what would you do in this emergency scenerio?
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: USA
Posts: 3,218
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I surely surely didn't. I've spent time living with and among them, however.
The French and Indian war was primarily the Poms taking potshots at the Native Americans who, along with the French, drove the redcoats back.
Roughly, but I didn't stop to count.
The French and Indian war was primarily the Poms taking potshots at the Native Americans who, along with the French, drove the redcoats back.
Guppy, you've had thousands of bird strikes?
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: England
Posts: 1,955
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Assuming a minimum of 3,000 birdstrikes, a 40 year career, 2 months leave and a 5 day working week that equates to 7.5 birdstrikes a month or 1.9 a week which is 1 birdstrike every other day on average.
You must be very unlucky and I'm glad you survived.
Good job you haven't contributed to the bird evasion thread!
You must be very unlucky and I'm glad you survived.
Good job you haven't contributed to the bird evasion thread!
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Dublin
Posts: 2,547
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I've had thousands of bird strikes over the years; some have done significant damage in high speed aircraft, most have done little more than leave blood and feathers. I've shared the cockpit with birds on a number of occasions. I've had bird strikes in 152's and 172's and a falcon crushed the wing in a 210 I flew, back to the spar. Many of the birds, the vast majority, were flocks through which I flew while doing ag work. Approach low to the crop, my sound footprint masked, the birds rose up right in front of me, often resulting in flying through the entire flock.
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: USA
Posts: 3,218
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'm sure the word 'thousands' in intended to be a figure of speech.
It's not hard when it involves dozens at a time on a nearly daily basis, several times a day. That's what happens when a flock rises out of the crop immediately in front of you when you're spraying a field.
I've spent a fair amount of my career at low altitudes, often below 10', and bird strikes are not at all uncommon.
You must be very unlucky and I'm glad you survived.
Good job you haven't contributed to the bird evasion thread!
Birds do a far better job of evading you. For the ones that don't, you'll be wasting your time to attempt to "evade" the bird.
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: London UK
Posts: 517
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Quote:
I thought all Yanks were originally British (or Irish) .. .. well nearly all.
Not really.
The truly original ones were there before any one else showed up.
I thought all Yanks were originally British (or Irish) .. .. well nearly all.
Not really.
The truly original ones were there before any one else showed up.
Interesting birdstrike account from the ASI involving a Baron. No fuel tank leak, but substantial damage.
Given the incident in the 210, do you really think that the OP's scenario of a fuel leak is so implausible? While it's valuable to point out that any given birdstrike is unlikely to cause much damage, the point of considering emergency scenarios is to rehearse the thought process for abnormal situations, many of which are unlikely and unlucky.
I've had bird strikes in 152's and 172's and a falcon crushed the wing in a 210 I flew, back to the spar.
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: USA
Posts: 3,218
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Given the incident in the 210, do you really think that the OP's scenario of a fuel leak is so implausible?
As I said, I've experienced a LOT of bird strikes on aircraft over the years. Most of them did little to no damage. The vast majority were fairly small birds, too. In most cases, the damage if any at all, was restricted to very small dents or dings in the leading edge; on several airplanes at one location I flew, we had kevlar leading edges installed to cut down on the dents and dings. In only a few cases have I had significant damage. You also have to bear in mind that much of my flying was done at low altitudes, where one has the greatest percentage of bird strikes. While you may operate in that environment for only a few moments, I may operate in that environment full time; it makes a big difference.
Some of those airplanes had reinforced surfaces, in some cases armored surfaces. The greatest damage I've had was the Lear strike, which did crush the radome and got the left windshield. I was also slowing through 250 knots at the time at 10,000' at night; circumstances in which the original poster will not find himself in a Cessna 152. In all liklihood, the original poster won't be spending all his time at low altitude working in situations that are conducive to bird strikes.
Bear in mind that few bird strikes occur at 3,500', which I believe was the original poster's postulation. Most occur below 500'. This has already been discussed.
While it's valuable to point out that any given birdstrike is unlikely to cause much damage, the point of considering emergency scenarios is to rehearse the thought process for abnormal situations, many of which are unlikely and unlucky.
It's one thing to ask one's self where one will land if the engine fails. Fair enough; this is a requirement of every moment one is airborne in a single engine airplane, and it should be in the foremost of one's mind at all times. It's entirely another matter to begin imagining wild ideas involving complex scenarios; one leave the realm of productive thought to enter into unrealistic television drama. The what-happens-if-a bird-strikes-me-and-then-I-catch-fire-while-I'm-having-a-heart-attack-and-a-dozen-wasps-come-out-of-the-vent-to-attack-me-right-at-the-moment-I-realize-I-left-my-epinepherine-pen-in-the-car-and-the-iron-got-left-on-at-home scenario might be going a little overboard.
Here we have the I-hit-a-bird-ooh-it's-scary-everything's-fine-and-oh-look-there's-a-runway-I-can-use scenario. In other words, no problem. That's the important thing to understand here.
But none the less as I read that post, and thought about your other posts (small arms fire, instrument panels hanging out of the cockpit, engine failures galore), the thought crossed my mind that you must be the most accident prone pilot that I have ever come across
The instrument panel was blown out of the cockpit, and that was a windscreen failure involving a rapid depressurization in a Cessna 421. There was no "accident," nor was I or anyone else prone to one. We returned to land uneventfully.
Engine failures, you bet. Most of mine have occurred in older large radial-powered airplanes; many of them were cylinder failures, some propeller failures, and a number of shutdowns due to large oil leaks from a weak point on one particular type of radial engine installation, involving the stephead governor mounting base cracking. None resulted in an "accident." Several years ago a single engine failure in a Garrett TPE-331-10 powered single engine airplane did result in a forced landing on a mountainside, which was not an accident and wasn't handled as one; I made the forced landing successfully and continued flying the airplane a month later.
None of the bird strikes have resulted in accidents or been accidents, either. In a few, rare cases, some damage has occurred which required repair. Otherwise, in most all circumstances, the bird strikes were uneventful. That's not to say that bird strikes are always so, of course. One causing a Cessna 152 wing tank to crack, that takes out communications, and that somehow disables the transponder is a bit unusual, but even then one has a scenario in which a perfectly acceptable runway is available and one has a full-functioning airplane with a good engine, good control, and an ability to go land. It's what one might call a no-brainer. Go land.
