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From: dwm@sei.cmu.edu (David McKeehan)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Weird Cannon
Message-ID: <1991Mar14.033705.24232@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 14 Mar 91 03:37:05 GMT
References: <1991Mar13.001928.5935@cbnews.att.com>
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From: dwm@sei.cmu.edu (David McKeehan)

In article <1991Mar13.001928.5935@cbnews.att.com> JEWELLLW@VM.CC.PURDUE.EDU (Larry W. Jewell) writes:
>
>     I recently noticed a posting (and you can't make me say
>where) that the U.K. had a "chicken cannon" for testing
>airplanes in regards to "bird-proofing".  

There is such a thing, and you are right.  There are two relevant Military
Specifications, one for a Mil-Std chicken, and the other specifying the
gun and how it is used.  Whenever you build/modify an aircraft canopy, or
equipment inside the canopy in direct line with the pilot's head (Head Up
Displays are the most common equipment covered), then you are require to 
perform bird strike tests to insure that the material is capable of being
hit by a bird in flight and (1) not breaking, or (2), if the bird is too big,
then breaking up in a manner to minimize injury.  Essentially, you reserve
time at one of several testing facilities and they shoot chickens at your
canopy or HUD.  (I used to build HUDs for a living.)  A few years back, a group
was looking at revising the standard, since several aircraft (the B-1B was the
most prominent) had hit flocks of larger birds than covered by the standard
and been downed as a result (usually when they went through the engine, which
also has to pass bird strike tests).

I remember once, down at Edwards AFB when we were testing a low level, night
attack version of an A-10 which never made it into production, we ran into
a flock of Owls one night.  Luckily, they hit the wings and vertical 
stabalizers, not the canopy or engines.  You should have seen the size of the
dents!  We had to replace the top of one vertical stabalizer, it was so
badly mangled!