Birds

BobDDuck

BobDDuck

Island Bus Driver
I finally got in my first XC solo (scrubed twice and aborted once). I managed to get there and back becoming "temporarly displaced" (I love that phrase) only once. Over all it went well. However, I did run into several birds at around 2500 feet (cruise altitude). So my question is, what do you do when you see a bird at your altitude several hundred feet in front of it. These were hawks of some kind that were soaring on thermals, so they weren't really moving all that much. I remember hearing somewhere that birds will tend to dive to get out of the way, so it is better to go up. That said, is it better to just go straigh forward and hope they move, or should I be taking evasive action and hope they don't go the same way I do. Obvisouly this would only apply to smaller planes. I can't see a 737 slewing around to avoid a sparrow.

Ethan
 
[ QUOTE ]
I remember hearing somewhere that birds will tend to dive to get out of the way, so it is better to go up.

[/ QUOTE ]
You heard correctly... if you can, that is.

[ QUOTE ]
That said, is it better to just go straigh forward and hope they move, or should I be taking evasive action and hope they don't go the same way I do.

[/ QUOTE ]
If I see them in advance, I take evasive action, however, sometimes they come up on you quickly and all you can do is go straight.

If a bird dives in front of you, I THINK it's best to initiate a climb. I may be wrong.
 
I almost hit a Canadian goose last week....of course this was on the ground in my car and the stupid thing was just waddling along the road.
grin.gif
 
My experiences with birds in the short time that I've been flying...

1. A bird flew in front of me right after rotation... needless to say I wasn't about to make any changes in flight path 10 feet above the ground (it narrowly missed).
2. I was in the pattern when a seagull appeared right in front of me. At the last second it tucked in it's wings and dropped straight down.
3. I was taxiing back on a runway when a flock of cranes walked across the runway in front of me, and then the alternator failed on takeoff (cranes must be like black cats).
4. The most un-nerving of the four was in the pattern with a flock of about 20 geese that I lost sight of for a couple of seconds.
 
737 hit a pelican yesterday. Knocked a pretty decent dent in the left slat and grounded the plane for the rest of the day. I've got pics of a SWA 737 that flew through a flock of snow geese. NOT for the faint of heart. That plane was hangared for about a week.
 
If you can its best to climb, or at least not descent, because they will usualy dive to avoid you. But if you are talking about several hundred feet away, don't even worry about it. They will probably get out of your way before its an issue. You only have to worry about evasive action if they are about to get mulched. There are sooooo many birds here in the vicinity of OAK, especially on the approach end of 27, that if we had to vector around the birds that are several hundred feet away, we'd be in serious trouble. Once we get on short and final and we're usually surrounded by birds. Haven't hit one yet, only a couple close calls.
 
[ QUOTE ]
And I thought this thread was going to be about girls - kind of disapointed guys!

[/ QUOTE ]
As London Bridge burns down, Brixton's burning up
Turns out your in luck
Cos I know this dodgy cluck in The Duck
So it's just another showflick from your
Local City Poet
Case you geezers don't know it
Lets Push Things Forward

and lock down your aerial.
 
[ QUOTE ]
BTW, tell us about you XC. How was it? Where did you go? Don't leave us hanging.
smile.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

It actaully went pretty well. There was still broken cover at 3200 so I did most of the trip at 2500 Which was almost legal as the highest obstruction on route was around 2050. The nice thing about the flight (4G7, fairmont, WV to 48I, Braxton county, WV) was that I could follow the interstate the whole way there so if I got lost it wasn't a big deal. That said, I managed to hit almost all my checkpoints on time. Coming back up I had to fly through KCKB (class d)'s traffic pattern goign the wrong way and because of the clouds I couldn't climb above it. So the rather helpful approach controler vectored me way the heck to the west and then back to the east on the other side of the pattern. It meant that I was completly off my route, but it also meant that I could enjoy the scenery a bit more and not worry about clocking each check point because there weren't any. Also, there is an NDB right at next to 4G7 so it is pretty easy to find the airport.

Thanks for the feedback on the birds. I guess I'll just play chicken with them next time.

Ethan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top