2007-03-11 18:55:07 · 12 answers · asked by Mere Mortal 7 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Aircraft
I sucked one of those quackers into the left engine of my F-111 one day. The Air Force had to buy a new TF-30. That one was a pile of junk. And yes, bird strikes are not uncommon. Hit it just right and it'll come through the windshield and you've got a mouthful of feathers and a headache, at least. You just have to be watchful and avoid. Not too difficult.
2007-03-11 19:12:19 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As an ex-Air Force jet fighter jock that went from Korea to Greenland before coming back to the Z-I some ten years later, I've never even heard of a case of Geese being a problem. They are very smart, generally don't fly alone and their "Alpha Goose" squadron leader keeps them all in formation and out of harms way. This is not to say that some other birds have not been sucked into jet air intakes or even gone through windscreens, but even that is rare. NASA has a cannon which they use to shoot a Turkey at aircraft canopies to test the angle of the glass to deflect such a hit. There is a story that has been going around for some time about the Brits "borrowing" it to test the windscreen on a high speed train. As the story goes, they shot the Turkey --- and it went through the glass and stuck in the back wall. When they sent their data to NASA to find out what went wrong, NASA reported the test set up and all was fine! Just next time they try it --- THAW the Turkey FIRST....
2007-03-12 02:18:31 · answer #2 · answered by Dusty 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Possible that there are Geese there? Possible none get sucked in?
Bird strikes happen more than you think, it's just that most don't cause "incidents", as you call them.
Most are just wiping up the mess and possibly doing a boroscope if there's a possibility it hit the engine.
This happens a lot more with French-speaking Canadian Geese, as good pilots aim for them.
2007-03-12 02:06:42 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Geese and other birds don't want to get hit by a plane any more than a pilot wants to get hit by a goose. The birds misjudge the speed the airplane is traveling, and fail to get out of the way in time.
2007-03-12 23:05:31 · answer #4 · answered by lowflyer1 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have hit numerous birds before. Mostly just small black birds though. I flew through a flock of them right as I was landing one day in Pittsburgh and killed about 10 that I could count. (They hit the windshields and wings) I have come close to hitting a goose. We were departing Montreal and had some flying across our departure path. Luckily we were able to climb enough to go over the top of them by about 20 feet. I shudder to think what that would of sounded like to fly through their formation and take out a few of them.
2007-03-13 08:01:12 · answer #5 · answered by IFlyGuy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes there are lots of geese. Yes there are often incidents.
2007-03-12 13:55:29 · answer #6 · answered by Chris H 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, the geese are used to their environment and know where to go
2007-03-12 07:49:27 · answer #7 · answered by SyR_2202 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I heard that birds migrate according to changes of seasonal weather conditions. Maybe those birds migrated from other places & your airport is happened to be in their migrating route.
2007-03-12 02:04:34 · answer #8 · answered by Howard Teo 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yep..
Lots of planes hit ducks, geese & other birds...
2007-03-12 02:03:08 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely. It's just a matter of time. They are more of a threat to the jet engine as opposed to a propellor.
2007-03-12 03:42:29 · answer #10 · answered by WaKi 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