Mid-air with eagle at Bathurst

[Gnarly Gnu]

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere. Good outcome (except for the bird):

 

"

 

[/url]A pilot who was forced to make a dangerous emergency landing

 

after an eagle smashed through the windscreen of his plane said his only concern amidst the chaos was getting his 'canine co-pilot' back to the ground safety.

 

 

 

Michael Greenwood was flying a light aircraft out of Mudgee with his ten-year-old dog Billy strapped into the back seat when an eagle shattered his windscreen, leaving him and his cockpit splattered with blood"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dazza 38]

I watched on nine news last night. It was good that they showed this at the end of the news. If they showed it straight after the Tiger Moth crash ( which at the start of the news) aviation would looked even more dangerous.

 

 

[old man emu]

Lucky it wasn't a frozen chicken. Have you seen what they do to a windscreen (MythBusters)

 

OME

 

 

[Riley]

I expect, rather than expending resources in recording the eagle's 'break and enter with intent of willfull damage' allegation, our Casa friends will spend as much if not more time in establishing whether the collie was a bona-fide & registered air traveller. Given their questionable Jabiru data sourcing, mewonders if the eagle gets entered in their records as an air-to-air fatality statistic?

 

 

[Soleair]

Any word on the eagle?

 

 

[Robbo]

Any word on the eagle?

Sadly it could not be revived.

 

 

[SDQDI]

Sadly it could not be revived.

I thought it was still clinging to life, last word from casa was that it was illeagle not dead eagle.

 

 

[Robbo]

at least it went out with a bang camicarzie style.

 

 

[Spooks]

Any word on the eagle?

I'll be disappointed if it didn't end up on a barbecue

 

 

[Downunder]

Stuffed, mounted and hanging in the hangar would be better...........keeping the other birds from pooping on the planes and an awesome story to tell visitors.

 

Then again, maybe it was too stuffed to be stuffed, if you know what I mean........

 

 

[Rotorwork]

Any word on the eagle?

The Eagle has landed.

 

 

[Jabiru7252]

I'm surprised the propeller didn't fail.

 

 

[Blueadventures]

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere. Good outcome (except for the bird):

 

"

 

[/url]A pilot who was forced to make a dangerous emergency landing

 

after an eagle smashed through the windscreen of his plane said his only concern amidst the chaos was getting his 'canine co-pilot' back to the ground safety.

 

 

 

Michael Greenwood was flying a light aircraft out of Mudgee with his ten-year-old dog Billy strapped into the back seat when an eagle shattered his windscreen, leaving him and his cockpit splattered with blood"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The eagle had its crosshairs and eyeball on the left seat occupant? 

 

 

 

 

[ct-8003-ms]

I had a close encounter with a wedgie at 4500 over the midwest of WA. It was a pleasant, cruisie sort of day when I noticed an annoying spot on my clean windscreen. Suddenly it became very large. It realised what I was about the same time I recognised what he/she was. We both screamed. Wings and feathers went everywhere. We missed.

 

 

[Litespeed]

It may not happen often- but is a damned good advert for using lexan as a screen.

 

I know they cost more, scratch easily etc

 

But as a bike rider- I would never accept a perspex visor.

 

I have hit a Gallah at high speed and it was not funny at all, a potential killer for sure.

 

Interesting side note: when impacted the gallah feathers splatter pink and grey all over the visor. Felt like a sledgehammer

 

 

[ct-8003-ms]

I agree completely. I've always used Lexan visors. Apart from the strength and resilience of the material, it's also a lot more scratch resistant. It's a great polycarbonate material.

 

 

[pilotdave69]

A laugh at some of the comments here.. - i interviewed Mike and filmed for prime news (and some vision from nine was mine ) when he was out of hospital . He was a character i will say and a nice guy , so lucky to survive. I put Mike up in my house for a few days with his dog - he spent a few days cleaning his plane from the crap which was inside. Let me say , it stank too.

 

Glad to see he survived.

 

on another note, i actually talked to Mike In mudgee on xmas day as he was refuelling his plane, i had flown over myself for lunch with friend . Approx 115pm i get phone calls asking if i was ok - people had known i was in mudgee wondered if it was me and was i safe back in Bx . ! Shocked to hear this had happened and when i arrived back in bhs - to see photos of said plane and i had talked to mike .

 

I had seen another eagle approx 15 miles south of Mudgee on way back .

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY1wdD49Bl8 - Prime news footage - all my vision from the Sunday after he was released from Hospital .

 

well done Mike for keeping it calm and living through ordeal .

