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Joined the Bird Strike Club Today

Sam Buchanan

been here awhile
After coexisting uneventfully with our feathered aviators for thirty years my luck ran out today. If this can't be pulled out enough for "body repair" this will be a long, involved repair. No telling how long it would take to get an RV-6 leading edge skin from Vans these days.....

Very grateful it wasn't a canopy or tail strike.
 

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That's bad luck for both you and the bird but lucky as you say that it wasn't the canopy or the tail. It must have been some sizeable bird like a duck or a buzzard?
It may be possible to roll your own replacement skin from stock if not available from Vans or another builder. A patch may work too. Good luck and looking forward to seeing how you repair it!
 
Welcome to the club! Compared to mine, that is full Sesamy street big bird style!

I barely felt mine in the darkness. The air was so calm that my brain said it felt like the elevator bell crank bolt just hit the fuselage bottom :). Really, "do I still have control of this airplane?" Pushing back into the hangar at night as the light caught the wing, "what's that?". My speed bump flies just fine and I'll fix it when I get around to it (2yrs later).
 
Paul, our airport is a mile or so from a wildlife refuge and we have numerous waterfoul in our airspace. I suspect it was a small duck or something similar, that is a significant dent.

I'll try pulling it first....nothing to lose by trying.
 
That is a nasty dent but I don't think it would require replacement of the LE skin (which would be a big job on a -6 as you say.) A friend had a similar dent in the same spot recently (severe hangar rash) and did an amazing job with a dent puller tool. Failing that the section could be cut out, patched from the inside then a flush patch on the outside. You have good access to the inside with the tank removed... but you knew that.

Good luck and keep us posted. Yours may be the most famous 6 around and was an inspiration to many of us back in the day.
 
Thank you Jeff and others for the encouragement. Replacing the skin is definitely the last resort, (I can't imagine what a hassle that would be) I can deal with less than perfect esthetics as long as it isn't too imperfect. ;)

This RV-6 has served faithfully for 21 years, today is the first time its been bruised. We were lucky, a bird that size could have caused catastrophic consequences. I looked up from the tach and only saw it for a split second as it was diving directly in front of me--I thought it went under the wing and hit the gear or rear fuse. It was only after getting out of the plane I saw the damage.

And yes, the -6 continued to fly normally post impact (turned immediately back to the airport, had only gotten a couple miles away) but you would think stall characteristics might have been effected.
 
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My record is 3 bird strikes in 2 legs. Luckily they were little birds and the paperwork took longer than the cleanup.
 
After coexisting uneventfully with our feathered aviators for thirty years my luck ran out today. If this can't be pulled out enough for "body repair" this will be a long, involved repair. No telling how long it would take to get an RV-6 leading edge skin from Vans these days.....

Very grateful it wasn't a canopy or tail strike.

If you do require a new skin, does Van give any preference for an AOG situation such as yours?
 
I'm glad it wasn't a canopy strike. most bird strikes happen below 1000 AGL. that's a good reason to climb at Vy to at least 1000 ft AGL and to slow it down when descending before 1000 AGL. statistically, it is just a matter of time before a bird finds me or I find him. I'm pointing at myself here.
 
Sorry to see this Sam - but look on the bright side - repairing such damage would make a great magazine article (or two.....). And that might defray some of the costs!

Paul
 
If you pull the dent "mostly" out, can you then remove the skin and use it as a pattern to match-drill a new skin?

It would seem like as long as the skin can be laid out flat, this would work?
 
If you pull the dent "mostly" out, can you then remove the skin and use it as a pattern to match-drill a new skin?

It would seem like as long as the skin can be laid out flat, this would work?

Theoretically....maybe so.

But the holes at the spar have to line up perfectly to hit the plate nuts in the spar. I don't know if I could prevent enough tolerances from stacking up to make this work. But leading edge skins have been replaced so with enough effort and pondering it can be done. But it is far more challenging than building the wings originally. Builders who have never built a -6 or -4 can't appreciate how difficult this would be....replacing leading edge skins is a major repair.
 
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I'd be considering either a full skin replacement or a flush patch. Knowing you, you could finish a flush patch in a weekend.

IMO, pushing the damage out would leave you with a structurally compromised D-cell on the leading edge. I wouldn't like that much, particularly that far inboard.
 
I remember flying my RV across Texas once, hit a mosquito, damage was comparable. Bad mosquitoes in Texas.

