Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!husc6!cfa!cfa250!willner
From: willner@cfa250.harvard.edu (Steve Willner P-316 x57123)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: W.S.J. article: army's use of birds
Message-ID: <1154@cfa183.cfa250.harvard.edu>
Date: 7 Nov 88 18:45:42 GMT
References: <56200001@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu>
Organization: Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Lines: 18

From article <56200001@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu>, by richman@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu:
> [Army] developed a new helicopter engine which was "tested" by tossing
> live birds into it to insure it wouldn't stall.  Any comments?

All jet engines are tested using a special cannon that fires chicken
carcasses into them at > 100 mph.  The danger is not so much a simple
engine failure as an explosion, or at least damage that could send
shrapnel in all directions.  Airplanes do frequently strike birds,
and safe air travel requires that the consequences not be
catastrophic.  (For the airplane, anyway; it's usually fatal for the
bird!)

There is no obvious need to use live birds for this test, and I would
suspect a reporting error.
-- 
Steve Willner            Phone 617-495-7123         Bitnet:   willner@cfa
60 Garden St.            FTS:      830-7123           UUCP:   willner@cfa
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