Thermalling pets?

[2motheus]

I know I can't be the only one who watches birds in order to learn how to thermal better. Has anyone come up with a way to deliberately attract them to an area in order to fly with them?

I've thought about putting out a feeding platform in the top of a tall tree for buzzards and/or birds of prey.

Furthermore, has anyone raised birds that thermal (falcons, etc.) and then flown RC with them?

[Neil Walker]

I've found that often just being in the air will attract them - they'll come over to check you out. Maybe they see me circling and think "Oh, that must be Jim-Bob over there, I bet he's found a thermal!". Little do they know I'm trying to follow them.

The best I've ever seen was last summer at this little field I fly at that has a huge population of Turkey Vultures. There was a huge cloud of them all in one thermal, I counted over 40 of them. You could literally *see* the shape of the thermal since it was outlined by this skewed cone of circling birds. No question at all of where to go - just fly over there and get sucked up:)

[trident58]

There's just something cool about flying in a thermal with birds. I had a funny experience with this back when I was learning to fly. I had a Great Planes BLT that I had stripped off the landing gear and lengthened the wingspan (to about 48"). I had only just become competent in doing a decent turn, when I flock of circling seagulls drifted over where I was flying (back then, I didn't know anything about thermals). Next thing I know, the BLT gets sucked into the thermal and starts climbing like crazy. I turned off the motor and was just getting comfortable with this flying in circles thing when the plane suddenly drops a wing, flips inverted and goes into a spin. Thinking that my bad building skills had caught up with me, I quickly landed, only to discover a HUGE seagull sh** on the wing! I now make sure I'm always above the birds, especially if they're seagulls!

[Steve Boone]

:eek: ROTFLMAO @trident58. That's the best one I've heard in a long time! I needed a "pick me up" and that did it!!!

[kwmtrubrit]

Hey 2smotheus,

If you put a feeder out there they won't be signaling the thermal for long. They will fill their little bellies and head for the roost. Maybe if you lay flat on the ground and act dead they will come and circle for a while. Your position will give you a really good view of your plane too. Just watch out for incoming bird SH*T.

Just giving you a hard time.

Keith

[schrederman]

In reality, you need to smell dead to attract them. Turkey vultures smell dead things in the thermals. (Old scratch builders never die, they just smell that way...) Then they fly with purpose to find the source of the thermal and of course, a free meal... They were all vultures until two were sitting, watching a donkey slowly die. The first said to the second, "To hell with all this waiting, I'm going to go kill something!" That's where raptors came from...

Seriously, a red-tailed hawk can really embarass you in a thermal. I've been cranked over 60 degrees with the stick on the back stop (real glider) and had one join my thermal 500' below me. The next time you look, you'll be trying to catch him. They core lift so well it's amazing. The FAA examiner that signed me off had a raptor sanctuary in Ft. Worth for a long time, but I don't know if he's still around. They nursed injured hawks and owls back to health and set them free. Neat stuff...

So, go roll around on a dead cow somewhere before you go out, or just become a scratch builder, and attract a few buzzards... and as was said earlier, watch for falling pookey...

Jack Womack

[ejett]

I had a great day of flying my BoT Jan. 21, 2005.

I launched from my short field high start and immediately found myself in lift. I flew for about 10-11 minutes and then dropped out of the thermal. As I was getting ready to set up for landing, I noticed 3 buzzards low circling near the end of the runway (I fly at a power field) so instead of landing I flew over to where they were. I was below tree top level, but sure enough I hit a patch of rising air and climbed right out to microspeck height.

Just about the time I had made it up to launch height, two hawks came and joined the BoT and the buzzards and we all flew in the same thermal. The higher I got the more buzzards that flew in and joined up.

I flew all over the sky and they went where I did. My BoT got so high several times I had to really concentrate on keeping sight of it. The buzzards were so tiny that I could not see them unless they made a tight turn and the sun glinted off the lighter bottoms of their wings. So it kinda looked like a little white speck in the sky (my BoT) with some silver glitter blinking around it, a cool effect for sure.

It was the most remarkable experience I have ever had while soaring. At one hour, I decided to come down. I really kind of hated to end it, but I was getting sunburned and uncomfortable. Even with spoilers, it took me 8 minutes of driving around to get back down. I did not try the "point it straight down" trick.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day and I didn't have anyone but the birds to share it with. Ah! Kindred spirits!

EJ

[charlie hepler]

I have never set up a feeder for the hawks and such BUT I did feed a Gentle Lady 2m glider to one once!! :D

I was in a thermal with a Hawk?Eagle ??? some kind of large thermaling bird and was going in the opposite direction than the bird. After going by him pretty close a couple of times the bird had to lift his wing a little to avoid me we were all laughng about how cool is was when the next circle as I was going towrds the hawk he suddenly lashed out and hit my plane with a loud thromp!!! My gentle lady disintegrated right before our eyes. The plane came down in several pieces and man you should have heard the laughs fro the guys then . Everyone was laughing but me as I was still in awe of the bird that just knocked my plane out of the air in 1 quick swipe. I took the rekitted plane home in a bag and started showing a little more respect for the hawks and other birds flying around the park!!! This happened over 18 years ago in a park in Winston Salem NC!!!


charlie

[John_R_C]

The best flights I've had late last year/early this have been with 'bird assist'. My Skimmer 400 got above a large group of buzzards and went OOS high. I spun it back down and found two buzzards and joined them for another OOS flight. I used no power except for the initial climb - 49 minutes total.

A week or so ago, I saw a solitary hawk (red tail, I believe) when flying my new 70" Skimmer. We danced until he was OOS and I was almost, also getting too far downwind, so I returned to the field.

Great experiences, both of these flights :)

John C