Sussex Police Helicopter Bird Strike
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life."
Hovering AND talking
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WAATP,
The first time you posted that photo was pretty offensive and it ain't much better now! Although a bit smaller, IIRC.
Cheers
Whirlygig
The first time you posted that photo was pretty offensive and it ain't much better now! Although a bit smaller, IIRC.
Cheers
Whirlygig
Glad for them that it was nothing worse; quite a big bird!
I would estimate about 1/3 of the helicopter tasks I have carried out in the last 25 years have been between 0-500ft, 1/2 around 500ft and the rest up to 1500ft.
I suggest that avoiding birds is a regular proceedure in most helicopter operations.
Hitting one is simply a matter of chance, hence the clear visors.
I would estimate about 1/3 of the helicopter tasks I have carried out in the last 25 years have been between 0-500ft, 1/2 around 500ft and the rest up to 1500ft.
I suggest that avoiding birds is a regular proceedure in most helicopter operations.
Hitting one is simply a matter of chance, hence the clear visors.
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
Any doubts about the birdstrikes and luck relationship?
Watch this.
Download from here (1.5 Mb)
Saturday, March 24, 2001
During the seventh inning of the Diamondbacks' split-squad 10-6 victory against the Giants on Saturday, the NL Cy Young winner hit and killed a dove flying in front of home plate.
Johnson's pitch to the Giants' Calvin Murray was about three-fourths of the way to home plate when it struck the bird.
The bird flew over catcher Rod Barajas' head and landed a few feet from the plate amid a sea of feathers.
"I'm sitting there waiting for it, and I'm expecting to catch the thing, and all you see is an explosion," Barajas said. "It's crazy. There's still feathers down there."
(http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2001/0325/1161522.html)
Have a safe Bank Holiday.
SS
Watch this.
Download from here (1.5 Mb)
Saturday, March 24, 2001
During the seventh inning of the Diamondbacks' split-squad 10-6 victory against the Giants on Saturday, the NL Cy Young winner hit and killed a dove flying in front of home plate.
Johnson's pitch to the Giants' Calvin Murray was about three-fourths of the way to home plate when it struck the bird.
The bird flew over catcher Rod Barajas' head and landed a few feet from the plate amid a sea of feathers.
"I'm sitting there waiting for it, and I'm expecting to catch the thing, and all you see is an explosion," Barajas said. "It's crazy. There's still feathers down there."
(http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2001/0325/1161522.html)
Have a safe Bank Holiday.
SS
Last edited by SilsoeSid; 29th May 2005 at 11:44.
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
It's a good job that hare and rabbits don't fly, because their timing and luck is at about the same level as our feathered friends!
An unlucky hare at a touring car race! (199kb)
Hare blood and guts warning!
SS
(p.s. No I won't get on to car crashes etc!)
An unlucky hare at a touring car race! (199kb)
Hare blood and guts warning!
SS
(p.s. No I won't get on to car crashes etc!)
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I have never had a birdstrike while flying above 500 feet agl. Had lots below that height in the previous military job though. If you are in the dangerous height band (below 1,000 ft according to the research stats) then it is probably just down to luck or a matter of time.....
The ones arguing against probably spend too much time in the weeds and perhaps know no other way to operate.
The ones arguing against probably spend too much time in the weeds and perhaps know no other way to operate.
Hovering AND talking
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Well I had my one and only birdstrike after 33 hours (just checked my logbook!). Definitely below 500ft as I making a final approach to the airfield. Wasn't much left of the crow and I needed a G&T while the engineers checked it all out
The airfield was a busy international airport with bird scaring in operation. Obviously takes a lot to scare a crow
Cheers
Whirlygig
The airfield was a busy international airport with bird scaring in operation. Obviously takes a lot to scare a crow
Cheers
Whirlygig
Avoid imitations
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The one you hit is probably now very scared.
Hovering AND talking
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The one you hit is probably now very scared
Cheers
Whirls
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
skycop;
Didn't you say of me
But, In your last post didn't you just say;
So, you admit luck has its part! Thank you!
I for one know no other way of being in that band in order to land or take off! (ain't no weeds around this urban jungle to fly around in anyway !!!!)
I'll wager soon you'll be eating those words, accompanied with a nice cut of pigeon or other seasonal delight. Have the crew ready with a nice little Chianti, (alcohol free of course!) and it won't be such a bad outing after all!
According to the CAA Safety Sense Leaflet 10B, Bird Avoidance;
Perhaps this wasn\'t a \'birdstrike\' as such anyway!! 
VISORS DOWN AND LOCKED!!
ss
Didn't you say of me
Birdstrike avoidance is NOT a case of luck - I'm surprised a professional pilot made that statement!
If you are in the dangerous height band (below 1,000 ft according to the research stats) then it is probably just down to luck or a matter of time.....
So, you admit luck has its part! Thank you!
I for one know no other way of being in that band in order to land or take off! (ain't no weeds around this urban jungle to fly around in anyway !!!!)
I have never had a birdstrike while flying above 500 feet agl.
According to the CAA Safety Sense Leaflet 10B, Bird Avoidance;
Birds of Prey have been known to attack aircraft!
VISORS DOWN AND LOCKED!!
ss
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Liverpool based Geordie, so calm down, calm down kidda!!
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I have had 3 birdstrikes in 20 months of police flying around liverpool. First at 400'/120kts which was a low cloud day. Second was at 1200'/120kts at NIGHT!! (poor owl) and the most recent was a swift/swallow at 1000'/120kts. It is usually bad luck in my opinion, however the fact is that the lower you fly the more things there are to hit. Kids balloons look lethal!!
