lsearcy Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 I had a very weird and scary experience last weekend. Departing KRFG (Refugio, Tx.) on the way home to KAEX, I was climbing to 2000 ft and calling Houston to get my IFR. Cloud bases at about 2300 ft and Houston told me to remain VFR until my clearance was confirmed. I was ready to copy and as I looked up I passed a cloud just above me at 2200 feet and right in front of me was a flock of buzzards - I mean a lot of them circling and out of nowhere. I am not sure if they dropped out of the clouds or what. I had no choice but to go straight ahead and hope I missed all of them. Luckily, no bird strike. I have seen single birds dive away before but have never been confronted with a large flock of 50+ birds circling at varying altitudes. Anyone ever have this happen? Is the best technique to simply fly straight ahead and hope the birds dive out of the way as they did in my case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 Stay clear of birds and parachutes... You never know how many there are going to be... Neither will behave predictably. The cost of hitting one will be beyond expectations! Best regards, -a- 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 Stay clear of birds and parachutes... You never know how many there are going to be... Neither will behave predictably. The cost of hitting one will be beyond expectations! Best regards, -a- Like the parachutists we saw yesterday Anthony? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorealOne Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 Yeah, birds are bad news. Just ask Sully. I've had a few encounters of the avian kind up North, where large migratory flocks are frequent now (fall) and again it the spring. A few years ago, on departure from La Ronge, I found myself (we found ourselves, since they were equally perturbed) in the midst of a flock of about 100 departing Canada geese. They must have missed my radio call, as they lifted off from the end of the runway just about the same time I did. I maintained heading and continued to climb, deciding that being predictable was far better than not. Somehow, we all managed to avoid each other, although there was lots of opportunity for a collision. A week or two ago, while in northbound cruise at 6000' from Ft. McMurray to Ft. Chipewyan, I converged with a southbound flock of swans at the same altitude. We both banked opposite to avoid colliding - and it was a non-issue. Swans are about 2x the size of a goose, but also excellent formation fliers. As the ATIS messages say at this time of year "Migratory Bird activity in Area"... Keep those eyes out, and keep your cool. They want to miss you as much as you want to miss them. Predictable flight is what you want... but accidents do happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 There was a large flock of turkey vultures where I was based for 7 years. They would appear at random times, from just a dozen to 50+, thermally along at various altitudes, often in or near the pattern. Sky conditions didn't seem to bother them, I guess like me, they eat every day regardless of weather. Just watch for them and try to stay away. Last Sunday after lunch, as I was climbing out over the River, a raptor of some sort dove below me, reinforcing the axiom to climb away from birds as they will usually dive away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 The scariest encounter I ever had was in WNY. Climbing out from my home airport, I was just passing through 2000' when I noticed a couple of C-130s doing an oil burner route on a direct heading towards me. I had seen them before and knew they would flying around 1000'. What I wasn't expecting was the double V formations of Canadian geese 500' above me. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I am just thankful they did not dive as I know they would. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyDave Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 >>I am not sure if they dropped out of the clouds or what. Birds are VFR only. They are not instrument rated :<) They must have come up from below. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N601RX Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 There is another advantage to pulling up. It shields part of the windshield with the cowling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skywarrior Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 Used to skydive at the Refugio airport in the '70s. The owner, Hans Vandervlug, used to say that his name sounds like a curse word. Great guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piperpainter Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 I can tell you a duck in a window will cost you $15K if you hit in the right spot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Fox Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 I have a 1/2 inch windshield......wonder if a bird can go through it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yvesg Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 Discussing this subject with some bush pilots they tell me that even if you try to run into them, a prop aircraft is so noisy that they will know you are coming and dive down. Some have tried to purposely run into them and could not. Might be a different story with ducks at low altitude when approaching at idle. Two weeks ago I spotted some Canada geese and tried to get near them. They immediately changed course. And they strictly fly VFR, so almost no chance for encounter in clouds. Yves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aviatoreb Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 Discussing this subject with some bush pilots they tell me that even if you try to run into them, a prop aircraft is so noisy that they will know you are coming and dive down. Some have tried to purposely run into them and could not. Might be a different story with ducks at low altitude when approaching at idle. Two weeks ago I spotted some Canada geese and tried to get near them. They immediately changed course. And they strictly fly VFR, so almost no chance for encounter in clouds. Yves One of the most beautiful moments I ever had once was the day I took 3 glider lessons while in England. When you find thermals in a glider, you stop going forward and start circling in the rising air to try and gain some altitude. At one point in such a circling maneuver I looked up across the other end of the circle and saw hawk, doing the same