And when I was a boy, mosquitoes kept us awake at night. Actually, it was the fathers patrolling the neighborhood with shotguns to keep the mosquito population down...
 
I'd be considering either a full skin replacement or a flush patch. Knowing you, you could finish a flush patch in a weekend.

IMO, pushing the damage out would leave you with a structurally compromised D-cell on the leading edge. I wouldn't like that much, particularly that far inboard.

Good point, Kyle. I don't have any issues with a flush patch, that may be the route forward. The rib on the inboard side of the dent is deformed a little but could probably be addressed once the wound is open. Might get in touch with the guys at Vans to see what they think about structural compromises.

A patch could really be an issue at resale, will have to decide if that is a factor for me.
 
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Dang...

no way I know enough to say how to fix the wing, or the bird. But I’m thinking about you!
 
Pull the fuel tank off, make a pusher block that matches the leading edge radius and follow the tips in the video if you can get in the rib hole.

https://youtu.be/Lx3riXS5guY

Friend of mine had a bird strike in his RV8 repaired by a old time aluminum body Indy car fabricator. The dent was much worse than this one. He used a wooden block shaped like the leading edge inside the wing and pushed it with a small bottle jack and a board against the spar.
 
Friend of mine had a bird strike in his RV8 repaired by a old time aluminum body Indy car fabricator. The dent was much worse than this one. He used a wooden block shaped like the leading edge inside the wing and pushed it with a small bottle jack and a board against the spar.

There you go! Call the paintless dent repair company! lol... Just kidding.. Sorry about the damage, but glad you're still with us!
 
Got some parts from Vans last week (which included a 9 leading edge & outboard skins). They originally said it might take a week or more to get it out the door but was shipped 3 days later. Great service!
 
Sam, happy it was not worse. Also, you’re highly experienced and will find the best way to fix it :)

You might have had the following idea already; assuming the pull skin method doesn’t work to your satisfaction, another one would be to just cut off the damaged section to perpendicular to the spar, say a bay and a half or two. A partial LE skin could be then formed, and using a hole duplicator for the spar holes and a doubler at the junction, and a couple of ribs as required, riveted thru the side access.

In any case, good luck with the repair.
 
Yours may be the most famous 6 around and was an inspiration to many of us back in the day.

Ain't it the truth? Back in the '90s, I used to study Sam's site and marvel at how fast he was building while I was just getting started on my -8. I just re-subscribed to Kitplanes so I can read the upcoming "How to Fix a Duck Strike" article!
 
Sam, happy it was not worse. Also, you’re highly experienced and will find the best way to fix it :)

You might have had the following idea already; assuming the pull skin method doesn’t work to your satisfaction, another one would be to just cut off the damaged section to perpendicular to the spar, say a bay and a half or two. A partial LE skin could be then formed, and using a hole duplicator for the spar holes and a doubler at the junction, and a couple of ribs as required, riveted thru the side access.

In any case, good luck with the repair.

Dan, that is an intriguing idea, may have real possibilities. It would be less obvious than a patch and far less involved than replacing the entire skin.

I'm a bit concerned about retaining wing alignment if the tank and leading edge are removed, don't know if the wing would be flexible enough to lose rigging, hopefully not. When we built these wings they were in a precise jig to hold everything straight. With the partial leading edge idea the tank could be reinstalled temporarily to hold everything straight while the new leading edge 'insert' is fabricated.

Good thinking...thanks!
 
Sorry Sam. Glad it wasn’t the canopy and you’re OK.
That's a big dent and I bet it was loud.
 
Mike, on the older RVs a tank is MUCH easier to repair than a leading edge. No pre-punched skins.....

That was my first thought as well... Couldn't the darn bird have hit another foot inboard? :p Although from a resulting fuel leak perspective, that may not have been preferable...
 
I'm a bit concerned about retaining wing alignment if the tank and leading edge are removed, don't know if the wing would be flexible enough to lose rigging, hopefully not. When we built these wings they were in a precise jig to hold everything straight.
I suspect now that the main skins aft of the spar are all riveted in place, that the structure is quite rigid. You could probably do the entire repair without removing the wing from the plane, although it may be easier to work on if you did.
 
Might be worth going to a good quality body shop and asking their best bump-out specialist to see what can be done. In other words, get an expert rather than making this a DIY job.

So far I've done this twice and both times I couldn't tell where the damage had been. You might still need to make a repair at the place where it's crimped, but maybe not.

Dave
 
Might be worth going to a good quality body shop and asking their best bump-out specialist to see what can be done. In other words, get an expert rather than making this a DIY job.

