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Big bird went through RV-10 windshield/pilot okay

W

Wayne Gillispie

Well Known Member
An RV-10 based at LEX- Lexington, Ky hit a Turkey Vulture on Saturday 9/28/13 going 150 kts at 2000' agl. Thankfully the injured pilot and plane made it safely back to home base! Keep your eyes outside for those little flying rocks. They can really do some damage. I always fly with all lights on below 10,000'. Now thinking that I may start descending under 3000 agl at 125 kts Va to improve my chances of seeing/avoiding a big bird. If anything it would lessen the impact force on the windshield. I think we would be okay in our 100-110 kt climb out. I believe this is the first RV-10 windshield penetration.

VAF_14%20Oct.%2001%2001.39.jpg


VAF_15%20Oct.%2001%2001.39.jpg

Here is a link to the Matronics RV-10 forum post with pics...
 
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Wayne,
I think we would be okay in our 100-110 kt climb out.
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I don't.

But I can't be sure either way. As much as energy is relative to Velocity Squared, the concept of a big bird and a 200km/h hit on climb is still not good. It may still come strait through, and just not damage the back bulkhead. Small consolation.

As for keeping your eyes peeled, :eek: you are not wrong there!

Remember when climbing out, it is better to be faster and shallower than Vx or Vy, because you have better EFATO physics, you also have better visibility and when it comes to dodging flocks of large birds, which I do at every home field takeoff, the birds will instinctively dive. You can climb, but only if you have spare kinetic energy.

Be vigilant in your anti bird manoeuvres.
 
I am thinking that during our 100-110 kt typical cool weather climb that the angle between my windshield and the flying rock would be less. This angle along with lower airspeed may give our 1/4" plexiglass a chance.

Just one more reason I like our portable O2. I have yet to see a bird above 10,000' AGL even though I know they can exist. Come to think of it, I have yet to see a small aircraft above 10K.
 
That does it.

Today, my -10 is getting a two-color spinner! Anything that creates a bit of 'strobe' effect, has to be good.

Best,
 
Is it an optical illusion, or is the center post bent from the impact?

All I can say is WOW!, and super glad no one was seriously injured. Turkey Vultures are not small, and this could have ended up being much worse.
 
Glad all ok

Estimating the energy involved in the collision:

Mass of average turkey vulture: 1.5 kg
Speed: 150 kts=77 m/s

E=1/2*m*v^2=~4500 joules, or 4.5 kJ

10 kJ is sort of a rule of thumb of what it takes to bring down typical plane.

Really glad all made it to ground ok. Here's hoping for a swift recovery for the pilot and the plane.

Geoff
 
One other thing I always do is keep an extra pair of prescription glasses velcroed on my left side just behind fresh air vent. Safety goggles might be a good idea too. If the bird does not hit me, all of that sharp plastic might.
 
Michael White said:
Is it an optical illusion, or is the center post bent from the impact?

All I can say is WOW!, and super glad no one was seriously injured. Turkey Vultures are not small, and this could have ended up being much worse.
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Yes, enough energy left to bend the baggage bulkhead too. Wow is what I thought too.
 
As someone who has had more than his fair share of birdstrikes, I remain wary of the hazard. Just last Saturday after departing the Airshow at Flabob airport in Riverside, I was in a cruise climb at about 4000 feet and saw a big hawk flash by the right wing. Looks like it cleared me by about 10 feet at the most, and was not taking any kind of evasive action. I had the strobes and landing light on (its Los Angeles, after all), and the 4 into 1 exhaust was certainly barking out a tune...

I'm convinced, the threat is real!
 
A Turkey Vulture is going to go right through 1/4 Plexi even at 90 knots. Don't kid yourself. Lucky it hit on that side. Glad the pilot got it down ok.
 
You can paint your airplane pink, add flashing lights and fly at stall speed but the best thing to prevent these kinds of things is keeping your head out of the cockpit. It can happen to any airplane and anyone though.
 
Good article in the latest Sport Aviation (mine arrived yesterday) about bird strikes. I'm glad this was a survivable event, though if it were me I might be thinking 'Why did I have to survive? Now I have to do that %^&@! windshield fairing again!' No, seriously, I'm glad that it ended relatively well.
 
Glad the pilot is ok.

General comment after looking at the photos...
It appears that Weldon, the recommended bonding adhesive was used to install the windshield.
It appears that a poor bond existed on at least portions of the windshield edge. In tests done on Weldon bonds, the open/clear areas of the acrylic will shatter, but the bonded areas will not release. When done properly, the windshield would have to be ground away from the cabin flange. In this case it appears to have simply peeled away.

Not saying that it would have influenced the final outcome, but it surely does effect the ultimate strength of the windshield/windows and rollover protection.
 
Not the Lone Ranger

here.

While performing at an airshow a few weeks ago, a Turkey Vulture went THRU my prop arc unscathed, but he was not as lucky when he encountered #4 in the slot. The Turkey Vulture was chopped in half and folks on the ground said it sounded like a shotgun blast. The only visible damage was scratched paint on the prop. Number 4 did not have a hunting license is keeping a low profile.

