IHawk now chasing me and my Inspire1 out my own yard!

[Mpellet]

I live in on 2.5 heavily wooded acres with my house and Inspire1 launch & recovery pad located in the middle. This year an extremely territorial hawk has taken up residence on my property or by the way the hawk acts, it bought the joint and I am trespassing on the hawk's property. Whenever I try to fly my Inspire1 from the time the aircraft reaches approximately 50 feet of altitude until the aircraft is several hundred feet high and out beyond the property line, the hawk makes attack passes at my Inspire1 as if the hawk is hunting the Inspire1.

It is only a matter of time before the hawk and the aircraft collide. I mean it is really that bad. Today I crossed into my yard at 350 feet and initiated a maximum verticle speed decent, trying to get through the attack zone as rapidly as possible. Hawk was still on it, multiple passes, seeming within inches of hitting the Inspire1. My wife and daughter, laughing and fascinated initially by the hawk ran into the house as the passes got closer and closer. I was afraid the hawk was gonna clip the Inspire1 causing it to loose control and perhaps hit one of them. If it was someone else's Inspire1 the hawk was chasing,I would laugh my *** of and enjoy the show, not so much as its gonna be my expensive toy that gets destroyed.

I got some flashes of the hawk on my tablet as it buzzed the Inspire1 but did not have video recording.

If I feel like gambling, I'll take off and land with the video recording and see if I can't get a video clip of the hawk trying to kill my toy.

Funny , kind of but more of a pain in the ***.......

 

[The Editor]

I live in on 2.5 heavily wooded acres with my house and Inspire1 launch & recovery pad located in the middle. This year an extremely territorial hawk has taken up residence on my property or by the way the hawk acts, it bought the joint and I am trespassing on the hawk's property. Whenever I try to fly my Inspire1 from the time the aircraft reaches approximately 50 feet of altitude until the aircraft is several hundred feet high and out beyond the property line, the hawk makes attack passes at my Inspire1 as if the hawk is hunting the Inspire1.

It is only a matter of time before the hawk and the aircraft collide. I mean it is really that bad. Today I crossed into my yard at 350 feet and initiated a maximum verticle speed decent, trying to get through the attack zone as rapidly as possible. Hawk was still on it, multiple passes, seeming within inches of hitting the Inspire1. My wife and daughter, laughing and fascinated initially by the hawk ran into the house as the passes got closer and closer. I was afraid the hawk was gonna clip the Inspire1 causing it to loose control and perhaps hit one of them. If it was someone else's Inspire1 the hawk was chasing,I would laugh my *** of and enjoy the show, not so much as its gonna be my expensive toy that gets destroyed.

I got some flashes of the hawk on my tablet as it buzzed the Inspire1 but did not have video recording.

If I feel like gambling, I'll take off and land with the video recording and see if I can't get a video clip of the hawk trying to kill my toy.

Funny , kind of but more of a pain in the ***.......

OK, assuming you are talking about one of the birds of prey and not one of these Ihawk

Have you tied adding high viz tape (orange or yellow) to the Inspire arms?
This can have the effect of showing the wildlife that it is man made and not another bird/creature trying to muscle in on their territory.
Worth a try for a few cents.

 

[licensed pilot]

Is there a federal or state law against shooting the hawk? Just asking, bird lovers, don't get your panties in a wad...

 

[RaptorMan]

Is there a federal or state law against shooting the hawk? Just asking, bird lovers, don't get your panties in a wad...

I would not recommend shooting the bird even if there's no crime in doing so.

He lives in the woods and has critters that inhabit the woods -- who's fault is that?

There was a Dodge Ram commercial a while back where an outdoors-man type is camping in the woods and he hears an owl or something like it at night so he goes to his Ram, opens a compartment on the side, pulls out his bow and shoots the owl silencing it. Quite simply one of the most offensive ads I've ever seen. How dare the woodland creature do what woodland creatures do when I came to the woods for piece and quiet.

If I were the homeowner and owner of the drone I'd go someplace else to fly. Where I live I need to go about 30 miles to be outside of the MANY no-fly zones and many people live in areas that are inside no-fly zones.


Brian

 

[licensed pilot]

Just asking a question dude, But I now feel properly chastised...

 

[RaptorMan]

View attachment 9161 Just asking a question dude, But I now feel properly chastised...

