Smashed Perspex
Its Saturday, and its coming down in stair rods, so a little free time to ask questions,
I watched a heli comming into land on Friday, the pilot did a fly round, set up into wind and came in pretty fast, on his way down I noticed he was assailed by a flight of seagulls, and it seemed two of the rascals came off worst, it started me thinking:
If you were flying at cruise speed and hit a flock or even a solitary bird it seems that unless you were military the plexi would go, and possible leave you with a pretty big hole that would be gathering wind, this once streamlined windscreen would now be creating possibly quiet a lot of drag, questions are.
1, are you able to fly on, or is the drag so great as to cause the need for an immediate landing, and do birdstrikes at say nominal cruise of around 90 to 100 knts cause any structural damage to civvy helis?
My regards
Peter R-B