ManAdaSystem:
There is nothing wrong with my eyesight. I still hold a Class One medical and I can spot a glider in a thermal underneath a cumulus at 5 nms.
The point I was trying to make was that although we would all instinctively try to avoid hitting a bird, the control reaction available to us in large aircraft is simply less than that of the bird concerned. I have seen many birds coming and have tried to avoid them but that has not prevented a collision.
The last bird strike that I can remember happened on a beautiful summer's Sunday afternoon. At 100 feet on finals, a sparrowhawk (or something very similar) came out of the grass just beside the PAPIs and flew in front of me.
Are you seriously suggesting that your superior eyesight would have allowed you to avoid it at 100 feet?
Sadly, we hit it and the dead carcass was presented to me on the flightdeck when we shut down a few minutes later.
By the way, I used to operate the DC-10 in and out of Ciampino.
aw ditor:
What is a Gloucester Meteor? I don't recall using anything but Gloster Meteor.