REFLECTOR: Canadian Goose hunting with a Velocity 173 RG

[Dave Dent]

This reminds of a time when making a landing into LVk one evening.  We have a lot of geese in our area as well as other birds and I am always on the lookout for them.  But this time while just lowering my gear on the Long EZ  a Red Tail hawk occupied the same area at the same time.   The bird tried to miss me as I did it but it just couldn't happen.  It hit the speed brake at about a forty-five degree angle.  I thought the bird had destroyed my plane by the way it felt. 
 
I then called the tower and reported that a  hawk out here had a real bad head ache.  I then commenced to make my landing with my gear not all the way down.  I did a final gear check as I was just pulling off the power when I saw the gear starting to come back up in to the well.  Of course the horn blaring away.  This don't look good and it was too late.  I completed my gear up landing and stopped the engine, jumped out and cranked the gear down, got back in the plane and taxied to the hangar. The tower never noticed that I had jumped out of the plane and got the gear down and started and taxied off. 
 
In the hangar I noticed that the speedbrake now had a nice round impact point indelibly left in it.  The nose took about four hours of work and never knew the difference.  Sometimes those pads are good for one landing.  Just got a little hot and was a easy one to fix.  It's composite, we can fix it.  

Way back on my private pilot check ride I had a bird come through the prop and slide off the windshield very slow and got caught on one of the right wing panels and finally shook itself off.  The check pilot said I kept my cool on that one while he didn't so I passed.  It can happen to you, not if but when, just a matter of time.  
Dave
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Sid Knox 
  To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list 
  Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 3:51 AM
  Subject: REFLECTOR: Canadian Goose hunting with a Velocity 173 RG


  I was doing a night touch-and-go and was about at lift-off speed when appeared in the landing light, a bunch of Canadian Geese sitting on the runway. They tried to fly and had just gotten airborne as I plowed through the center of the flock. Rapid "thump...thump..." sounds. I was very concerned that one (or more) had passed thru the prop. I shut-down and taxied back to the hanger to survey the damage and then drove out on the runway and dragged the dead birds off to the side.
  Fortunately, none had gone through the prop....damned lucky here as the balsa wood MT blades would surely have shattered. No plane damage... just a bunch of blood and guts to wash off.
  I flew for about 15 minutes to dry-out things. All sounded and felt normal.
  I doubt that an aluminum airplane would have come out as well.

  Sid Knox
  Oklahoma

  Velocity N199RS
  Starduster N666SK
  KR2 N24TC
  W7QJQ


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