Bird Nest - Beware !

We just had an experience I thought is worth sharing. We just returned from a trip 47 Hrs tach time in which we finally now have landed in all states except Hawaii. This includes Canada, Mexico, The Cayman Islands, The Turks, and the Caribbean. The purpose of this post is to mention the possibility of BIRD NESTS under the cowling. We landed in IA and was told by the FBO, after about 18 hrs of being there, we should remove our top cowling and check for a bird nest before we leave, saying that we have had problems with birds here lately. I couldn't see any thing through the front inlets and was kind of passive about it but it would be a chance to look things over so off it comes. Attached are the pictures of what was found. My point is, this could happen to you! These people saved my day and maybe our lives. A ruined Cyl, A fire??? Who knows. Larry

Yikes!

Good catch.

I can imagine about 5 miles out from take-off, grass catches fire and then...

Never had a problem with birds nests, as I have always had my plane in a hanger.

BUT---------you will be surprised where a mouse can find to build a nest. Hangers dont keep them little buggers out.

Bottom line, do a good pre-flight.

Stay safe.

Mike

I carry a set of foam inlet inserts for when I travel. Don't use them in the hangar but always use them when outdoors.

Nice of the FBO to warn you and nice catch.

Thanks for adding the pictures Rosie!!!!!!!!!! Larry

Probably not a bad idea to invest in some of these. I'm certainly planning to once I'm flying.

Mike S said:

Never had a problem with birds nests, as I have always had my plane in a hanger.

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I found a bird's nest during a pre-flight on a plane that was hangared many years ago. It had been a week or more since the plane had last flown, so I don't know how long it took them to build the nest. I think it would be a good idea to either use foam plugs, even in a hangar, or pull the upper cowling during every pre-flight. Yes, the odds of a nest being built in a hangared plane are probably fairly low. But the consequences of going flying with a next on board could be fatal. There isn't too much downside to using foam intake plugs.

I remember pulling a nest from the cowl of a C172 and throwing it on the ground next to the hangar. When I turned my back the brazen bird was picking it up and puting it back in the cowl I had to put it in a trash bag in the end.
Jim Sharkey

WOW!!! I just bought a set of Van's cowl plugs. I guess I be taking them along to Colorado this weekend.

Roberta

IF they're impossible to take off with

Kevin Horton said:

There isn't too much downside to using foam intake plugs.

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The NTSB reports show a stunning number of crashes every year resulting from poor pre-flight inspections that overlook covers and plugs. I like Van's version with the lanyard attaching all three and then wrapped around the prop. Unlikely they'd stay in place when you start up!

I've seen some comments about poor preflight inspections and I am guilty of that sometimes, but I want to insure all of you that this nest was not visible nor could it be felt from the cowl inlet. I feel it is important for us to realize how small the inlet gets when you look into it during a preflight, try it some time. Larry

I guess that further stresses the importance of the cowl plugs when parking outside. Yes, I do like the auto launch system of the Van's plugs.

Roberta

Auto launch +

Also, there are a couple of little red flags that stick up above the cowling, that are visible from the cockpit.

The auto launch feature-----Oh, the mental image!!!---- is a back up as far as I am concerned.

Mike

I had this happen to me when I parked my plane outside

for two days. The little buggers can build fast and furious.

It appears that the birds like the warm engine because I checked a few other planes after I found the nest in mine and all the ramp queens (planes that hadn't run in a while) were nest free but the recently flown planes were much more likely to have a nest.

The big clue to check is....bird **** all over the prop.

I did speak with a couple of high time pilots about bird nests and they told me that they stink like heck and make some smoke but are not a huge fire hazard. I have no way of verifying this guidance so take it for what its worth.

Bruce
N297NW
RV-8 (445TT)

So Doug, does this web site have a bad word filter on it?

I wrote a recent post and used the word C R A P and it auto-magically inserted ****.

Neat feature, I have to admit.

Now it makes me wonder what words are on the list...

Bruce
N297NW
RV8 (445TT)

Animal access to cowling via exhaust area...

Has anyone seen or heard of birds or rodents getting inside the cowl around the exhaust pipe exit area?

Jerry K. Thorne
East Ridge, TN
RV-9A . . . N2PZ
Hobbs = 223.4 hours.

My 2 cents

Very glad this thread got started. It's a personal pet peave.

I'm probably a bit paranoid, but not enough folks protect their aircraft with such simple devices that can save your bacon with only about a minute of work. I see too many folks that just park their aircraft and walk away without a thought to keeping those nasty critters away. A run in with those creatures can ruin your day, but it only takes a coupla minutes to better secure the aircraft from vermin...

Did you ever see what mud-daubers will do? Particularly concerned about the fuel vents. That could cause a really bad day. Nothing like full tanks and no fuel flow.

I religiously use cowl plugs, a pitot tube sleeve and fuel vent sleeves every time I park the aircraft for the nite - even in my hangar. In case I forget and leave a fuel vent cover on, I even burned small 1/16" vent holes in the slip tubing just in case I get stupid someday and leave it on. I also have a small 1/16" vent/drain hole at the bottom of the vent elbow. Like I said, I'm paranoid about certain things...

All covers have long red flags of course.

