Amazing how little damage the aerobatic a/c suffered. Look at what happened when an Aussie F-111 met a suicidal Pelican last year ...
"Mutationem motus proportionalem esse vi motrici impressae, et fieri secundum lineam rectam qua vis illa imprimitur. "
The change of momentum of a body is proportional to the impulse impressed on the body, and happens along the straight line on which that impulse is impressed.
Now I remember why that 'crap' got stuffed down my throat in school
Newton's Second Law:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton's_laws_of_motion
Assuming equal mass for each of the pelicans (not measured due to quantitative losses of the object), and the racer being of much smaller mass than the F-111, and the velocity lower (approx 160 kts vs 300 kts) indicate that, in these scenarios the destructive
Force in the latter case would be significantly greater.
Also to be considered are the relative styles/methods of impact: the racer appears to have had a 'slicing' impact centered around the relatively thin horizontal stabilizer, whereas the F-111 made a frontal, but glancing impact via the radome and subsequent full contact via the engine intake.
Empirical quantitative analysis may not be possible or conclusive, but in a qualitative sense it appears safe to presume that in mid-air encounters of this nature, pelicans (perhaps dependant on species & other factors) do not fare well and may require further redesign.
Studies are ongoing. As a side issue, additional research may need to be evaluated regarding the crash-resistance of geese vs pelicans but this is a matter for others to examine.
:isadizzy:
Rob
