Quote:
Originally Posted by cashflyer
Any more dangerous than a bird strike?
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I've had a few bird strikes over the years, (luckily none with any significant damage). A small enough bird will usually just glance off (they're soft) and make a bit of a mess, even on a main rotor blade. Haven't had any bird strikes on tail rotor blades, thankfully. As you know, a large bird could do much more damage and have brought down helicopters. Phi lost an S-76 with all on board several years ago.
Most birds, if they see the aircraft coming, will dive out of the way (I've seen this plenty of times), they have their own sense of self preservation. I don't know if drones have a similar "evasive action" yet.