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The lowest level bird strike I have had was at only 107 inches AGL.
That is the height of the mast on the R22 I had just started and was running through pre take-off checks in while sat on the airport apron when a suicidal wood pigeon decided to fly through the disc. Shut down to check for damage and found the obvious remains all over the tail of the aircraft. Definitely did nothing for the nervous trial lesson I had in with me.
That is the height of the mast on the R22 I had just started and was running through pre take-off checks in while sat on the airport apron when a suicidal wood pigeon decided to fly through the disc. Shut down to check for damage and found the obvious remains all over the tail of the aircraft. Definitely did nothing for the nervous trial lesson I had in with me.
Mike Smith taught me. . 'less than 90kts if below 2000ft'
When birds see you they need to 'fake' in one direction before they fly away in the other. If you fly more than 90kts it doesn't give them chance to do that so. . .
When birds see you they need to 'fake' in one direction before they fly away in the other. If you fly more than 90kts it doesn't give them chance to do that so. . .
Just a thought: do any of you use landing lamps whilst low level, or in a high risk zone? Birds will react to a flash of light far quicker than either the noise or sight of an oncoming vehicle: try flashing your headlamps at a bird in the road and see the reaction.
Most dipper pilots would have experienced large sea birds playing around the rotor wash when sitting in a 40' hover pinging for subs. They have been known to miscalculate; I even had one go through the disk whilst running on the flight deck
Most dipper pilots would have experienced large sea birds playing around the rotor wash when sitting in a 40' hover pinging for subs. They have been known to miscalculate; I even had one go through the disk whilst running on the flight deck
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SS, you miss my original point, so keen were you to jump in with criticism. Which IS: If you operate all the time in the bit of sky where there are more birds, then the risk of birdstrike is more likely. If you can fly higher, you reduce the risk. Glad to hear this has prompted you to read the CAA safety leaflet. Perhaps the first time as you seem surprised by the content?
Yes, some big birds of prey can be aggressive to anything airborne, which is what I meant when I said that the Buzzard is territorial.
During my time in Belize in the late 1970s / early 80s, RAF Harrier pilots often found out the hard way that a local hawk species mistook the head-on profile of their jets, with their pronounced wing anhedral, for a "stooping" competitor and they were very prone to "tip in" for a fight. This resulted in a bit more of a fight than they thought - as the jets were doing 420 kts....
As there were no low-flying restrictions at all out there, we sometimes used to fly down from APC to Rideau (100 nm) at low level, just for fun. One day I came within a gnat's wotsit of hitting a big formation of brown pelicans which certainly taught me a lesson - after that I usually stayed up at medium level for those transit flights.
Gulls are also very dangerous as you say, because although they aren't aggressive they fly in large unruly flocks and seem to have no fear of a mid-air collision. If you watch a flock of them you can see it for yourself - they often bump each other in flight. They are careless fliers - bad news for an aircraft in the same bit of airspace as they are BIG birds.
Some years back I had a heavy birdstrike at around midnight, over the sea at 500', with a casualty on board, flying under a September moon in hazy conditions. Whatever we hit blotted out the lights of Hong Kong Island and the moon just before it hit us - it was VERY big. I suspect it was a large black-eared kite (wingspan well over a metre). It hit the front of the aircraft just above my head, solid structure rather than glass windscreen and it bounced off, or I might not be here arguing with you. We landed with blood, feathers, meat and guts all over the top of the aircraft, including on the main pitch rods but no real damage occurred other than some big scratches through the paint right down to the composite fibre flight control cowling.
In my most recent employment we tend to cruise at 2000 ft or above and there are certainly FAR fewer birds up there. Something I am very conscious of as I don't have the luxury of wearing a clear visor these days.
John - YES, we switch on the searchlight as we descend from the cruise - it's a checklist item.
Yes, some big birds of prey can be aggressive to anything airborne, which is what I meant when I said that the Buzzard is territorial.
During my time in Belize in the late 1970s / early 80s, RAF Harrier pilots often found out the hard way that a local hawk species mistook the head-on profile of their jets, with their pronounced wing anhedral, for a "stooping" competitor and they were very prone to "tip in" for a fight. This resulted in a bit more of a fight than they thought - as the jets were doing 420 kts....
As there were no low-flying restrictions at all out there, we sometimes used to fly down from APC to Rideau (100 nm) at low level, just for fun. One day I came within a gnat's wotsit of hitting a big formation of brown pelicans which certainly taught me a lesson - after that I usually stayed up at medium level for those transit flights.
Gulls are also very dangerous as you say, because although they aren't aggressive they fly in large unruly flocks and seem to have no fear of a mid-air collision. If you watch a flock of them you can see it for yourself - they often bump each other in flight. They are careless fliers - bad news for an aircraft in the same bit of airspace as they are BIG birds.
Some years back I had a heavy birdstrike at around midnight, over the sea at 500', with a casualty on board, flying under a September moon in hazy conditions. Whatever we hit blotted out the lights of Hong Kong Island and the moon just before it hit us - it was VERY big. I suspect it was a large black-eared kite (wingspan well over a metre). It hit the front of the aircraft just above my head, solid structure rather than glass windscreen and it bounced off, or I might not be here arguing with you. We landed with blood, feathers, meat and guts all over the top of the aircraft, including on the main pitch rods but no real damage occurred other than some big scratches through the paint right down to the composite fibre flight control cowling.
In my most recent employment we tend to cruise at 2000 ft or above and there are certainly FAR fewer birds up there. Something I am very conscious of as I don't have the luxury of wearing a clear visor these days.
John - YES, we switch on the searchlight as we descend from the cruise - it's a checklist item.