Bird Strike

Goodaye Robert, Yes it was pretty crazy getting attacked by birds like that. 8 thou steel line broken about 2 feet from plane. I guess with them flying quickly and they weigh up to 12 oz so 3/4 pound flying fast is a fair bit of force and they are very solid birds. Nothing eats Galaghs. not even in the desert where things are very hungry the plane survived fine. It was only a slab wing profile anyway. The worst part is the steel lines are not cheap and they were a bundle up and into the bin job. Still, at least it amused my Lad no end. He couldnt stop laughing for so long, whilst I just stood there with my handle in my hand looking at my crashed plane, broken lines, and the birds flying off, in total disbelief. Oh well, thats another way to crash that is ticked off of my ways to crash bucket list.

Your Ornithopter is truly amazing what an incredible craft and beutifully put together video! the bird right at the end is absolutely perfect as the Ornithopter itself is so bird like in the way it flies. just fits the video perfectly with a bird coming in at it at the end.

that is Wild Gary , didn't think to much about it till you said and I remembered you fly with steel lines !! At 14 " and almost a # that is a pretty big bird and I like the way you say there tuff and nothing will even eat them LOL I had some bird of pray fling around my RC planes when I was fling but never C/L Crazy stuff ! Robert is that ur bird fling those are pretty cool !!

Hi Yabby,
It is stories like this, I joined this CEF,
Got the birdstrike T-shirt.
Beautiful spring day, we were doing club clean up day. Waiting for the guy to show up with the keys to the shed.
I fired up the BW.049 screwed on the the nose of a CG Gentle Lady glider. Climbed out as usual and engine cut.
I noticed two hawks circling below, so figured they had a thermal, and tried to join them.
Blam! then another Blam! I landed close to the field with only wingtips left. Shredded covering in between.
We went on to cut the field and fly other planes...
Next club meeting, several of us had close encounters too.
Turned out, there was two young hawks learning to fly. In a tree behind the flight line. These ones:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooper%27s_hawk
Check out the claws ! ! !
The Gentle Lady flew on with a BabyBee, and could still be flying, hawk claw marks and all.
Field has been long ago paved over.
Moral of the story?
My Black Widow,
Has more stories to tell...
Take care,
Have fun,
Dave

@Yabby, Australia is the only place I know of with the largest great white sharks and salt water crocodiles, and now, the meanest small birds not afraid of attacking a screaming Cox powered control line aircraft.      

Did the indigenous place a curse on the flying field you were using in the wild?

Hi All,

Eric, as you said having them attack an RC I can more understand but a CL really surprised me. Near pulled the handle out of my hand before they broke! but in saying that, it was only 8 though steel at 42 foot. this mornming I will go fly there again and see how it goes. hopefully it doesnt cost me another set of lines.

Dave, excellent stroty and the hawk sure does have claws! I can understand birds of prey with young attacking and again an RC, I just thought the round and round of CL would hold them off. We have a lot of Hawks and Wedge tail eagles around here but they have never been a problem. the bloody Galaghs Absolute nuisance birds in so many ways. Cause everyone a problem one way or anotherl. Its just their nature somehow. shame the field is paved over. I hate seeing fields paved and built-in. Thats one good thing out here. Open space

George, the saltys and white pointers are not so bad (not so good either ) its the stinger jellyfish which are everywhere up north and the rarer Irukandji jellyfish, both of which can be and are often fatal to those they sting. they are usually found in shallow swimming depth waters and are near impossible to see. The land the town and the oval are on is uncontested indingineous land and sporting facilitys are a very important part of the modern day indigenous lifestyle. They love Ozzy rules football and are some of the very best in the country with amazing speed and awesome accurate kicking skills both sides of their bodies usually.

hope to try and fly again today, as I need to sort my newly made up steel lines out at the field. I luckily have a spare set that I hadnt made up yet. they are made up now and ready to go. Ive got another two sets of lines made up that are 50 ft but the weather needs to be dead calm to use them (with a TD ) and here right on the beachfront that doesnt often happen especially now that summer has finsihed and we are into Autumn heading for Winter.

