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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 0539.PDF
345 Thej Stoop to Conq uer Falcons for Airfield Defence Against Dangerous Bird-flocks :.?:' i _, .•;•__••;.. By David Gunston k THE recent decision by the Air Ministry to extend the experiments with falcons-trained to plea? R.A.F.airfields of dangerous bird-flocks marks a notable step towards solving trie 'iver-present -problemof aircraft accidents caused by birds. After encouraging trials in 1947, the R.A.F. now has a number of falcons and has been using them on Mosquito airfields in Yorkshire and Norfolk. From purely experimental work with falcons carried out in Shropshire under the Supervision of Mr. , Ronald Stevens, a local representative of the almost defunct art of falconry, it was, found that they had a markedly deterrent effect upon the vast flocks of rooks, plover, jackdaws and starlings which gather on any wide patches of grass during the autumn and winter months. The authorities are now convinced of the value of trained falcons in reducing the risk of accidents to aircraft whenjanding and taking off, and before long it is likely that many units of the R.A.F. will be equipped with their picked birds. The problem of wild birds colliding with aircraft is, of course, as old as the history of flying. An aircraft flying at Long Beach, California, in 1910 collided with a seagull which got wedged between the fin and the rudder. Unable to steer, the pilot lost control, crashed and was killed. Since then countless aircraft of all types have been damaged or destroyed in accidents caused by birds. Un- doubtedly a large proportion of the world's unsolved air disasters were attributable to bird collisions. And with the growth of air traffic such accidents have increased accordingly. At one period U.S. airline pilots were reporting collisions with birds at the rate of two or more a week, with a much higher figure during the migra- tion season. Collisions with birds in the R.A.F. and other air forces during the war were so numerous that they led to British and American The two photographs on this page show falcons at R.A.F. Station Shawbury, where experimental training started In 1947
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