Bird strike = prop strike?

[peter-h]

I chopped up some birds on the flare the other day, into clean pieces. They were fairly big ones - around 10" body length and dark.

The engine was more or less on idle.

No visible damage to aircraft but I felt a bump, and there was a lot of blood etc found on the wing. The bird(s) obviously went through the prop arc.

How bad would this need to be before one should consider doing something like a shock load inspection?

 

[tonycondon]

is there damage to the prop?

 

[peter-h]

None visible.

 

[Geico266]

Any vibration on runup?

Have you "tracked" the prop? Turn mags off, put a chair (stationary object) next to one of the blades and measure the gap. Carefully rotate the prop so the next blade comes to the same position as the 1st blade, and measure the gap. They should be within a 1/16th or so. I can't imagine any damage, but you could check.

IMHO, the bird didn't cause any damage to the prop or engine.

 

[peter-h]

OK, I have just found this

http://www.mccauley.textron.com/svcltrs&bltns/sb176E.pdf

which details the prop runout checks. I will do those before the next flight.

To be honest I am not even sure if the prop hit anything. The reason I thought it must have done was because there was so much blood on the top of the wing. However there was also a bit on the front of the cowling so this may be where the initial impact was. And the cowling is obviously within the prop arc. Next time I go to the hangar I will get the top cowling off and check for any debris there, but none is visible when looking in from the front.

 

[Teller1900]

FWIW, I've taken six bird strikes so far, and judging by the impact points, five of them have gone through the prop arc. On exactly none of them was there any evidence that they had actually struck the prop. As the mechanic put it after one of them, there's a lot more air than prop in the prop arc.

 

[Tim Abbott]

FWIW, I've taken six bird strikes so far, and judging by the impact points, five of them have gone through the prop arc. On exactly none of them was there any evidence that they had actually struck the prop. As the mechanic put it after one of them, there's a lot more air than prop in the prop arc.

This is true. Isn't the same in golf, they say that trees are 90% air or something like that? Funny how I always manage to find a branch

Tim

 

[Mooneymike]

FWIW, I've taken six bird strikes so far, and judging by the impact points, five of them have gone through the prop arc. On exactly none of them was there any evidence that they had actually struck the prop. As the mechanic put it after one of them, there's a lot more air than prop in the prop arc.

True story I have lost count of how many PW118's and TPE331's I changed on cold lonely ramps because a bird(s) made it by the prop and into the air duct.

 

[peter-h]

Did some checks today.

Prop blade runout is much less than 1mm, so I am not concerned.

 

[Greg Bockelman]

This is true. Isn't the same in golf, they say that trees are 90% air or something like that? Funny how I always manage to find a branch

Tim

Mythbusters did a segment on this not too long ago. I forget the actual results, but IIRC, more balls hit branches/leaves than not.