I know it's an oldie, but I was just sent it again today.
Chicken Cannon
Scientists at the Rolls-Royce aerospace company built an experimental air gun specifically to launch dead chickens at high velocity at the engines and cockpit windows of airliners and military jets. The purpose of the gun is to simulate the frequent incidents of collisions by aircraft with birds in order to determine the effects of bird strikes on aircraft components.
A well-known American Railroad company’s locomotive 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 shipped to the engineers. The engineers prepared a locomotive and set up the air gun. After carrying out a lot of work to set up the experiment they fired the gun. The engineers then watched in shock and awe as the chicken hurtled out of the barrel, smashed through the shatterproof shield, blasted through the control console, snapped the engineer's back-rest in two and embedded itself in the back wall of the cabin like a medieval cannon ball in a castle wall.
The horrified engineers sent Rolls Royce the disastrous results of the experiment, along with the designs of the windshield and begged the British scientists for suggestions.
The Mythbusters did something similar with a Cessna single-engine hulk when pursuing the myth about bird strikes killing pilots. It was pointed out sarcastically to them that unlike military jets, civilian light planes don't have bulletproof windshields.
The Mythbusters did something similar with a Cessna single-engine hulk when pursuing the myth about bird strikes killing pilots. It was pointed out sarcastically to them that unlike military jets, civilian light planes don't have bulletproof windshields.
LOL for the joke. Hitting a bird can be a big deal, though.
There are cases of birds coming through even reinforced windshields and killing pilots (this happened to a bizjet pilot). A number of F-16's have also been taken out by turkey vultures, both hitting the canopy or something important like the engine (think about it -- for a low level at 540 kts--900'/sec--you have a several pound .45 bullet hitting the canopy). Most commercial jets have thick heated (more flexible) windshields and are going relatively slow (i.e. 250 kts) when operating where birds are likely to hit. But they are a threat.
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God gives us free will; the statist tries to take it away
Blackbirds to the helmet at 60mph on a motorcycle will truely get your attention! I still flinch a bit when I see a bird fly in front of me while driving a car.
