bird strike

[crashley]

We had a mishap with our rv12 today I was doing touch and goes and on the third landing at about 10 foot off the runway I hit a bird with the right wing not too much damage not sure how to repair yet probably just filler
ashley

[vernhendershott]

Originally Posted by crashley

We had a mishap with our rv12 today I was doing touch and goes and on the third landing at about 10 foot off the runway I hit a bird with the right wing not too much damage not sure how to repair yet probably just filler
ashley

Hi Ashley,

Please post a picture if you can it would be helpful to all to see what can happen and then how it gets fixed.

RV-12 wings are simple to fix even if the skin is very damaged, just replace it with a new skin, it is less than a days work to remove a leading edge skin and replace it. New paint would be the harder issue.

For smaller dents with no cracks or tears you can release the top of the skin from the spar going forward enough to reach in with a hard wood float the shape of the leading edge and slowly work out the dent with good tin working skill, it would pay to find a good body shop man for this.

Best regards,
Vern

[Threetracker]

We keep our RV-12 at the Albany Municipal Airport in Albany, Oregon. The airport is situated between the I-5 interstate and a large city park. Oregon has relatively temperate winter months and there is plenty of rain so waterbirds tend to congregate at the park where they swim in leisure and are often fed by people that often spend time at the park. It is expected that you will often see birds on or near the airport every time you fly and although bird strikes aren't that common here; we are all probably just lucky that we don't have more strikes.

I'm very glad Ashley wasn't Crashley as a result of his strike. A bird strike cannot be fun and I know nobody wants to hit a bird; but extra caution really needs to be exercised around known bird 'hangouts'.

Jay Sluiter
N124CS
Albany, OR (S12)

[frankh]

Cool..I hope to see it around sometime.

Frank 7a in Corvallis

[daveyator]

sorry to hear about that. I missed a pelican by about 3 feet while Doing t&g's with an instructor a couple of years back. What a shock that came as! Must be a lot worse to connect. Glad only equipment damage.

[6S4 Hugo]

I've always been amazed with how quickly and easily these things work and wonder if they could be used on aircraft. Any metallurgists out there who can figure out the specifics on brass vs. aluminum?