Danny,
Re the earlier mention of Eagles and Pelicans...
The pelican we nearly hit was at a tad over 10,000ft - gave us a bit of a fright, it did..
Being about the same size as our largest raptor, the Wedge-Tailed Eagle, which, incidentally, features on our RAAF badge (in place of the RAF '****e-hawk'),
they're not an item of prey.
Our Sea Eagles, a bit smaller but quite territorial, do give them a hard time, though.
I've watched some amazing dog-fights between them off our coast, here.
Having a wingspan of about 10 feet, they're excellent soarers and gliders but aren't really capable of sustained flapping flight - even though they can travel
1000 miles between feeding areas.
Being a bit like lazy old men, (as our women-folk would have it) they're into 'energy conservation' and travel by using one thermal after another.
As 'Dive Bombers', they're superb and I'd noticed that they'll use the same technique as you'd so well described earlier in this thread with the Vultee Vengeance.
That is, in a vertical dive, rotating about their longitudinal axis to achieve the required accuracy.
They don't often miss.
Next time, I'll tell you a couple of things about our RAAF icon, the Wedge-Tailed Eagle.