OHCHUTE 0 #1 December 20, 2012 Has this every happened that you know of? I've hit one of these on a motorcycle and it could have been worse. Just wondering about bird strikes. I've not seen too many birds around 4000 AGL but who knows what might be lurking. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 3 #2 December 20, 2012 Not a turkey vulture, but a few years back I recall there was a guy who hit some smaller bird. Luckily the guy had a full face helmet which helped a bit. My guess is if you searched for it hard enough you'd find the thread here somewhere.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FreeFallFiend 0 #3 December 20, 2012 It would be messy that's for sure. Big birds but i have never seen them very high. There are some electrical towers on the river near me that my friends and I like to base jump from. Two of them are notorious for Turkey Vultures and one the two easily had 100+ on it one night we were climbing. They dont scare easily and one decided to attack my friends stash bag...while he was wearing it. Really dont think a skydiver impact would be likely though...never seen them that high. I have however seen hawks on several occasions around 3k ft, both in freefall and under canopy. We had a skydiver vs hawk collision at breakoff last year and if left a perfect wing imprint on my friends back. (Backtrack from VFS formation.)Fiend I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark. - Thomas Hobbes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
linebckr83 3 #4 December 20, 2012 Never heard of any bird strikes but I have seen hawks who like to fly around trailing pilot chutes."Are you coming to the party? Oh I'm coming, but I won't be there!" Flying Hellfish #828 Dudist #52 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #5 December 20, 2012 I had one close encounter with a turkey vulture during deployment. This was back in the days where pitching the pc at 2000 ft was considered "normal". It wasn't much more than 100 feet away when I got in the saddle about 50 feet higher. I even tried to dive my canopy to it but it veered off. It wasn't until later that I learned they can spew vomit when threatened. I would have hated getting vulture vomit on me... "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CSpenceFLY 1 #6 December 20, 2012 I almost hit a weather balloon doing video with a 4 way team once. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
godfrog 2 #7 December 21, 2012 On a cross country flight one day I seen an eagle at 12,500 feet. I was pretty amazed.Experience is a difficult teacher, she gives you the test first and the lesson afterward Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyingRhenquest 1 #8 December 21, 2012 Ugh, I've seen those things on the ground and remember thinking it's a wonder they can fly at all. I've never seen a bird at more than a few hundred feet, though. There's really not much reason for them to go up there -- it'd just be that much harder to see food. Back on Oahu, though, there were some birds that used to do a migration every morning on the west side of the island. I'm not sure what they were, but they came from the mountain, must have been flying at several thousand feet and were HUGE. Those might be a problem if you happen to be doing a dawn skydive there. Though it might be kind of neat to try to flock with them for a while in a wingsuit...I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lukasz_Se 2 #9 December 21, 2012 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2228117;search_string=bird%20collision;#2228117 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 3 #11 December 21, 2012 Quotehttp://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2228117;search_string=bird%20collision;#2228117 there we go.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jetbox 0 #13 December 22, 2012 wasn't that proved to be a shop? If I recall it even came with a bogus 'news' link. There was a guy who got nailed and his face was pretty busted up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 24 #14 December 22, 2012 So, when did you book your 1st jump?Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites