Toobuilder
Well Known Member
New one for me... Typical trip across the open desert to Phoenix, a route I've taken many times. Severe clear weather, Fat dumb and happy cruising along on autopilot and I glance down at the iPad to see what kind of traffic is out there that I can't see with the eyeballs. Just a glance, mind you - not minutes of heads down. When I look up, I see what appears at first to be a cloud of black smoke off in the distance. It quickly turns into a massive swarm of bees... Nope, it's birds coming right at me, co altitude, 12:00, and at 190 knots this distance is closing rapidly. I rolled into 90 degrees of bank and pulled hard, narrowly missing the whole mess. It turned out to be several hundred seagulls flying in a tightly packed, 100 foot diameter ball. The elapsed time between seeing the faint "smoke" to pulling g's was about 2 seconds.
Center punching that mass of flesh and feathers would have made for a very, very bad day
What is it with me and birds?
Anyway, one more reason to remain vigilant, even when up nice and high.
Center punching that mass of flesh and feathers would have made for a very, very bad day
What is it with me and birds?
Anyway, one more reason to remain vigilant, even when up nice and high.