RV-4 Turkey Vulture Birdstrike in FL

[gvouga]

Originally Posted by Toobuilder

As it is made of the same material as the RV-8, and I have had quail come completely through mine, I can say with almost certainty that a bird of this size will (to quote Dirty Harry) "...take your head clean off".

... And I can tell you from first hand experience that a red tailed hawk (~3lbs) at 120kts will go straight through a RV-7 canopy without any trouble. After shattering the canopy it still had enough energy to bend the steel support tube going up to the roll bar.

RV canopies don't stand a chance against a large bird like a Turkey vulture (~6lbs) or goose (~20lbs).

[Snowflake]

Originally Posted by Av8torTom

Just goes to show how little Bernoulli's principle contributes to lift...

Just goes to show how little people understand physics...

[Av8torTom]

Originally Posted by Snowflake

Just goes to show how little people understand physics...

Was waiting for someone to bite on that...

It's an interesting debate... in reality - depending on the wing of course, Bernoulli's Principle contributes about 10% to the total lift of the wing*. Take a look at the upper surface of the wing in those pictures and it's hard to imagine a clean boundry layer of airflow could exist over the top. Dan hasn't commented yet on how difficult it was to control the airplane after that amount of damage, but the pilot certainly got it safely on the ground. I think we under estimate how much lift is generated from air hitting the underside of the wing producing an upward force. Stick your hand outside the window of a moving car and you can demonstrate this. There are plenty of airplanes with symmetrical wings that fly very well - even upside down. A lot has to do with AOA, but there are many other forces at play too.

I often think of those 25 cent (OK, I'm dating myself) balsa airplanes with the flat wings, and how nicely they fly...

* - This from the Boeing engineer who designed the wing on the 787. Actually his comment to me was "Tom - don't tell anyone, but we really have NO idea how a wing flys..."

[dmaib]

I've had more near misses with vultures the past couple of weeks than I can ever remember. Sobering photos.......................

[Mark Browning]

Originally Posted by Silent_Flyer

Impressive damage.. Is anyone aware of a bird strike to the canopy in an RV-4?

Not great results!

Couple of threads on the forum about Birds Strikes on RV-8 plexy. A bird strike on any canopy would spoil your day, and one of the reasons why the Military wear head gear!



It?s the only time Dick Dasterdly wouldn?t want to catch a pigeon !

[aarvig]

Your friend has balls of steel. I would've landed that sucker right away. If that wing hit a critical angle, she could've stalled.

[pierre smith]

Guys, I've ferried quite a few ag airplanes that had hit tree limbs and big birds with a huge amount of damage. It's a dangerous condition when it happens to you in the air.

Please, before you make your approach, take her up and see where it stalls at altitude. I'd bet that RV-4 had to land at least 10 MPH faster. Making a normal approach with this much damage could snap you over when you least expect it.

Best,

[60av8tor]

Originally Posted by pierre smith

Please, before you make your approach, take her up and see where it stalls at altitude. I'd bet that RV-4 had to land at least 10 MPH faster. Making a normal approach with this much damage could snap you over when you least expect it.

This is a great comment and one that, obviously, comes from experience. Sometimes, the overwhelming desire to 'get her on the ground' can be blinding. Similar to tailrotor issues in a helicopter - yes you desperately want to be on the ground, but taking the time to evaluate control authority at various approach speeds can make the difference between a pucker factor landing, bent metal, or worse....

[sailvi767]

Pierre has excellent advice. When you have aerodynamic problems or damage you need to make a control check at a safe altitude. Your really looking only for a safe speed to land. You don't want to see how slow a damaged aircraft can fly at. You want to pick a speed well above normal based on the degree of possible damage and establish the aircraft will fly at that speed and not go below it on a approach.

George

[ColoRv]

All of this shattered plexi has me seriously considering a helmet.