTED AND KILLING THEM IS A CRIME!

It was about a week before that caustic seagull poop burn that anointed my left cheek healed...hummm?

As much as I love Eagles...after that event....

EAGLES ARE JUST SEAGULLS IN AN EXPENSIVE BLACK SUIT...TO THIS OL GRUNT!
Just kiddin' NOTHING IS A REGAL as an eagle. We have two nests just a few blocks down the street from us..here in Gig Harbor. New chicks about ready to fly..HOW COOL IS THAT?