Fro the Flyboys

[kach22i]

I thought the flyboys here would find these two links interesting.

Bird Strikes:
http://www.tc.gc.ca/CivilAviation/Aerodrome/WildlifeControl/tp13549/Plates.htm

Plate 7 — The helmet and face-shield probably saved the life of the pilot when he was struck in the face by windshield and bird debris.

Chinese Flight:
http://ships.bouwman.com/Planes/Bad-Jet-Engine.html

A pilot for a Chinese carrier requested permission and landed at FRA (Frankfurt, Germany) for an unscheduled refueling stop. The reason became soon apparent to the ground crew: The Number 3 engine had been shut down because of excessive vibration, and because it didn't look so good.

Be careful up there fellas.

[Joeaksa]

Kach,

The time to be really worried is about over. The spring/fall migration is when there are a lot of birds moving around, much more so than the rest of the year.

The photo of the engine is a famous one. It landed in FRA and the crew wanted to just put more fuel on the plane and head to the home base, where their maintenance was. They had used cargo tiedowns to "secure" the fan so that it would not turn and cause more damage or catch fire.

German authorities put the nix on that and grounded the plane until a new engine was flown in and installed on the plane.

Birds are a big worry and they can end your day in a big way. Anyone who flies a lot has hit them and its not a pretty sight. Also a new threat is out there. We have been warned that if we injest one or more in an engine that we should turn off the bleed air to that engine. Bleed air is what is used to condition and pressurize the cabin.

Should that bird have the "bird flu virus" there is a small chance that the pax/crew could breathe in some of the bird bits (read blood and other tissue matter) and become infected with the newest flu on the planet.

Just forking wonderful...

JoeA

[slodave]

My dad has sliced and diced one in his prop. Fun to clean up.

Heard of a hawk that pierced the leading edge of a bus. jet wing. They found what was left enbedded in the spar.

Dave

[kach22i]

Should I rename this thread: The case for gliders?

The time I went up in a glider we looked to see what the hawks were doing and where the thermals were. Not all birds are bad for all planes.

[klaucke]

I was stuck in an airport for over 22 hours once, because the plane I was on had hit a bird - there was a basketball size dent in the wing. Turns out they let us fly on it anyway, after waiting in the terminal forever.

[Joeaksa]

I used to fly for Boeing and McDonnell Douglas. When a bird hits a wing it has to be checked to see how much damage, where and what kind of disruption it will cause to the airflow. This takes time and many times they have to replace that part of the leading edge and even possibly do a flight test. If its not too bad they just let it fly home and be repaired at the maintenance base.

Better to check it out and make sure than have the airplane roll one direction on takeoff and not be flyable...

JoeA