A new style Brolga prop ??........

[Guest Maj Millard]

Got a call from one of my gentleman bush pilots recently, with an interesting story.

 

After a busy day in the Storch on his Western Queensland property, he was headed back to the homestead, and was only five NM out. Ahead he spotted several Brolgas flying on the same track and still climbing. Rather than deviate off course, or try and out climb them, he decided he would go under at a few hundred feet.

 

In his own words "just as I lost sight of them overhead, one plummeted down straight through the prop, on the 'down' prop side". The unlucky brolga lost a wing in the encounter and 'went in' below, in a cloud of dust and feathers.

 

With no apparent damage to the prop, and with the engine running as smooth as ever the country gentleman continued home with no problems, after removing some stray feathers from the cockpit.(side doors off)

 

There appears to be no damage to the popular US made prop, but had it hit on the 'up' side the story could have been quite different !!....................................

 

 

[Guest Graham Lea]

That wins the award for "Seemed like a good idea at the time " :-)

 

Graham

 

 

[Yenn]

The motto of this story is pass above birds, rather than beneath them. Advice which has been around for a long while, but maybe not well enough known.

 

 

[RKW]

Hi Major,

 

I have often wondered what would happen to a wooden prop from a bird strike. At Caboolture there are on occasions, huge flocks of "dump ducks" and I see a few dead ones that have come to close to the fan, but I haven't seen the results to the prop as yet. Birds are an ever present hazard at YCAB because of the landfill tip. If the tip wasn't there, we would probably have a housing estate instead!

 

Regards,

 

Bob

 

 

[alf jessup]

All,

 

As most of you probably already know and for those of you that don't, birds will always dive when startled they will never climb so the best option if you come across a flock or even a single one around your height is start climbing if you can and you will never have any trouble with them.

 

Cheers

 

Alf

 

 

[flie43]

About 3 months ago I was on a converging course, head on, with a pelican. He spotted me when I spotted him and he folded his wings and dropped like a smart bomb. It was an amazing site. A pelican would make a real mess if it hit , wouldn't it.

 

Terry

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Good advice i did not no that they dived away. Going for speed i suppose. Glad they dive away as i really don't have a hope of out climbimg even a wood duck.

 

Couple of years ago a Lazair pilot in the US had his right wing fold after hitiing a Canadian goose. Ended up having a 10 second ride under a back up chute. Hope he ate the goose!

 

 

[alf jessup]

My close call was with 4 Ibisis about a year ago, I was coming out of of a turn in my trike over my home when 4 ibisis appeared about 100 mtrs infront of me and about 20 ft higher than me, with no time for me to to react they all dived infront of me with one missing my right wing spar by inches.

 

I had looked around prior to commencing my turn and did not pick them up.

 

It scared the bejesus out of me at the time after they went past as i then pictured myself spiralling towards the ground with a collapsed wing seeing where i was going to end my living days.

 

Hence that is why I then purchased and fitted a brs chute on my trike for the sole reason of the unexpected and to maybe give me a second chance if something untoward and out of my control should happen to my machine.

 

yep not a nice feeling seeing a 20 odd lb bird wizz past the thing that hold us in the air.

 

Cheers

 

Alf

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

RKW, A few years ago we had a kite-hawk fly straight into a wooden 3-blade GSC prop at full take-off power, in a training Lightwing. Those on board described it as just one big bang. The impact threw both carbs off the 912s so it stopped immediately, which was good, and the plane returned safetly back to the strip.

 

All that was left was the hub, with no blades. We searched below where it happened but never found ANY bits of the prop blades. I would imagine the hawk was history also!!....

 

The engine and gearbox was sent to B Floods for a full check. The only damage found was one tooth missing from the large gearbox cog, and a mount boss broken from the front of the gearbox. So a new large cog, and a new gearbox front case and it was back in the air. The engine mount and mount bolts substained some damage, but was easily repaired, so it did the job. The Lightwing engine mount is overbuilt if that's possible. A situation obviosly best avoided.

 

flie43...as far as pelicans go, they are one bird that will not give way to anything !. A few years back a Piper Chieftan encountered one on final into Normanton. The Pelican went straight through the prop, and embeded itself, beak and all, in the leading edge of the rear stab. Damage went right back to the stab spar, and it was later deemed non-repairable. This also jammed the elevator, but fortunatly as the marks indicated, the pilot had somehow unjammed them and made a safe landing, with the remains of the Pelican well imbedded in the LE. Big birds, don't hit one !!

