Page 1 of 1
High flyers
Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 1:54 am
by ghostflyer
Yesterday having a bit of fun at 1500ft I had a grasshopper do a self portrait on the windscreen. I do not know why he was so lucky to escape the prop but them splat on to the windscreen . A leg was stuck to windsceen and removed after landing. I just couldnt believe a grasshopper that high up. I had a near miss with a pelican at that height once. Scared the hell out of me and probley gave him a few gray feathers also. But a grasshopper at that height?? So how high can these bugs fly?
Re: High flyers
Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 2:00 am
by bagarre
A grasshopper? I'm wondering what a 170 is doing at 15,000 feet
Re: High flyers
Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 2:45 am
by Bruce Fenstermacher
David that was 1500ft not 15000ft. You are right there should be no reason to have a 170 at 15000ft.
Re: High flyers
Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 2:49 am
by blueldr
If you want a real surprise, look up the record altitude for a bird strike. Memory puts it up around 34,000 ft. over the Himalayas (Sp).
Re: High flyers
Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 3:07 am
by hilltop170
I climbed to 12,000' msl one summer in Alaska to get out of the yellow aphids and finally gave up (or I should say the plane did). They will literally cover your windshield in a bad year.
Re: High flyers
Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 3:13 am
by bagarre
Oops on the 1500 and WOW on the 34,000!!
"An aircraft over the Côte d'Ivoire collided with a Rüppell's Vulture at the astonishing altitude of 11,300 m (37,100 ft), the current record avian height." wikipedia
Re: High flyers
Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 3:34 pm
by cessna170bdriver
ghostflyer wrote:Yesterday having a bit of fun at 1500ft I had a grasshopper do a self portrait on the windscreen. I do not know why he was so lucky to escape the prop but them splat on to the windscreen . A leg was stuck to windsceen and removed after landing. I just couldnt believe a grasshopper that high up. I had a near miss with a pelican at that height once. Scared the hell out of me and probley gave him a few gray feathers also. But a grasshopper at that height?? So how high can these bugs fly?
Getting through the prop was the easy part. 120mph at 2500 RPM is more than 2 feet forward per blade pass. I've seen a balloon pass through my prop disk unscathed. The amazing part is the grasshopper at 1500 ft.
I'm wondering what the bird at 30K+ was breathing
Re: High flyers
Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 3:48 pm
by edbooth
I think the vultures wings were frozen open and he was caught in an updraft.
Re: High flyers
Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 4:18 pm
by GAHorn
ghostflyer wrote:Yesterday having a bit of fun at 1500ft I had a grasshopper do a self portrait on the windscreen. I do not know why he was so lucky to escape the prop but them splat on to the windscreen . A leg was stuck to windsceen and removed after landing. I just couldnt believe a grasshopper that high up. I had a near miss with a pelican at that height once. Scared the hell out of me and probley gave him a few gray feathers also. But a grasshopper at that height?? So how high can these bugs fly?
He held onto that Prop blade as long as he could!