Bird Strikes
Way back before Pontious I was lucky enough to be among the first pilots to fly the Puma in the RAF (No1 course actually). The introduction of the Puma saw a sharp rise in Birdstrikes. The RAF Directorate of Flight Safety investigated this and came to the conclusion that, up to c100Kts birds usually have enough reaction time to avoid the big metal ones. Before the Puma (cruise speed of 140kts) we had the Whirlwind and Wessex both of which struggled to reach 100kts. With modern helicopters capable of speeds in excess of 165kts and ****ehawks capable of soaring at 10,000ft need I say more?