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Don't know about you Southern fliers, but up here in the North and West we have lots of big Wedgetail Eagles now that nobody is shooting them anymore. Last one I spotted was at 5'400 ft AGL, and I have heard of sightings higher than that.........

 

 

[alf jessup]

Maj,

 

Yep i know about your desert gliders as you call them up your way, had a close call with one in NT about 10 years back on a trip arpund oz .

 

It was feasting on some road kill while I was hammering along at about 200ks on my BMW bike.:iamwithstupid:

 

Mind you I was younger and siller back then and my first time in NT with an unrestricted speed limit.

 

It took off and started flying along the road as slow as, I couldnt believe the wing span on it.

 

I closed in on it at such a great rate of knots all i could do was duck and shut my eyes as i went under it, thank god i missed it but it make me far wiser for the rest of the trip.

 

I gave up bikes 5 years back and took up flying, far safer in my eyes.:thumb_up:

 

Cheers

 

Alf

 

 

[eastmeg2]

I guess this thread means that I've just wasted my hard earned cash ordering a new Bolly prop for my Buzzard?

 

All I had to do was find a Brolga to fly through my spinning Ivo:laugh: (Apologies to bird-lovers).

 

More seriously though once I'm flying the Wizard wing, I reckon that at 30kts nothing short of the size of a cow is going to have enough impact to break the wing and maybe I'll need to fit rear-view mirrors to watch out for the birds coming from behind . . .:run::bitehard:

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Eastmeg2 Actually it was a Warp drive, but Ivo's aren't bad either in my book. I currently have a US Powerfin on the Lightwing, but I am not going chasing Brolgas to see if it is any good !!

 

Alf, you are lucky you didn't collect that big wedgee, I don't think we would be talking to you now if you did !..................................................................................

 

 

[alf jessup]

Maj,

 

Your so correct on that, if I had of collected the wedgie or vica versa I wouldnt be here today.

 

Mind you i did collect a small wedgie that day, but it was in my shorts from my butt puckering at the time after my close call.

 

I guess we all have to have some luck sometimes in our life to make us learn and be wiser from our youthful and not so youthful mistakes we as humans can make.

 

Cheers

 

Alf

 

 

[RKW]

So much for soaring with eagles.....atleast turkeys don't collide with props or get sucked into jet intakes:laugh::hittinghead:

 

 

[Yenn]

I am pretty sure that pelicans cannot see straight ahead when flying. I was working on mud flats years ago and one was heading straight for me at about 3' elevation. At 20' I started running and that was when he saw me. Wedgies seem to be able to see you OK and mostly they can avoid a plane but I know of 1 which knocked a Jab out of the sky.

 

 

[Guest Crezzi]

So were none of these birds radio equipped or were they wilfully not broadcasting on the appropriate frequency - absolutely appalling !!!!!

 

 

Closing the door on my way out ......

 

John

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Crezzi, you're a funny little flying fox aren't you.....we tried to contact those birds on frequency, but all we got was the 'beep back'..............................................................

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

'spose they refused to squawk as well. sheet!

 

 

[Relfy]

A while back a pelican that wasn't fitted with a transponder wandered into the path of an F111. Made a bit of a mess!

 

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

I reckon, did he land that thing like that ??

 

 

[Relfy]

Yeah Maj, brought it back home. Said it flew a bit dirty though...not unusual for a pig. Story here...

 

F-111 almost downed - by a pelican | News.com.au Top stories | News.com.au

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

A much better outcome than the previous 'pig' that hit one just north of Newcastle low level, during the 80s i think it was. it came into the cockpit and took out the pilot and by the time the navman pulled the ejection handle the aircraft had rolled inverted and the pod left a big smoking crater in the beach.

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Re: The news report from Ian...I can't believe "two experienced Flight Luieys" were "surprised" by a bird strike at 3000 ft !!... Like hello. I would expect that both those engines would require a bulk strip, as they would be full of carbon fiber particles. Still they did well to bring her home, but it's probabily easier when you know you've got an instant escape route..........................................................................