TER General Board

Nasty bird strikes
G2 8481 reads
posted

A buddy works for Boeing and sends me pics of some of the most horrific bird strike damage on airliners you can imagine.  They look like pictures of flak damage, big pieces missing or holes right through the nose, intake cowl etc..  Most people don't realize the amount of damage/cost/risk our fine feathered friends cause.

In order to test the strength of windshields of airliners, military jets and the space shuttle, scientists at NASA built a gun specifically to launch dead chickens at the windshields of the aircraft, all traveling at maximum velocity to simulate the frequent incidents of collisions of airborne fowl.

British engineers heard about the gun and were 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 backrest 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 the US scientists for suggestions.

NASA responded with a one-line memo:  "Thaw the Chicken."

We should post more British jokes!  Those damn limeys!

Even when you remember to thaw them not every design passes the first time.  The most exciting tests are those conducted on jet engines operating at full power.  Those are really exciting to see.
Akro

G28482 reads

A buddy works for Boeing and sends me pics of some of the most horrific bird strike damage on airliners you can imagine.  They look like pictures of flak damage, big pieces missing or holes right through the nose, intake cowl etc..  Most people don't realize the amount of damage/cost/risk our fine feathered friends cause.

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