Microlight Bird Strike Caught on Video - AMAZING FOOTAGE!!!

[John.com]

Part of my standard pre-flight operating procedures is to rig my wing-cam (GoPro HD) - on EVERY FLIGHT! I have always figured that I can learn from every flight, those not-so-perfect landings etc., and, God forbid, if something worse happens, hopefully the SD card survives so as to explain the incident and then at very least my fellow aviators could learn from what went wrong!!

Anyway, a "Freedom Day" flight which had me doing a touch-and-go at ODI resulted in a bird strike on climb out! It all happened EXTREMELY fast . . . . from a blur in front of me to a glancing blow to my left side (under my arm), which left me wondering if I had not just imagined it!

Thereafter, I listened intently and felt for any vibration on the propeller but heard and felt nothing.

Later, on arriving back at Aeroden and conducting my post-flight inspection, I noticed something unusual on the exhaust silencer . . . . which was the first clue to what had happened!

Only later when back home and reviewing the video footage of my flight did I make sense of what had REALLY happened!!

"Bird at 2 o'clock!!"

What happened next was incredible!!!

Watch this video to see what happened . . . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nquG3vov24

I think the big man upstairs was watching over me! Or could it have been just a VERY considerate bird??

Pilot Take-Aways:
1. Rig a camera to record in-flight events!
2. I didn't exit my plane at Kroon and inspect for any possible damage from the suspected bird-strike! Bad pilotage!!! I have learnt from this . . . .
3. Take time to document and share your experiences so that other aviators can learn from you!

Safe Skies!

John

[nicow]

What bird was it?You can be glad it did not hit your prop...

[John.com]

What bird was it?You can be glad it did not hit your prop...

Hi Nico, I really am not sure! Dead/Cooked/Stupid type?

[John.com]

What bird was it?You can be glad it did not hit your prop...

OK, so on the more serious note . . . I would guess a large starling.

[Badger]

Hallo John, how do you record the radio chatter I heard in your bird strike video from you radio? I have an Xcom pannel mounted radio and a Drift HD170 that I mount on the Savannah. I do have an external microphone that will allow me to record my radio work on to the camera.

[quote="John.com"][quote="nicow"]What bird was it?You can be glad it did not hit your prop...[/quote]

OK, so on the more serious note . . . I would guess a large starling.[/quote]

[John.com]

Hallo John, how do you record the radio chatter I heard in your bird strike video from you radio? I have an Xcom pannel mounted radio and a Drift HD170 that I mount on the Savannah. I do have an external microphone that will allow me to record my radio work on to the camera.

Hi there! I have run an audio cable from my flight deck (audio out jack) through the wing to the video camera.

Here is a picture . . . . I had to drill a hole in the perspex cover to allow the audio cable to plug in.

GoPro showing audio cable

GoPro on Trike Wing.jpg (33.16 KiB) Viewed 2385 times

[bobthebuilder]

Nice documentary. Thanks for the post.

[John.com]

Nice documentary. Thanks for the post.

Sure thing!! I am still completely fascinated as to how the bird made its way ONTO my exhaust system RIGHT in front of the propellor, and then waited for me to land before dropping off!!!

[Bulletjie]

John, next time please make sure your pax is straped in in the seat and not sitting on the exhaust!!

[Ian]

Very interesting, wont see this often.

Well done.... and thanks for taking the time to present...

[Ian]

Hallo John, how do you record the radio chatter I heard in your bird strike video from you radio? I have an Xcom pannel mounted radio and a Drift HD170 that I mount on the Savannah.

Hi Badger,

I have a box with a male & female headset plug that I insert in series with the headphone , in the box is a few components that extract the audio at a level and impedance of the mic input. This way you can comment, the radio is heard and pax is recorded onto the video.

Made a small demo so you can see what is possible.

http://youtu.be/jQUZzXniYF8

Maybe a nice product for Zulu1 or someone to produce.

Cheers ian

[Loco]

Unbelievable footage thanks for sharing... you're very lucky...

[John.com]

Flyingmag.com got a couple of facts wrong but good to get some publicity for South Africa!!!

http://www.flyingmag.com/pilots-places/ ... Njc5NjIyS0