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Not to
pop the 'feel good' bubble of public heros or anything, but why am I a little
underwhelmed at the 'miraculous' performance of the USAir pilot? To his
credit, at least he remembered to NOT put his gear down. After that, I'm
having a hard time identifying heroic, let alone the miraculous components
to this 'incident'.
Chuck Jensen
Hello Matt,
As for altitudes geese and other birds fly high
and at night. See article from the USGS.
Migration of Birds
Migratory Flight Altitude
While factors regulating the heights at which birds migrate are not clear,
there are many obvious reasons why flying at higher altitudes may be
advantageous. High-altitude flight may be used to locate familiar landmarks,
fly over fog or clouds, surmount physical barriers, gain advantage of a
following wind, or maintain a better thermoregulatory balance.
In general, estimates of bird heights based on direct observation are quite
unreliable except under special conditions. A Eurasian Sparrowhawk could be
distinguished at 800 feet but disappeared from site at 2,800 feet. A Rook (a
European member of the crow family) could be recognized at 1,000 feet but
disappeared from sight at 3,300 feet. An interesting experiment with an
inflated model of a vulture painted black with a wing span of 7 feet 10 inches
illustrated similar limitations. When released from an airplane at 4,700 feet,
it was barely visible and invisible without binoculars at 5,800 feet. At 7,000
feet it was not picked up even when 12 power binoculars were used. Radar
studies have demonstrated more accurately than human vision that 95 percent of
the migratory movements occur at less than 10,000 feet, the bulk of the
movements occurring under 3,000 feet.
Yet birds do fly at higher altitudes. Bird flight at 20,000 feet, where
less than half the oxygen is present than at sea level, is impressive if only
because the work is achieved by living muscle tissue. A Himalayan mountain
climber at 16,000 feet was rather amazed when a flock of geese flew northward
about two miles over his head honking as they went. At 20,000 feet a man has a
hard time talking while running, but those geese were probably flying at
27,000 feet and even calling while they traveled at this tremendous height.
Numerous other observations have come from the Himalayas. Observers at 14,000
feet recorded storks and cranes flying so high that they could be seen only
through field glasses. In the same area large vultures were seen soaring at
25,000 feet and an eagle carcass was found at 26,000 feet. The expedition to
Mt. Everest in 1952 found skeletons of a Northern Pintail and a Black-tailed
Godwit at 16,400 feet on Khumbu Glacier. Bar-headed Geese have been observed
flying over the highest peaks (29,000+ feet) even though a 10,000-foot pass
was nearby. Probably at least 30 species regularly cross these high passes.
Other accurate records on altitude of migratory flights are scanty, although
altimeter observations from airplanes and radar are becoming more frequent in
the literature. For example, a Mallard was struck by a commercial airliner at
21,000 feet over the Nevada desert. Radar observations have revealed that
birds on long-distance flights fly at higher altitudes than short-distance
migrants. It has been hypothesized that advantageous tail winds of greater
velocity are found higher up and that the cooler air minimizes the demand for
evaporative water loss to regulate body temperature under the exertion of
flight. Radar studies also have shown that nocturnal migrants fly at different
altitudes at different times during the night. Birds generally take off
shortly after sundown and rapidly gain maximum altitude. This peak is
maintained until around midnight, then the travelers gradually descend until
daylight. Thus, there is considerable variation, but for most small birds the
favored altitude appears to be between 500 and 1,000 feet. Some nocturnal
migrants (probably shorebirds) fly over the ocean at 15,000 or even 20,000
feet. Nocturnal migrants also fly slightly higher than diurnal migrants.
Observations made from lighthouses and other vantage points indicate that
certain migrants commonly travel at altitudes of very few feet to a few
hundred feet above sea or land. Sandpipers, Red-necked Phalaropes, and various
sea ducks have been seen flying so low they were visible only as they topped a
wave. Observers stationed at lighthouses and lightships off the English coast
have similarly recorded the passage of landbirds flying just above the surface
of the water and rarely rising above 200 feet over the waves.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2009 10:57 AM
Subject: Re: [LML] GEESE
Hello Matt,
In my experience, geese fly where and when they
choose. I flew IFR through Pennsylvania amid layers of clouds at
6,000'. ATC called out traffic. It was an eschelon of geese above
me. I flew VFR over Harford, Ct. at 2,000'. A Canada goose was
flying from left to right a few hundred feet above me. Just as it passed
the fuselage above it folded its wings and dove directly into my right engine
(Cessna 320). It damaged the spinner, propeller, nose bowl, lower
nacelle, engine cross over tube and deposited lots of itself in the engine
nacelle. I was watching it the whole time. I couldn't maneuver the
plane fast enough to avoid it. How could an airliner? From that
experience, I now aim at any goose or eschelon of geese on an converging path,
expecting them to dive out of the way as I get closer.
Jabe Luttrell
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2009 10:41
AM
Subject: [LML] GEESE
Opinion by Matt
Reeves:
FLOCKS OF GEESE FLY SLOW and usually
in a "V" shape, AND ARE EASY TO SEE ON A BLUE SKY DAY - AND ARE sometimes
DETECTABLE ON RADAR both on airplanes and on the ground. Pilots
WERE heros once plane hit the flock, but COULD have the collision with geese
been avoided and the answer may be YES.
It is
possible that NEITHER pilot was looking straight out the window because the
airplane was on an instrument flight plan =
meaning, controllers on the ground were responsible for aircraft
separation.
ALSO, this aircraft floated for enough time
to save the passengers and did not break apart mainly because of pilot skill
bringing it down to a shallow angle of impact at the slowest possible
airspeed above stall speed AND it is built out of CARBON FIBER which is
significantly LIGHTER and stronger than aluminum and more flexible AND more
seamless preventing instant flooding, thus saving lives (sorry RV guys).
Baggage and landing gear compartments sealed with air also
helped buoyancy. PILOTS WERE HEROS in saving lives, but the accident
MAY have been avoidable simply by looking out the window. Future
geese avoidance may include horns on aircraft, much like deer horns on cars,
radar, and simply looking out the window on the departure and arrival
checklists.
This aircraft was on an IFR
flight plan meaning looking out the window was not required by
the pilots since the controllers on the ground were responsible for
separating aircraft. However, at low altitude, at geese flight levels, looking out
the window should be mandatory. Most geese do not fly in
clouds.
All points I have not seen reported.
What's
next? Billions in research and in the end, no changes except a Goose
Therapist Lady will make off with millions and will simply tell us the geese
are depressed that we are taking over their skies. And in the
end? I will marry
her.
Matt
marv@lancair.net wrote:
Posted
for David Standish <carbonflier@bresnan.net>:
That
being said I still need a couple more pilots to get Pete to come out to
Montana this summer. Montana is a great place to
fly. Lots of room for
training. Billings is a
great small city. Yellowstone Park is nearby. And a
local FBO has agreed to discount fuel. Please contact me if
you are
interested.
David
Standish
flypetezacc@aol.com
wrote:
> **
>
> The root problem is getting the message
out to those that think they
> do not need training. 43%
of the accidents are people with less than
> 100 hours in
type. But, there is a very large number of accidents
>
from people with 5000-20000 hours. The ease of receiving
training has
> never been easier I implore those that do not need
training to get it
> anyway!
>
> Grassroots effort. Go
down the hangar row and let the lancair pilot
> know why its
important to get training from ANY qualified
> instructor. help
make 2009 the safest year for Lancair pilots.
>
> Thank
you,
>
> Peter Zaccagnino
> HP-AT.com, Inc
> 1046
River Ave
> Flemington, NJ 08822
> 908 391 2001
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