Angry Birds

JimPA · May 24, 2015

So my girlfriend took the Gold Wing and the Inspire and decided to get some pictures of a local train Trestle. It's out in in the country. I was real careful as the launch site was within about 15-20ft of the train tracks.

Once I got airborne, and was busy flying the AC, my girlfriend said that she heard the birds in the area making quite a ruckus. I got up well above the trees and was trying to focus on getting some good shots. I noticed some larger birds, maybe hawks approaching the Inspire. I knew I probably had no chance of out running one, so I decided the best defense was to climb quickly. That worked.

Several times more over the next 5-8 minutes I had several different birds make a run at the Inspire. Many of them were small black birds.

I landed way sooner than I would have liked, but it was not worth the risk. Even coming into the narrow area I had to land was not much fun worrying about being attacked.

I have flown many times with birds around and have never before had them take such an interest in the Inspire. About the closest thing I have had was a Seagull almost run it to it because it didn't see it. It changed direction just before almost making contact.

I know nothing about how fast different birds can fly, but I'm guessing most can't climb as fast as the Inspire. I could be totally wrong.

imagesmad · May 25, 2015

As a photographer specialising in raptors, I regularly see a behaviour, particularly in carrion feeders, where they will come alongside my Inspire, or indeed a tethered kite, looking for the food that they are sure I must have found for me to be hovering above the ground.
Corvids on the other hand are fiercely territorial and I have many times observed them seeing off a bird many times their size. My feeling is, like yours, that your climb rate would be faster than theirs but I would not rely on them giving up any time soon.

DaBone · May 25, 2015

Do not know how it is in the US right now, but but in Sweden there are many birds that are defending their cubs now.

InspiredOne · May 25, 2015

InspiredOne · May 25, 2015

DaBone said:
Do not know how it is in the US right now, but but in Sweden there are many birds that are defending their cubs now.

Do not know how it is in Sweden right now, but but in the US, bears don't fly.

DaBone · May 25, 2015

InspiredOne said:
Do not know how it is in Sweden right now, but but in the US, bears don't fly.

Didn´t remember the word in English for bird kids, so I used Google translate.
Can be a bit of fun then ..

InspiredOne · May 25, 2015

DaBone said:
Didn´t remember the word in English for bird kids, so I used Google translate.
Can be a bit of fun then ..

No problem, I was just teasing you. Those online translations can get really funny sometimes.

P.S. Baby birds are referred to as "chicks" and, in some countries, this applies to pretty young women, too.

lake_flyer · May 25, 2015

The small swallows are particularly heroic, these days, and zip around the inspire at less than an inch from the rotors. You can't get rid of them or dodge them, they are faster in everything. I just brake off the flight as soon as I get them into close view, knowing they will keep try to scare me off me the entire flight, at any height. But I love them, they're my favourite birds, as is the spitfire for that same matter.
http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/140/0/b/Swallow_Spitfire_by_miles_tebbutt.jpg

InspiredOne · May 25, 2015

Watching swallows chase dragonflies is a beautiful sight. They must be pulling incredible Gs in some of those near 180 degree turns!

MindOverEye · May 25, 2015

Guys - I was flying dual operator system in San Clemente at a surf spot called "Lower Trestles" for an Oakley surf event. At one point the director wanted to launch over the estuary. So not thinking anything of it, we launched and slowly started to drift out over the estuary to get out to the ocean. All of a sudden there were like 20-30 bats that swarmed out like a swarm of bees. They were making quick dives at the I1 (which I have seen single swallows do before) but not actually touching the I1 (lucky for them and me). I had to get the I1 out towards the ocean as soon as possible because I was worried one might actually make contact and cause unknown problems. Seems like most of the small birds and bats are not big fans of the I1, no one likes a new super predator in town! The pelicans didn't give it a look and they were all over the place.

NEJO/Wisconsin · May 25, 2015

Inspired one TO FUNNY

Highrpm955 · May 25, 2015

I highly doubt you will see a bird strick with an I1. They are smart, and reactive creatures with incredible sensors. They may approach, and investigate at a high rate of speed that we can never comprehend, but one of them engaging the blades would be very unlikely.

damoncooper · May 25, 2015

InspiredOne · May 26, 2015

S

Highrpm955 said:
I highly doubt you will see a bird strick with an I1. They are smart, and reactive creatures with incredible sensors. They may approach, and investigate at a high rate of speed that we can never comprehend, but one of them engaging the blades would be very unlikely.

See video above in post #4.

JimPA · Jun 5, 2015

Had the Inspire out again tonight. Was flying in a park central to by city. A few of the local Seagulls took offense to the Inspire and made a few runs at it. I got height quickly and once I was about 50-100 ft above them they gave up.

I started thinking maybe I could come up with some kind of very loud buzzer device that may scare the birds away. I know they make some kinds of devices that are supposed to keep deer away from motorcycles. I have seen some pretty loud alarm type buzzers that run off of 12V. I think they are like 120+dB. I'm sure I could rig up something that could be remotely triggered and run off the 24V inspire battery.

lake_flyer · Jun 6, 2015

InspiredOne said:
S

See video above in post #4.

Wow, I feel sorry for the bird. Must have gotten it's claws mashed up by the props. If that was an Inspire1 that bird was dead now. And the I1 in pieces.

Paul Joy · Jun 7, 2015

You must have talked this one up. It was such a lovely evening tonight so I thought I'd pop down to the coast with he Inspire. I had laterally just taken off and climbed to around 50 ft when a Turn started approaching the inspire looking like it was going to attack it. As I was flying over water I decided to do a long high speed banking turn but the bird literally started chasing the inspire. What can only be described as a dog fight then happened, much to the amusement of some people sitting nearby

I eventually got the Inspire close enough to me that the Turn decided to give up and then kept it in fairly close just to be on the safe side. I think the birds are nesting at the moment so the Inspire probably just looks like a major predator to these coastal birds as the majority of them are black and white.

Luis Morales · Jun 7, 2015

birds love to follow/attack rc vehicles no matter what type.

last year i was flying an rc wing (a black tbs caipirinha) and a falcon started fallowing me for like 10 minutes... i was going pretty darn fast too (80/100km/h) i landed just because i felt like i was going to give the falcon a heart attack.