On Aug 20, 1:51 pm, "Maxwell" wrote:
I was out hopping some of the local airports last Saturday night and had a
very near miss with a very large bird. It appeared to be a large owl, or
something similar. I was at about 50 to 100 feet on take-off, about 75
knots, and seriously out of runway.

The whole situation just got me to thinking about bird strikes and light GA
aircraft. I have seen and heard a lot of first and second hand stories about
deer strikes on quiet runways, and usually do a low pass to check,
especially the quiet places. But I guess I had never heard or seriously
considered a bird strike with such a large bird.

Any first had experiences out there? Any speculation on what could have
happened if he struck the wing tip, or better yet the propeller arc? I was
flying a Cessna 172SP. His flight path was exactly the opposite direction.

I've had many bird strikes (100's) in both airplanes and helicopters.
Have had several that came thru the windscreen into the cockpit. On
one birdstrike, the bird/s glanced off my helmet and left a near
perfect imprint of feathers when I ducked. The birds were dead and I
had a large hole in the windscreen. Landed without further incident.
I've never been injured from a bird strike but have had severe damage
to the aircraft that required some expensive repairs.
One incident that caused me to rethink birdstrikes was finding a piece
of plexiglass shaped like a dagger with extremely sharp edges inside
the cockpit. If I had been hit in the throat with that piece, could I
have bled out before I could get back on the ground? Perhaps..... and
it sure made me think. I used that same piece of plexiglass for a
letter opener for years. Perhaps the most unusual was a little Mallard
hen that came thru the windscreen of a helicopter and flew around in
the cockpit until I knocked it down into the chin bubble.
From my experiences, if faced with an imminent bird strike, I'll try
to fly up and turn to take the strike on the belly of the aircraft
rather than thru the windscreen. I've hit birds with both prop and
rotorblade. It always 100% of the time resulted in a red explosion
with blood and guts on the window. There was a fast shudder/vibration
that went away in seconds. I've seen some major damage from
birdstrikes and on occasion, an aircraft that was brought down by
them. If you haven't, check the OopsList.com and find a lot of
birdstrike pics.
Cheers
Ol S&B
flyin buzzard - World INfamous Pilot/Instructor