 

 

[pilotdave69]

Dogs name was Bobby - good on you NINE NEWS.. nothing like listening to the guy and not interupting him .. haha

 

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere. Good outcome (except for the bird):

 

"

 

[/url]A pilot who was forced to make a dangerous emergency landing

 

after an eagle smashed through the windscreen of his plane said his only concern amidst the chaos was getting his 'canine co-pilot' back to the ground safety.

 

 

 

Michael Greenwood was flying a light aircraft out of Mudgee with his ten-year-old dog

 

Billy

 

strapped into the back seat when an eagle shattered his windscreen, leaving him and his cockpit splattered with blood"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere. Good outcome (except for the bird): 

 

 

 

"

 

A pilot who was forced to make a dangerous emergency landing

 

after an eagle smashed through the windscreen of his plane said his only concern amidst the chaos was getting his 'canine co-pilot' back to the ground safety.

 

 

 

Michael Greenwood was flying a light aircraft out of Mudgee with his ten-year-old dog Billy strapped into the back seat when an eagle shattered his windscreen, leaving him and his cockpit splattered with blood"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[turboplanner]

I agree completely. I've always used Lexan visors. Apart from the strength and resilience of the material, it's also a lot more scratch resistant. It's a great polycarbonate material.

Sure is, I used to race speedway in an open face helmet with plastic dirt bike mask.

A rock came up one night and broke my nose. The mask was undamaged but just became a passenger on the big rock trying to crush my face.

 

Wore a full face with lexan after that painfull little incident.

 

 

[Phil Perry]

I had a close encounter with a wedgie at 4500 over the midwest of WA. It was a pleasant, cruisie sort of day when I noticed an annoying spot on my clean windscreen. Suddenly it became very large. It realised what I was about the same time I recognised what he/she was. We both screamed. Wings and feathers went everywhere. We missed.

Jeeze,. . .I hope the darn thing adopted standard head - on collision avoidance procedures mate . . . ? Mind you . . .some of these birds can be a bit Gull ible. . .

 

( I'll get me coat again )

 

 

[Phil Perry]

It may not happen often- but is a damned good advert for using lexan as a screen.I know they cost more, scratch easily etc

 

But as a bike rider- I would never accept a perspex visor.

 

I have hit a Gallah at high speed and it was not funny at all, a potential killer for sure.

 

Interesting side note: when impacted the gallah feathers splatter pink and grey all over the visor. Felt like a sledgehammer

Tthe Lexan thing was a bit of an issue with aircraft parked out in the open at our site a few years back, some pilots had used screen covers made from all sorts of different materials ( just get out of paying for proper ones I guess ! ) one bloke had a Rans S6 and had used a cover made from some sort of heavy vinyl, and found that it scratched the screen quite badly all over.

 

There were some commercially available cleaning fluids which could remove SOME of the scratcing but this stuff was really bad, and entailed replacing the screen with a new one. Only thing to remember when using Polycarbonates, ( Lexan - Makrolon, etc )is NOT to use any cleaner fluid which contains an active solvent. This rules out any kind of paint thinners, whether synthetic or especially standard, which contains acetone, , and literally melts the Polycarb on contact. Some degreaser fluids like bodyshop Panelwipe also contain solvents.

 

We tried some Methylated spirit on the aforementioned Rans screen, and this did actually work, and it doesn't react with the plastic. . .but it would craze in the sunlight when flying up sun due to the very fine scratches . . .so this was no good either. Most covers for this stuff are made with a very soft lint cloth lining, and if tied down outside, making sure there's no grit or crap between it and the poly when the cover goes on, so that htis does not auto- sandpaper the screen if the aircraft rocks around a bit whilst tied down !.

 

I used to use a lot of Lexan for the manufacture of larrikin resistant illuminated sign box faces, and it really is darned good and withstands impacts. . . I also never ride my VFR750 without a proper lexan visor either ! At the speeds I RIDE AT,. . .( 55 - 65 Mph. . .) I really need that level of protection.

 

 

[Robbo]

US Registered?

 

http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2016/aair/ao-2016-001.aspx

 

 

[Oscar]

Phil - you ride a Viffer? Mine is an '86, the Rocket Ron Haslam blue one... love it.

 

 

[Phil Perry]

Phil - you ride a Viffer? Mine is an '86, the Rocket Ron Haslam blue one... love it.

I can't "Ride" it at the moment, as it's on the Costa Del Sol in Southern Spain near to Benidorm, were my good friend Mark is doing some restoration work on it, in return for me restoring his Dad's X'Air. . . It's an '89, white with a bit of red trim. He's already located a pair of lower front fairing quarter panels, which were missing when I bought it. Some time in the next year or so,. . .I'll be going down there to ride it back. ( Got to find some better leathers though,. . .mine seem to have shrunk around the belly area. . . over the last 3 years since partial retirement of the wearer, . . . ! )