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General Note: |
Standard tail surfaces from a piston-engine, turboprop and jet-type transport aircraft were subjected to bird strikes to determine the size of the bird that would cause structural failure when impacted at speeds ranging from 135 to 378 mph. Then the leading edges of the piston-engine and turboprop airplane stabilizers were modified by the incorporation of various structural reinforcements, and bird strike conditions used on the standard surfaces were duplicated to obtain a direct comparison of the vulnerability of the standard and modified structures. Test results showed that the vertical stabilizer of the jet-type transport was the most resistant to bird strikes of all the tail surfaces tested; the stabilizer for the piston-engine aircraft was more resistant to bird strike damage than the standard stabilizer for the turboprop aircraft by virtue of having two load-bearing spars with other internal structure which more effectively absorbed the impact energy of the bird; and the stainless steel doubler was the most effective of the trial modifications made to the leading edge. |
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This report was prepared by NAFEC under Project 510-004-06X for the Aircraft Development Service. |