So far I've done this twice and both times I couldn't tell where the damage had been. You might still need to make a repair at the place where it's crimped, but maybe not.

Dave

The Body Shops that fix the new Ford pickups are very good with Aluminum and may have some ideas.
 
That was my first thought as well... Couldn't the darn bird have hit another foot inboard? :p Although from a resulting fuel leak perspective, that may not have been preferable...

Does anyone have pics of the bird strike an RV based at KRTS took up near Pyramid Lake a few months ago? A friend showed me pictures a while back and it looked nasty. Punched through a large chunk of the right wing leading edge and ruptured the fuel tank. Think it was a hawk. From what I understand he flew it back and landed without issue.
 
Theoretically....maybe so.

But the holes at the spar have to line up perfectly to hit the plate nuts in the spar. I don't know if I could prevent enough tolerances from stacking up to make this work. But leading edge skins have been replaced so with enough effort and pondering it can be done. But it is far more challenging than building the wings originally. Builders who have never built a -6 or -4 can't appreciate how difficult this would be....replacing leading edge skins is a major repair.

I've never had to do this so just spitballing here, but... I would think about something like, first cut out or straighten the damaged section to make sure the old skin and ribs are back where they should be. Then drill off the skin and get a new one clamped in place. Back-drill he new skin wherever you can reach and put in clecos. Cut the old skin into sections that can be held on with your back-drilled index holes and use those sections as patterns for the rest of the holes. With enough back-drilled index holes, using the old skin as a pattern in pieces instead of the whole thing should minimize offsets from stacking. Just a thought.
 
We (Van’s) do try to help with AOG situations (especially if stranded away from home base) as best we can.

I joined the bird strike club a couple weeks ago as well. Glad you’re safe.
 
I’m glad Sam that you’re safe. Judging from the dent size it appears a new world altitude record for flying turkeys has been established.
 
Update; Repair Begun

After pulling the tank, I was able to significantly reduce the size of the dent by pushing out on the dent with just my fingers. I'm going to make a buck that fits in the leading edge to hopefully push out more of the dent.

I was dreading pulling the tank but it came off quite easily, only had to drill out two stuck screws. It remains to be seen if pushing out the dent is the final solution but I'm gonna try it before resorting to replacing the skin.
 

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Bird Strike information

I don't remember where I got this from but added it to my misc aviation information on my computer. Here are some statistics regarding bird strikes.


July to October greatest risk
December to February least risk
63% are during the day
28% are at night
9% around dusk and dawn

takeoff and landing with approach phase being around 42%, the greatest

40% occur on ground (ground ops including takeoff and landing rolls)
71% occur at 500 feet and below
82% occur at 1500 feet and below
92% occur at 3500 feet and below
98% occur at 7500 feet and below

There were two known strikes at greater than 30,000 feet!

Best evasive action is to climb as birds usually dive when threatened.

Sam... So sorry this happened but thankful your ok!

Edited: I remember reading an article, (not this one but similar), about how pulsating lights... Wig Wags... significantly decrease the risk of bird strikes. Here's a link to one I just found.
https://www.bizjournals.com/portlan...on-company-takes-aim-at-the-bird-strikes.html
 
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Best evasive action is to climb as birds usually dive when threatened.

That has certainly been my experience in our heavily waterfowl populated area. I've dodged many birds by flying around them, been close enough a few times to see them tuck and dive.

Never fly under a bird!
 
If you pull the dent "mostly" out, can you then remove the skin and use it as a pattern to match-drill a new skin?

It would seem like as long as the skin can be laid out flat, this would work?

That's pretty much what we did to rebuild Tony Boy's wings (RV-3B), which were both smashed on the leading edge outboard of the tanks from the tornado... it looked similar to Sam's damage. I got really good at drilling out rivets during that ordeal. After drilling off the skin, we cut off the trailing edges and used them as drill templates to match up to the existing spar holes. We also replaced the nose ribs with new un-drilled ribs, which made life easier. I ordered a piece of stock sheet aluminum from Aircraft Spruce and bent the skin on the bench according to Van's old-school instructions.

Glad it wasn't worse, Sam! I saw the aftermath of a buzzard that went through the canopy of one of our DA-40s at MTSU back in the day... that was a bloody mess. The buzzard went right between the CFI and the student on its way back to the baggage bulkhead. Took the headset off the CFI but he landed it safely. :eek:
 
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