Hi guys, some funny things happened to share, my friend's Funjet was chased and attacked by Falcon last week, it the end he lost orientation and CRASHED entirely. Not sure why the angry Falcon suddently dive down at full speed and started the attack..................
My question is what should we react and do when being chased and attacked by Falcon/Hawk?
*Anyone love to share your experience?
Thank you.

Originally Posted by Louisweb

Hi guys, some funny things happened to share, my friend's Funjet was chased and attacked by Falcon last week, it the end he lost orientation and CRASHED entirely. Not sure why the angry Falcon suddently dive down at full speed and started the attack..................
My question is what should we react and do when being chased and attacked by Falcon/Hawk?
*Anyone love to share your experience?
Thank you.

Yes Magpie. Attacked 3 of my planes and almost lost my Mustang. These birds are surprisingly skill-full in the air! Bent my prop on the mustang as it came crashing down. The bigger span planes are not so easy to grab.



I have stopped flying out there. You win bird!

No question here. It is their sky and we are the interlopers. Give the masters their due and retreat. I certainly would not want to risk tangling with a bird and causing him injury or death when I can leave him in peace. There are any number of reasons why a bird might get aggressive. Best course of action is to leave them be.

All my experiences with birds have been pretty good. Most don't seem to mind my sailplane joining in, circling in a thermal. One rule of thumb is to turn in the same direction. I have had a couple of Turkey Buzzards and a few Redtails fly in very close formation, obviously curious, but have never have seen any aggression.

I have been chased by Redtails on the slope a few times, probably during the nesting season. A dive and quick change of direction has always worked and they have never pressed home the attack. Talons will usually do a number on Monokote and balsa!

Originally Posted by Louisweb

Hi guys, some funny things happened to share, my friend's Funjet was chased and attacked by Falcon last week, it the end he lost orientation and CRASHED entirely. Not sure why the angry Falcon suddently dive down at full speed and started the attack..................
My question is what should we react and do when being chased and attacked by Falcon/Hawk?
*Anyone love to share your experience?
Thank you.

maggies attack my micro stik in the early morning. ahaha

My experience has been similar. There are a lot of Redtails (magnificent birds!) around our field, and they have never attacked my planes. They do seem to become somewhat territorial in the summer and screech continuously if I stand too close to one of "their" trees. It is interesting to watch the Redtails get harassed by other smaller birds when the hawks get too close to their nesting sites.

While slope soaring, seagulls would frequently fly close to the plane out of curiosity, I suppose. They never attacked. They are masterful fliers and know how to work the lift.

One summer day, the field was inundated with some small brown flies that had apparently just hatched. I had never seen anything like it. This attracted a sky full of birds. There were birds everywhere snapping up these insects in flight. While flying, I wondered how long it would be before I had a midair collision. Nothing happened as the birds had no trouble avoiding the plane as they feasted.

Have experienced bird attacks many times on the slope, mainly when flying tailless models; I guess they look more like birds of prey. Normally a reversal and some aggressive high speed aeros are enough to convince them it's not another bird and they lose interest.

We have a white tail Hawk at the field, and it never bothers us unless we get too close to it's tree Then it comes out and flies around, but to my knowledge, it has never attacked an airplane or sailplane.

red hawks tell me where to find thermals, I love them and they never attack my planes ... sometimes they take off right after me and start showing off , which is nice

Most falcons attack other birds in the air for food. The Funjet does have a vaguely duck-like silhouette, maybe it thought your model was edible. They do normally have very sharp vision, though, so maybe it was just defending its "turf". The bird in the picture actually looks more like an osprey than a falcon, and they eat fish, so I am really confused!

wonderful picture.

We have quite a few hawks flying around our field, to my knowledge they have never bothered a plane, I have seen them giving them a good look, making sure they aren't a competitor for their food or girlfriends.

Originally Posted by Louisweb

Hi guys, some funny things happened to share, my friend's Funjet was chased and attacked by Falcon last week, it the end he lost orientation and CRASHED entirely. Not sure why the angry Falcon suddently dive down at full speed and started the attack..................
My question is what should we react and do when being chased and attacked by Falcon/Hawk?
*Anyone love to share your experience?
Thank you.

Oddly enough it happens more than you think. Birds of prey will attack rc planes thinking they are either food or competition for food, I think the latter is the main reason they attack.

Originally Posted by MattyB

Have experienced bird attacks many times on the slope, mainly when flying tailless models; I guess they look more like birds of prey. Normally a reversal and some aggressive high speed aeros are enough to convince them it's not another bird and they lose interest.

Precisely, a couple of times I discovered they only target tailless plane. As it is more like a bird to them. lol Or perhaps we're flying pretty near their trritory, as a result got chase away by them. Usually they dont really bother with any other model in the air, after all they were harmless and indicate you where the best thermal in place. So usually I will leave them alone.................. let it be.

Originally Posted by Louisweb

Hi guys, some funny things happened to share, my friend's Funjet was chased and attacked by Falcon last week, it the end he lost orientation and CRASHED entirely. Not sure why the angry Falcon suddently dive down at full speed and started the attack..................
My question is what should we react and do when being chased and attacked by Falcon/Hawk?
*Anyone love to share your experience?
Thank you.

Your friend obviously needs to give the eggs back. You saw what they did to the pigs.

I've never been attacked, but as a previous poster said, Turkey Buzzards get curious once in a while. Once they figure out the plane is not a threat, or something to eat, they lose interest.

Once a group of about seven were riding thermals circling near our field, they drifted over the field as I was flying a HZ Super Cub with a key fob cam on board. I was trying to fly generally in the same pattern as the birds, not chasing or interfering with them, and one came up from behind my plane and flew directly in front of it. It didn't seem interested after the flyby.

After a few minutes their group continued to drift away from our field.

Jim