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RV-8 Bird Strikes

N543RV

I'm New Here
Gents,

Two guys I hanger with had bird strikes on Tueday evening. Flight of 2 RV8's have bird strikes at 180 kts. Not sure who ran into who.....Damage to 1st RV8 consists of a nerf football size dent in the leading edge of the tank. Second RV8 took it right through the front windshield.

Both landed without incedent other than a few stitches and brown shorts for the second RV8 aviator. No idea what kind of bird or how big. All I can say is WOW!!!

Here is a link to the pictures.

http://s1074.photobucket.com/albums/w405/rv6aaviator/


FrontCloseUp.jpg




KensWing-1.jpg


Jeff Sandor
RV6A
 
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Wow! Just Wow. I'm glad they are ok.

Probably doesn't matter, but do you know if this was a Todd's canopy or Vans?
 
Wow

Looking at the pictures and I am hoping all that blood and guts are from the bird.
 
hope he doesnt need to replace the seat cushions as well ;)

Glad everyone is alright! That had to of been alarming
 
Ouch!

Wow - that is amazing! I really like the last picture, looking forward from the pilot seat, it really puts it in perspective. I wonder if the sloped windscreen (more angle) or maybe the Todds Canopy (a little thicker) would have faired any better? Who knows - it may have been a Todd's?? Good job flying the plane to a safe landing!! Thanks for sharing.
 
dent repair

To repair the dent you might consider your local "paintless dent repair" guy. I had a similar encounter which was repaired in my hangar (his tools were in his truck). I did remove the tank and cut 5" access holes in the baffle for him to reach in from behind. Dent is gone. Paint is intact, and you have to look very close to see any evidence of the fix. Two hours and $250. Because of the sloshing issue, Vans sells a special baffle repair kit.
 
I really like the last picture, looking forward from the pilot seat, it really puts it in perspective.

It's just freakin' scary. Close enough to smash the headset... ouch. I've had a few close calls with birds here and there, but that pic makes me want to start wearing a helmet with the visor down, yikes!
 
I know it sounds cheezy, but safety equipment is always a good idea.
When I was young, I rode motorcycles without a helmet and all that...
But I noticed the odds were piling up.
At the least, you should wear some of those polycarbonate sunglasses, or the clear ones if it's not sunny. Thay are strong enough to stop shotgun pellets, block UV radiation, plus thay come in the coolest designs and colors!!:rolleyes:
Beats having feathers in your eyes on final (or worse).
 
Bird Strikes on RV-10s?

Just curious if there have been any windscreen bird strikes on RV-10s. I don't know how thick the windscreens are on the other models, but I was impressed with how thick it was on the -10 (1/2", maybe a little less?). I'd be impressed if a bird went through it, but at 170 knots, there's a lot of energy.
 
Protective Film

Just curious if anyone has considered putting some of that protective film on the inside of the canopy - like is used on home windows to protect against intrusions. That stuff is amazingly strong, but I'm not sure how it might affect visibility. It would keep the canopy from shattering at least.
 
Just curious if anyone has considered putting some of that protective film on the inside of the canopy - like is used on home windows to protect against intrusions. That stuff is amazingly strong, but I'm not sure how it might affect visibility. It would keep the canopy from shattering at least.

It is designed for glass and won't expand and contract the same as our canopies. It would eventually cause the canopy to crack.
 
How thick is the Flat Wrap windscreen from Romeo-Victor? That may be a
viable option for the replacement.
Were the spinners painted in contrasting colors? Much discussion in the past
about bird/aircraft encounters and painted spinners.

H
 
The -10 windshield is 1/4" thick.

At what altitude were they at on impact? There are alot of European Starlings around Portsmouth PMH. You guys were on the national news last year for having a serious bird flocking problem.

I have showed my wife three RV bird strikes in just the last year, and with a trip to FL coming up, will try to take some precautions...Safety glasses/goggles for takeoff and landing, below 3000' agl- try(I know...it is difficult) to stay under 140 kts, and keep all lights on. Maybe the -10's size and lower speed makes a difference, although that did not help on the Hudson River.
 
canopy issues

A polycarbonate canopy would resist most any bird strike, however it would basicly be impossable to break from the inside for escape if the aircraft fliped on landing. So it might work for a -10 but not so much the -7, -8, -9 ect. Russ
 
windshield on 9 polycarbonite

A polycarbonate canopy would resist most any bird strike, however it would basicly be impossable to break from the inside for escape if the aircraft fliped on landing. So it might work for a -10 but not so much the -7, -8, -9 ect. Russ

How about just the windshield on a 9? That is where it needs to be the strongest.

Our company Citation was over Missouri a few years ago that had a bird strike in the windshield. The windshield was damaged beyone repair - about $25k worth, but didn't break. Lucky they were just leaving the pattern and not going very fast.
 
A polycarbonate canopy would resist most any bird strike...

Talked to the engineers here at work about polycarbonate following my birdstrike in the -8, and it appears that this is not a good choice for several reasons. First off, it scratches very easily, second, it's expensive (not a huge deal), but most importanly, it looses most of its strength when exposed to UV radiation. So very quickly, you would have an expensive, scratched windscreen that was no stronger than plexiglass.

It is true that military canopies are polycarbonate, but they are laminated with plexiglass and treated for UV protection. It's a very complex manufacturing process, and worlds away from the stuff you get at Home Depot.
 
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