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Air Force Uses Falcons To Protect Falcons

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the april-already dept.

coondoggie writes "Birds and high-performance jet aircraft don't mix. So at a base in Germany, the Air Force is fighting birds with birds — specifically trained falcons that patrol the base and help eliminate at least some of the feathered threat to the F-16 Fighting Falcons and other aircraft."

4 of 148 comments (clear)

  1. Re:old practice by pushing-robot · · Score: 4, Informative

    According to a NASA review of the subject, falconry for bird control at airports dates back to the 1940s.

    I must say this article amused me; I mean, /. regularly gives us "news" from two or three years ago... but seventy?

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  2. Re:And have been for decades by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yes, this is standard procedure in a lot of civil airports. I saw it in Jose Newbery city airport in Buenos Aires.

  3. Re:What's next? by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Informative

    They halved the rate of fire of the General Electric GAU-8 (around which the A-10 is designed) in order to mitigate this problem. It turns out that you don't really need over 3,000 rounds per minute to saw tanks in half with a mix of lead and DPU.

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  4. Re:And have been for decades by couchslug · · Score: 4, Informative

    (I'm a former F-16 A/B/C/D engine weenie/crew chief.)

    Maintenance issue:

    Screen must be opened and closed to inspect intake and fan stage during preflight. thruflight, and postflight inspections.
    Hardware and latches would be subject to wear, screen subject to fatigue cracking, and either could dump parts downstream into the engine resulting in engine damage and loss of aircraft. That's why screens used for ground runs are inspected before and after use, and their installation and removal entered in the aircraft maintenance documentation.

    Weight issue:
    Every pound matters in terms of performance and fuel mileage. When you hang parts on a fighter airframe, they affect Weight and Balance calculations, place stress on their attach points, and can create host of problems anticipated or otherwise.

    While the concept isn't suitable to jets, helicopters are suitable for mechanical intake Foreign Object Damage mitigation systems such as EAPS:

    http://www.chinook-helicopter.com/chinook/eaps1.html

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