what would you have done?

[bluesmancoops]

on a short final at the actual point where the plane would have landed (normal landing) i was faced with a flock of gunea fowl. I pushed the nose down to touch down in front of birds, resulting in landing faster than planned, so in the event of a bird strike i would be on the ground - only when the plane was actually over the flock did they disperse - i hit a few with the wheels killing one with no damage to the plane. My thoughts being that-the said birds being what they are, if i had tried to fly over them before landing would more than likely have taken off causing a possible multiple bird strike in the air?

What would you experienced pilots have done in the same position?


mike

[Nkwazi]

First of all pluck him, soak him in Coke for a few days and bake him in the Weber

I've noticed that they normally get out of the way from a distance, I would have done the same thing and hope that they scatter on the ground. Hitting a guinea fowl at 50 mph in the air will certainly cause serious damage.

[Tumbleweed]

Those things are so unpredictable. Some scatter, others play 'chicken' and some are are kamikazis .

They're either clueless or fearless but I concede and give them way. Depending where they are, I either land on the numers or float over to the end. If the're in the middle then its down to manufacturer's specs.

[Chris Liebenberg]

From time to time I also experience birds sitting on the runway, and normally exactly where I have to touch down.

What I normally do, is to put my hand on the kill switches, with the intention to kill the engine should any of them take off too late.

I do anticipate that I then have to land without power, but being on idle in any case, will not make too much of a difference.

I would rather bend the uncercarriage than have a prop strike.
An unbalanced prop can cause serious damage to engine mountings and airframe.

As far as I know, a prop strike calls for an engine inspection.


Regards

Chris

[Ou Man]

Do a lot of Guiney fowl “scattering “at Sandkloof. They tend to take off and keep it low (1 meter above ground) and disperse towards the side of the runway. But yes……there is no way that you can predict those critters. My hand stays very near to the mag switches if I notice any of them in the vicinity

[RV4ker (RIP)]

Well handled. Guinea fowl is not your friend. I have seen what they can do to car and plane.

[kloot piloot]

First reaction would be: "How do I avoid them".

They will certainly take you down if you hit them in the right place.

As has been said: They are unpredictable !

They're either clueless or fearless but I concede and give them way.

[Arnulf]

Do a lot of Guiney fowl “scattering “at Sandkloof. They tend to take off and keep it low (1 meter above ground) and disperse towards the side of the runway. But yes……there is no way that you can predict those critters. My hand stays very near to the mag switches if I notice any of them in the vicinity

Fully agree with that. They do not go high. Possibly a go-around would have been an option. Obviously the first price is to try and spot these buggers when still high enough for a safe go-around.

Regards,
Arnulf

[Morph]

Kill the motor and land. The biggest issue is not hitting the birds, it's the propstrike.

[phoenix]

Also remember, that if you eat a Guinea fowl it has to be killed in a month with an "R" in it. Apparently in the other months, they are infested with some sort of parasite. 2c.

[bluesmancoops]

thanks for all the reply's every situation obviously merits a different answer but I think the concensus was "get the plane down on the ground"

[Stephan van Tonder]

Yup as you say - every single one of those encounters with birds has it's own situation and nobody can predict or tell you what the right one at that point was.
Phoenix - you just have it the wrong way around - months with NO R's in it is the months where it's ok to kill and eat guinea fowl - so May to August. Rest of the year they have worms.

[Tailspin]

The are just plain STUPID if you ask me.
Coming in to land, backwheels on the ground nose still up, Damn bird flies straight up, Luckily the cowling "GUIDED" him to the side out of line with the prop.

I prefer to also stay clear. How sure are we that they are not close relatives to the DODO

Well handled Blueman

[Big-D]

First of all pluck him, soak him in Coke for a few days and bake him in the Weber

You have it all wrong Nkwasi:

When cooking them tough birds you find 3 round stones and boil the birds together with the stones for about 2 days, then you throw away the birds and eat the stones because they are more tender

[AndyG]

Also remember, that if you eat a Guinea fowl it has to be killed in a month with an "R" in it. Apparently in the other months, they are infested with some sort of parasite. 2c.

Dont kill with month with an R in it, kill in the others when it is cool weather.