Warbird Information Exchange

I had two Canadian White Geese go into the left engine on a Convair 580 between Columbus and Grand Island NE about 35 years ago. Result...engine change. How did we know it wasn't just one?....The mechanics found 3 white goose feet and leg(s) inside the engine inlet. Had a loud bang, momentary overtemp on the EGT and a quick shutdown. A passenger seated on the left side just behind the trailing edge of the wing said that flames shot out about to the tail of the airplane. He was kinda shook up!

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It's what you learn after you think you know it all, that counts.

To paraphrase Crocodile Dundee: "Those aren't bugs, these are bugs..."



HARS Catalina landing at Temora during the Locust Plague. Photo: Keith Webb.

http://www.aviationmuseum.com.au/news/cat.cfm

The airshow was cancelled.

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James K

"Switch on the underwater landing lights"
Emilio Largo, Thunderball.

www.VintageAeroWriter.com

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http://www.micom.net/oops/

I did a little research on the altitude that a goose can reach. Canadian geese seldom go higher than 9,000 MSL from what I could find, but our airline's get-together happened climbing out of Paris, France. Check out this little bit of info from the Audobon Society:
http://audubonmagazine.org/birds/birds0011.html
Now THAT is some great engineering by mother nature!

We've had one close call and one birdstrike since I started flying. Back in the early nineties we were decending into Lincoln, Nebraska (ATIS usually has a waterfowl notam active there) in a Cessna when a good size goose flew between the lift strut and wing. We both looked at one another without realizing how stinking close we came to a real problem till we were on terra firma. Our birdstrike was uneventful for us but catastrophic for a couple of overly brave swallows that played chicken with our little bird. Fried swallow smells badly on a Lycoming, too!

Rather than working, I had a quick look here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdstrike

and here:

http://www.wired.com/science/discoverie ... 5/09/68937

Catstrike at altitude?!?

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James K

"Switch on the underwater landing lights"
Emilio Largo, Thunderball.

www.VintageAeroWriter.com

On the C-130 hitting the Eagle. All I can say it some Federal law must have been broken even if it was a US Military Aircraft hitting the eagle. Go figure.

Mark H