Had a friend who was building his RV-4 in his nicely sealed and heated home garage. Took everything to the airport, popped the wings on and couldn't run the engine on the left tank. Why? - he didn't cap off or place a little tape over the fuel inlet to the tank. After going thru the entire fuel system, found out that mud daubers had gotten into the main fuel line to the tank (the one INSIDE the tank) and plugged up the line so not enough would scavenge. You could not see this from the outside - no evidence of their getting in there at all.

Think you are going to catch that on the fuel vents if they block it farther up the vent? You may start happily flying away and have your engine quick. Will you be quick enough on the fuel valve at 200' and low airspeed? The other good alternative is to put screen over the vent openings, but I worry about bugs and dirt plugging up the screen and the slip covers and flags took all of 5 minutes to make.

Stepping off the podium now.

I remember a few years ago seeing a Cherokee 6(?) catch on fire after the turbocharger heated up and ignited a birds nest that was built next to the turbocharger. Fortunately this was all on the ground during run-up.

On the Cardinal, they like the tail cone: http://wcurtis.nerv10.com/cardinal/exterior/BirdsNest.html

n2prise said:

Has anyone seen or heard of birds or rodents getting inside the cowl around the exhaust pipe exit area?

Jerry K. Thorne
East Ridge, TN
RV-9A . . . N2PZ
Hobbs = 223.4 hours.

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That is where the mouse nest I found was. Little buggers HAD to have gone up the landing gear, somehow. Gascolator on firewall, luckily, otherwise I would have never noticed.

Oh, yes, this was on my Stinson, cowling opens enough to see/reach below engine.

Would probably have blown out in flight, but maybe not---------and right next to the exhaust system.

Do that preflight.

Mike

Not just birds

I took off in my C-140 once and had no airspeed indication. I looked out and saw that the little wind-deflected pitot cover was masked closed with nearly invisible spiderweb. Birdnests on the engine were common in my T-hangar so I was thankful for the "Model T type" cowling so I could poke my head in there. No matter how simple the airplane there is no excuse for not doing a thorough pre-flight. Just do it, dang it!
BTW, I used a handful of electric razor cleaning brushes with RBF ribbons to cover the vent tubes. Just do inventory of all the covers as part of the pre-flight.

It can be even worse, sort of...

After uncowling my C-172, I found a ball peen hammer. The cowl hadn't been off sense my (former) AI had replaced the vacuum pump. I now before each flight reach as far as I can through the air inlet holes to see what I can touch. (or see what bits me).

As a note the temp inside the upper cowl is not that high above ambient temp while in flight. On the ground or after shutdown it could get a lot higher. I think that the greater danger would be restricted airflow if the object was dense.

Kent

Inflight Fire - Really Gets Your Attention

This might be a good place to relate my experience with bird nests hoping it may prevent anyone else having a few minutes of pucker time while looking for a flat piece of real estate.

Sometime in 1983 (during spring nesting season) I preflighted my Grumman-American Cheetah which was tied down outside for the purpose of moving it approximately 8 to 10 miles to a private airport where it would be hangared. All was normal until shortly after level off at 1,000 AGL when a definite smoke and fume situation arose and quickly worsened to the point that I opened the canopy, shut off the master switch and started looking for the best place to land. As Murphy's Law kicked in, I was exactly halfway between my departure airport and my destination with nothing but rooftops and bumper-to-bumper traffic on the road below me so I continued to my destination for a straight-in, downwind power-off landing, closing the mixture and fuel selector the second I was within gliding distance.

As you would now expect, the culprit was a rather large bird nest built between the fiberglass nose bowl and the muffler which passes in front and across the lower cowling area. The area is not visable during a normal preflight even with the hinged upper cowling doors due to the baffling and rather close fitting cowl. The fire made quite a mess of the engine compartment, the alternator and burned a hole thru the nose bowl. For you Grumman-American owners, make an extra effort to inspect this area before every flight and save yourself from a similiar fate.

Bird well baked!!

My story is very similar, but the result was minor is the scope of things.
It was at Thanksgiving and I was on a trip to Missouri and parked for three days at Lees Summit airport (very nice by the way). There was a lot of bird activity observed, flying aroung and such, and I felt I did a good preflight not seeing anything in the cowl, top or bottom. I took off and smelled "something" but it disapated quickly. I watched all my temps and keep an eye on everything as best I could. At my first fuel stop I again checked but saw nothing.

When I arrived home, Denver, I took off the cowl to discover a small bird, well done, between the #1 and #3 cylinders. No signs of a nest, and the bird was removed without any observed damage. I considered myself lucky and use foam inserts in the air and carb inlets if I leave the plane out overnight.

RV6 N660PC based at BJC
Pat Claar, Arvada, CO

Always close them up.

I think you should always plug your openings outside or in the hanger. Also, I protect my fuel vents with a small piece of nylon stocking and a plasitc wire tie. The vents are always protected and I dont have to worry about leaving the covers on.

n2prise said:

Has anyone seen or heard of birds or rodents getting inside the cowl around the exhaust pipe exit area?

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Couple days ago I saw how birds enter and exit exhaust area in a light twin parked at transients ramp. Wondering if there is a fabricated cover for RVs? Birds are able to get inside hangars they marked my plane already