OT: Playing "Chicken"

[Pete44ru]

Scientists at NASA built a gun specifically to launch average 4 pound (dead) chickens, all traveling at maximum velocity, into the windshields of airliners, military jets and the space shuttle, etc.

The idea was to simulate the frequent incidents of collisions with airborne fowl, to test the strength of the windshields.

British engineers heard about the gun and were understandably eager to test it on the windshields of their new high speed trains.

Arrangements were made, and a gun was sent to the British engineers.

When the gun was fired, the engineers stood shocked as the chicken hurled out of the barrel, crashed into the shatterproof shield, smashed it to smithereens, blasted through the control console, snapped the engineer's back-rest in two, and embedded itself in the back wall of the cabin, like an arrow shot from a bow.

The horrified Brits sent NASA the disastrous results of the experiment, along with the designs of the windshield and begged U.S. scientists for suggestions.

NASA responded with a one-line memo --





"DEFROST THE CHICKEN ! "

.

[pwl44m]

TOO Funny, didn't see that one coming,def got a chuckle.

[stew71]

The guys on "Mythbusters" on the Discovery Channel tested that one out, in fact. They built a compressed air chicken gun to shoot frozen and thawed birds at various aircraft windscreens. They absolutely tore 'em up. Quite entertaining to watch.

In the end, however, they realized they'd been shooting the chickens through windscreens built for small private aircraft, such as Cessnas and Pipers. Those aren't rated or built to withstand bird strikes. They should have been using windows built for commercial and military aircraft.

Good fun.

It also reminded me of the time a few years back while getting some stick time in a Piper Cherokee at our local airport. As I made my clearing turn out of the pattern, I nearly collided with a goose. Quite the eye-opener.

[SJPrice]

The guys on "Mythbusters" on the Discovery Channel tested that one out, in fact. They built a compressed air chicken gun to shoot frozen and thawed birds at various aircraft windscreens. They absolutely tore 'em up. Quite entertaining to watch.

In the end, however, they realized they'd been shooting the chickens through windscreens built for small private aircraft, such as Cessnas and Pipers. Those aren't rated or built to withstand bird strikes. They should have been using windows built for commercial and military aircraft.

Good fun.

It also reminded me of the time a few years back while getting some stick time in a Piper Cherokee at our local airport. As I made my clearing turn out of the pattern, I nearly collided with a goose. Quite the eye-opener.

hitting a big bird gives new meaning to the term "feathering a prop" hitting a goose is certain to get your gander up, oops I mean dander

[adirondakjack]

I had the unenviable job of removing a goose from the leading edge of the wing of a B-52. I was the new guy on the crew, so they volunteered me for the job. For the uninitiated, the leading edge of a big plane's wing is an approximate half circle probably 15" in diameter made of tough aluminum. The goose blasted through that and smashed an engine bleed air duct (probably a 5" welded aluminum pressure pipe) flat, tearing it open in the process. Once I cleared the bird remains away, others cut and welded in a repair to the duct and replaced the busted sheet metal.

Thankfully turkeys rarely fly high enough to be a strike issue for a plane. I was behind a car on the interstate that hit a turkey. The bird hit the top left corner of the windshield with enough force to wrinkle the roof line, bend the A pillar, and smash the windshield to a mass of white bits. The gal driving the car did a great job getting pulled over and stopped. The bird careened off the car, tumbled through the air, and as I swerved, narrowly missed a repeat performance on my truck. Big birds are scary when they get in the way......

[Pete44ru]

[As I made my clearing turn out of the pattern, I nearly collided with a goose. Quite the eye-opener. ]

More like an underwear-filler, IMHO.

.

[Kansas Ed]

A couple of thoughts on this thread. Cessna regularly does the "chicken strikes" on their Business Jet aircraft...I never witnessed it, as it was done over in experimental, but many I worked with did and said it was quite a show.

Now the other thought...look around the countryside, and especially near airports where there are typically golf courses and manufacturing plants who have put in ponds of one sort or another for various purposes. Because of the migratory game bird protected nature of geese, they abound near the flight paths. Unless something is done to curb the goose populations in urban areas we are headed for many more instances of downed aircraft due to bird strike. I was in hopes that the Hudson river incident a year or two ago would bring this hazard to light, but alas it wasn't really noticed.

Ed

[JReed]

I saw that episode of Mythbusters that was cool.

[Ysabel Kid]

I saw that episode of Mythbusters that was cool.

Me too!

[rogn]

In this area as wellas many others,Bambiophiles carry much more clout than good people with common sense. We have the mute swan issue aswellas the goose thing. Many are more comfortable burying neighbors than redirecting wayward birds.

[rjohns94]

I built several of those air cannons for the NTSB to test not only windshiled impacts, but also impacts on polymers and other structure elements of the airplanes. Profitable business selling air cannons if you get the right customers.