 
Possibly the thin consistency of Weld-On 10 makes it more difficult without the proper gap and mating angles. I ordered the thicker version...Weld-On 45, but hope to never find out my bond strength on the plane. I did test a plexi-plexi bond, alum-plexi bond and fg-plexi bond with great results.
 
Helmets anyone?

I have been flying for 33 years now and have had 3 bird strikes, non on the windscreen yet. One of those strikes occurred at night and I did not see the flock of gulls until I was in the middle of them. During my recent fly off of Phase 1 I flew through a flock of ducks. Didn't see them until right on them so no time to try and avoid. All my previous encounters have been in slower aircraft but in all cases the aircraft was damaged to some degree and if the impact had been on the windscreen it would not have been pretty. I am really leaning to getting a helmet with visor.
 
The vultures are thick in LA and MS where most of my flying takes place, and they seem to like to flock around airports. I've seen them turn to avoid me when they saw me first. I'm wondering if it makes sense to slow down a little when flying below 2500' to give bird and man more reaction time.

I've been meaning to throw a pair of goggles in my flight bag or map box in case of a canopy strike and will do that before next flight. Fortunate for fliers that big birds stay out of clouds.

John
 
I once was very involved in looking at bird strike mitigation. In the end there were only two variables that made any difference. The slower your flying the better as the birds can more easily avoid you and you avoid them and in a impact damage is reduced. Higher is the other variable. Above 4000 feet bird strikes decrease rapidly and most are below 2500 feet.

George
 
Louise Hose said:
All I can say it wow! And, I'm glad all people and planes involved came through with nothing more than a prop strike!
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As I understand it, according to Lycoming, that bird-prop strike requires a teardown and inspection.

Even taxiing through tall grass that comes in contact with the prop is cause for a teardown & inspection.
 
billgill said:
here.

While performing at an airshow a few weeks ago, a Turkey Vulture went THRU my prop arc unscathed, but he was not as lucky when he encountered #4 in the slot. The Turkey Vulture was chopped in half and folks on the ground said it sounded like a shotgun blast. The only visible damage was scratched paint on the prop. Number 4 did not have a hunting license is keeping a low profile.

Click to expand...

That Buzzard actually quit when he was a "head"
 
N941WR said:
As I understand it, according to Lycoming, that bird-prop strike requires a teardown and inspection.

Even taxiing through tall grass that comes in contact with the prop is cause for a teardown & inspection.
Click to expand...

Yep, started to post the exact same thing earlier this AM...
 
jpowell13 said:
The vultures are thick in LA and MS where most of my flying takes place, and they seem to like to flock around airports. I've seen them turn to avoid me when they saw me first. I'm wondering if it makes sense to slow down a little when flying below 2500' to give bird and man more reaction time.
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I almost collected one at LBX the other day. It was at 0' AGL and I was on the BMW - a gaggle of them were enjoying some fresh(?) roadkill on 288. I'd hate to take one of those to the helmet at 75 mph... can't imagine taking one to the face at 150kt.

TODR
 
rvbuilder2002 said:
Glad the pilot is ok.

General comment after looking at the photos...
It appears that Weldon, the recommended bonding adhesive was used to install the windshield.
It appears that a poor bond existed on at least portions of the windshield edge. In tests done on Weldon bonds, the open/clear areas of the acrylic will shatter, but the bonded areas will not release. When done properly, the windshield would have to be ground away from the cabin flange. In this case it appears to have simply peeled away.

Not saying that it would have influenced the final outcome, but it surely does effect the ultimate strength of the windshield/windows and rollover protection.
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Has no one here ever heard of Capt. Sully and the "Miracle on the Hudson"? If not, I can provide a hundred other examples of Birds = 60; Airplanes = 40. Research will yield thousands more.

The only worse odds are Granite = 99; Airplanes = 1

Weldon bonds done good or bad don't matter much.

Bob Bogash
RV-12
N737G
 
NASA515 said:
Has no one here ever heard of Capt. Sully and the "Miracle on the Hudson"? If not, I can provide a hundred other examples of Birds = 60; Airplanes = 40. Research will yield thousands more.

The only worse odds are Granite = 99; Airplanes = 1

Weldon bonds done good or bad don't matter much.

Bob Bogash
RV-12
N737G
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Re-read the last line of my post (which you quoted).

I think it is pretty clear I didn't in any way, imply it was the reason for the windscreen being penetrated.

What I did do is point out a possibly serious (I say possibly because from one photo it is not possible to determine the extent of the problem) construction error. Which I think would be inappropriatenot to do since I saw it.
 
RV8iator said:
That Buzzard actually quit when he was a "head"
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Ba-dum Tish!

When I first read this thread title, I pictured a large yellow Sesame Street character with orange legs sticking out backwards thru a hole in an RV-10 windshield.
 
While learning to fly jets in the late 70's we recently before this had a lear depart PDK and flew through birds on the airport. Al perished when they hit an apartment. So the folks at PDK were quite serious about eliminating bird strikes. We had a couple of ex military pilots that told us generally bird tuck and dive when in danger and told us to pull up to avoid them. Unfortunately we could not yield his advice when we broke out of the clouds in a CE500 in to a flock of buzzards. Vertical stab took a direct hit...

I have witness birds tucking and diving but don't think they have all been educated in this collision advoidance....

Glad to hear your basically OKAY... It surely will shake you up
Jack
 
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