Dumb question

[1900cpt]

Hey.....I actually flew the other day...go figure. They pay me and want me to fly??? Isnt that asking alot of me?

I need more time to come up with dumb questions. Whats on tomorrows agenda:

Jenny Jones, Judge Joe brown, Maury, etc....


1900cpt

 

[Dan CFI/CFII]

The NASA study alimaui is referring to was an interesting read indeed.

The gist of it was that they wanted to know if birds flew in IMC, and how... The answers they came up with were that yes, they did fly in IMC, but that they lost control just about as often as humans do.

There were a couple of pictures of de-feathered birds due to the extremely high speeds they got up to as they plummeted down in the clouds. And some of the eyewitness accounts from people who had seen birds out of control were pretty darn funny too.

It must have been great to be working on that project

Dan

 

[Kaman]

Cat & Duck method of IFR flight

Hi Guys and Gals,
I'm sure some of you are familiar with the "Cat and Duck" method of flying in IMC... You use the cat for attitude control, because they seem to have a highly tuned ability to maintain spatial orientation with the Earth's surface. When you are ready to commence your letdown simply toss the duck out and fly form on her. The downside of this scenario is that you may breakout on short final to a lake or some other body of water. Another helpful hint is to get an old cat that has already used up 8 of it's 9 lives. This will ensure total concentration on the cat's part as he has just as much on the line as you do. Oh, if you happen to be flying a P-47, just toss out a cinder block and fly form on it, the "Jug" and the block have approximately the same glide ratio

Regards,

ex-Navy rotorhead

 

[kilomike]

Birds also never forget to put the "gear" down when they land.

 

[avbug]

Actually, that's not true. I've seen birds to gear-ups, and were it not so tragic,it would be rip-roaring funny. Have you ever seen a bird do a glassy water landing? They can misjudge height on the water, too, and have accidents just like us frail humans.

I've had bird strikes in instrument conditions, so assuming that they're in there is a good bed. (I've also had them at night).

The worst, however, is having to hold because a golden eagle took the missed and went lost com, and they had to shut down the airspace until they found him. Holding for a bald eagle is one thing, and the golden eagle was tolerable, but I would have been bent out of shape for a pelican or a seagull.

I haven't seen it in writing, but I understand that birds are legal to use the helicopter minimums, in lieu category A fixed wing.

 

[flint4xx]

Having flown helicopters in pretty poor conditions, I would just add that if you are low and slow enough you can see and act accordingly, much like a bird flying at 20 knots or so.

 

[Timebuilder]

Kaman's post is the condensed version of the cat and duck method I promised to post a while back. I f you want to read the whole thing, It's in Richard Taylor's book Instrument Flying. He says the original author is unknown.

Migratory birds (and sea turtles for that matter) use a small sensory organ in their brains which is sensitive to magnetic fields. I believe it was originally discovered in the brain of a carrier pidgeon.

I have yet to see my first goose in the flight levels. How high have you seen them?

 

[eriknorth]

I wonder what would happen if NASA put a gyroscope in a bird's head...

 

[Timebuilder]

The gyroscope would fail, the bird would crash, and the bird's family would sue for $20 mil.

 

[eriknorth]

good answer...i guess the bird had too many squawks to stay in the air