Hey, I'm not pointing fingers just pointing out that killing things isn't always the solution and that sometimes you just have to work around the problem. Also that some critters are protected and killing them could get you in deep trouble.

Years ago when I lived in upstate NY I was having great difficulties sleeping due to kids partying in the ball-field that was right by my house. The park was suppose to close at 10PM but the kids would often party to 4AM and later. I had to call the cops a few times but the next night they'd be back. Finally, after a couple months of this the cops patrolled more frequently and the kids left. But, around about the same time a Mockingbird moved in and that sucker would sing all night long and once again I was driving to work with at best a couple hours of sleep which was getting dangerous so I decided to do something about the Mockingbird.

One night the bird was screaming its head off and I'd had it so I picked up my BB gun and went out the basement heading for the tree I knew the bird was in. So, I'm standing in the middle of the road at 2AM, naked, pointing a BB gun as a car turns up the road. I dashed back into the house and waited expecting the cops to arrive to take me away but fortunately that never happened.

I never did shoot the bird and a few weeks later it either moved on or the season was over and I was finally able to get a full nights sleep after months or 2-4 hours per night max. So, I'm not 100% opposed to killing wildlife if its necessary for safety and this bird was causing me great problems with sleep. To this day I'm not a fan of Mockingbirds...


Brian

 

[Dr. Ifly Drones]

I fly mostly in and around the mountains of TN and hawks are common. Many birds find UAVs to be threats and there is some actual research into the sounds produced by the rotors that suggest it triggers a defense response. It's also possible that your particular hawk is still raising fledgling young, adding to the defense response. I deal with them often. When I get hawks or more commonly vultures (buzzards as we call them) coming in for close passes I know it's time to get out of their way... I've never had an actual attack occur but, I have had buzzards with 6+' wing spans pass very close.

 

[licensed pilot]

Hey, I'm not pointing fingers just pointing out that killing things isn't always the solution and that sometimes you just have to work around the problem. Also that some critters are protected and killing them could get you in deep trouble.

Years ago when I lived in upstate NY I was having great difficulties sleeping due to kids partying in the ball-field that was right by my house. The park was suppose to close at 10PM but the kids would often party to 4AM and later. I had to call the cops a few times but the next night they'd be back. Finally, after a couple months of this the cops patrolled more frequently and the kids left. But, around about the same time a Mockingbird moved in and that sucker would sing all night long and once again I was driving to work with at best a couple hours of sleep which was getting dangerous so I decided to do something about the Mockingbird.

One night the bird was screaming its head off and I'd had it so I picked up my BB gun and went out the basement heading for the tree I knew the bird was in. So, I'm standing in the middle of the road at 2AM, naked, pointing a BB gun as a car turns up the road. I dashed back into the house and waited expecting the cops to arrive to take me away but fortunately that never happened.

I never did shoot the bird and a few weeks later it either moved on or the season was over and I was finally able to get a full nights sleep after months or 2-4 hours per night max. So, I'm not 100% opposed to killing wildlife if its necessary for safety and this bird was causing me great problems with sleep. To this day I'm not a fan of Mockingbirds...


Brian

Harper Lee is cheering...

 

[CHRISTOPHER M JETT]

I don't think bright colors will help. I flew RC sail planes growing up, large 130" wingspan and such. Most of our colors were bright red and white, some bright yellow (helps visibility at long range). You could share a thermal with a few buzzards, that was kind of cool......but hawks just don't like strange objects in the air with em. Hawks WILL destroy something they feel is a threat.

 

[IrishSights]

I don't think bright colors will help. I flew RC sail planes growing up, large 130" wingspan and such. Most of our colors were bright red and white, some bright yellow (helps visibility at long range). You could share a thermal with a few buzzards, that was kind of cool......but hawks just don't like strange objects in the air with em. Hawks WILL destroy something they feel is a threat.

I can confirm that bright colours do help. I fly official and supervised flights over nesting colonies of seabirds doing nest counts and can confirm that dayglow orange works. I don't have bother with them at all, even the usually aggressive Herring Gulls. Never had problems with Hawks or buzzards either.

Before any one jumps on me these are carefully planned flights directed by a Ranger team from set heights and observed by boat with 2-way radio to my Observer on shore. There is a bit of an art doing this without disturbance and I don't recommend it to anyone unless supervised and directed by conservation specialists. Just thought I'd chime in regarding bright colours from experience.


Holder of CAA PFAW
BNUS-S Certified Pilot