Yabby wrote:George, the saltys and white pointers are not so bad (not so good either ) its the stinger jellyfish which are everywhere up north and the rarer Irukandji jellyfish, both of which can be and are often fatal to those they sting. they are usually found in shallow swimming depth waters and are near impossible to see.

I was being a little facetious.     When I was in junior high in the mid 1960's, I got stung by a Portuguese Man-Of-War, had welts all around one of my arms spaced about 15-20 mm apart, each stinging like a wasp sting but worse. Was body surfing at a small secluded beach about two miles south of the Makaha beach on Oahu in Hawaii, famous for the annual worldwide surfing championships. Wasn't fatal to me, but a real pain.   Don't think I'd want to tangle with those Irukandji's, could well, be a not-so-good ending experience.

https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/fact-file/irukandji/

Photo from Australian Geographic.

Yabby wrote:The land the town and the oval are on is uncontested indigenous land and sporting facilities are a very important part of the modern day indigenous lifestyle. They love Ozzy rules football and are some of the very best in the country with amazing speed and awesome accurate kicking skills both sides of their bodies usually.

All you need is an Aboriginal friend or two who happen to love flying C/L, then you got the ideal flying buddies.    

Yabby wrote:hope to try and fly again today, as I need to sort my newly made up steel lines out at the field. I luckily have a spare set that I hadn't made up yet. they are made up now and ready to go.  I've got another two sets of lines made up that are 50 ft but the weather needs to be dead calm to use them (with a TD ) and here right on the beachfront that doesn't often happen especially now that summer has finished and we are into Autumn heading for Winter.

Your bird strike reminds of may be now time to try out less expensive but just as effective, G-sump or Spectra synthetic thread fishing lines for C/L cables? Those are easier to replace.

https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/fact-file/fact-file-galah-cacatua-roseicapilla/

Galah photo from Australian Geographic, credit Shutterstock.

GallopingGhostler wrote:
Your bird strike reminds of may be now time to try out less expensive but just as effective, G-sump or Spectra synthetic thread fishing lines for C/L cables? Those are easier to replace.

I have tried using Spectra / Fishing line at 10 Lb and it works really well, but for some reason I just like the 8 thou steel. It feels better. there is nothing good measurable about the difference between steel and spectra that I can put my hat to. both are good, but for some reason I just like the feel of steel a bit better, especially as the lines get longer. the one thing I really like with spectra is the ease of connecting it!!!! But on the down side I find it very very tangly and my eyes are not what they once were. Maybe I just need to be more careful with the spectra, as I am with the steel.

Yabby, I was thinking about it and I bet that Galagh got a little image of your plane tattooed on his wing after knocking you down LOL!!!

Eric, Yes that was my flapper…. I’ve built a few of them…. Grandkids get a kick out of them…

Robert

getback wrote:that is Wild Gary , didn't think to much about it till you said and I remembered you fly with steel lines !! At 14 " and almost a # that is a pretty big bird and I like the way you say there tuff and nothing will even eat them LOL I had some bird of pray fling around my RC planes when I was fling but never C/L Crazy stuff ! Robert is that ur bird fling those are pretty cool !!

Here's an age-old recipe for cooking a Cockatoo (or Galah- same thing).

Add water to a large pot and bring to the boil.  Add salt to taste.  Placed the prepared Cockatoo into the pot along with a medium size rock.
return to the boil and simmer for two hours.  When done, throw away the Cockatoo and eat the rock!!

Oldenginerod wrote:

getback wrote:that is Wild Gary , didn't think to much about it till you said and I remembered you fly with steel lines !! At 14 " and almost a # that is a pretty big bird and I like the way you say there tuff and nothing will even eat them LOL I had some bird of pray fling around my RC planes when I was fling but never C/L Crazy stuff ! Robert is that ur bird fling those are pretty cool !!

Here's an age-old recipe for cooking a Cockatoo (or Galah- same thing).

Add water to a large pot and bring to the boil.  Add salt to taste.  Placed the prepared Cockatoo into the pot along with a medium size rock.
return to the boil and simmer for two hours.  When done, throw away the Cockatoo and eat the rock!!

thank you! well said, it needed saying, I couldnt remember it properly. Describes a Galah soo well.