thing, circling in the same thermal as us and 180 degrees to our circle. He was not bothered by us since we were making no noise - we were just another big bird to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiser Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 Birds will see and avoid you normally before you see and react to them. A student in KGRR had a GoPro record an encounter with a hawk passing to the right and within feet of him, you can see the hawk take evasive maneuvers, the student never saw him until it was too late to react In my experience, birds will get out of the way if they can. the bigger they are and slower they are the harder it is for them to avoid you. You don't hear too many encounters with sparrows. If you are going to do a low pass down a river in the country, don't be surprised if you meet a duck or two....... just common sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsxrpilot Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 The puffy cumulus we've been having in this part of Texas are indicative of excellent thermals. You can expect each puffy cloud to be marking the top of a thermal. The buzzards use the thermals to stay aloft without expending any effort. And the closer to cloud base, the wider the thermal is therefore accommodating more birds and making it easier to stay in the lift. We do the same thing in the hang gliders. As Erik said, I've also been in thermals several many times circling with buzzards or even eagles quietly enjoying the free lift and just hanging out. The buzzards seem to look at us and say "cool, you've figured it out, welcome to the club." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisk Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 I've seen buzzards at 5000 (4000 AGL) feet before. It does get your attention and its amazing how quickly you come upon them. They are pretty big, so I imagine it would be a very bad day if you hit one. Also, I was in Poughkeepsie NY years ago and the tower called out the position of traversing geese. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lsearcy Posted September 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 Used to skydive at the Refugio airport in the '70s. The owner, Hans Vandervlug, used to say that his name sounds like a curse word. Great guy. Unfortunately Hans died in a plane crash last year In Colorado while flying charter for a family from Corpus Christi. IFR and low via stability. Came up short. His widow Ruth is still at the airport managing it. My family ( me, my dad, and several uncles) have been flying out of Rooke field for 40 years. Stop by and visit. On another note, any hunters looking to deer, quail, turkey or pig hunt, you fly in to refugio and experience a great hunt with a top notch outfitter at all seasons guide service www.allseasonsguideservice.com. Check out the El Corazon ranch on the web site.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aviatoreb Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 The buzzards seem to look at us and say "cool, you've figured it out, welcome to the club." I figured that hawk was looking over at me in that big ol' German performance glider with the 20 meter wing span thinking, there's one big sexy looking bird. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Pleisse Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 There is another advantage to pulling up. It shields part of the windshield with the cowling. Spot on......birds always dive. Pilots must climb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 I flew over to Princeton, NJ over the weekend to see Anthony (carusom) and had to dodge a Peregrine falcon over the threshold. That wakes you up on a Saturday morning... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaMan Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 This is just a wild-assed guess, but I think that birds look for updrafts, which you can find beneath the flat bases of building clouds. If there is bird activity, I will cut across in the sunlight and avoid the bases, though I will also sometimes cruise under the bases to take advantage of increased speed. Also, I've read the the rule is to never fly below flocks of geese that members of the flock will dive into your airplane to defend the flock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 This is just a wild-assed guess, but I think that birds look for updrafts, which you can find beneath the flat bases of building clouds. If there is bird activity, I will cut across in the sunlight and avoid the bases, though I will also sometimes cruise under the bases to take advantage of increased speed. Also, I've read the the rule is to never fly below flocks of geese that members of the flock will dive into your airplane to defend the flock. I think the birds looking for updrafts are the predators (hawks, falcons, etc.) and scavengers (Turkey buzzards, etc.) that are on the lookout for the next meal. The migratory birds are more like us Mooney owners. All business, point A to point B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlunseth Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 I don't know about the diving technique. I have never run into a bird, but from what I can tell they are variable in their reaction to aircraft depending on specie or type of bird. Ducks and geese seem to know to avoid a plane. Generally best to stay on course and let them do the evading unless you are extremely close. We often have raptors at Flying Cloud, which is on a bluff. They like to ride the thermals right at pattern altitude. They don't seem to be very smart about avoiding. I generally turn away from their path. I have never had an experience with buzzards, but have with flocks of pelicans. They seem to be stupid and completely unpredictable when it comes to aircraft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantom Posted October 2, 2014 Report Share Posted October 2, 2014 Also, I've read the the rule is to never fly below flocks of geese that members of the flock will dive into your airplane to defend the flock. True in the sky above Germany during WWII, and above North Vietnam back then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronk25 Posted October 2, 2014 Report Share Posted October 2, 2014 I have a 1/2 inch windshield......wonder if a bird can go through it.... 175mph 20lbs bird, 1/2 glass windshield= bird inside cockpit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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