Bird Strike - DA40

Any DA40 related topics

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AndrewM
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Re: Bird Strike - DA40

Post by AndrewM »

Wow... did any of the plexiglass end up in the cockpit immediately after the strike? That must have been quite an impact. Did the bird go thru the prop on the way prior to hitting the canopy?
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Rich
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Re: Bird Strike - DA40

Post by Rich »

jeremywpb wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2020 2:56 am Any suggestions on finding out if I could get the updated canopy glass? Who would I need to call>?
Diamond Optional Service Bulletin OSB40-073 authorizes this change.
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Re: Bird Strike - DA40

Post by CFIDave »

Glad to hear you're OK.

You can order just the canopy replacement plexiglass -- re-using your existing frame -- from Diamond. It's about $5K, and may only be available in the 1" taller version that was originally introduced with the 2008+ DA40XLS models.
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arksat
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Re: Bird Strike - DA40

Post by arksat »

I'm curious if I were to replace with the new 'bubble' canopy, does it come with the sun visors? They looks similar to Rosen visors.
I watched DA40 NG intro video (by Lifestyle Aviation) to find the NG canopy has visors. I think I saw it in DA42 or DA62, but not sure about DA40.
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CFIDave
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Re: Bird Strike - DA40

Post by CFIDave »

I had sun visors on my DA42-VI canopy, but as an extra-cost option when new. The photo above may be from a 2013+ DA40 XLT.
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jeremywpb
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Re: Bird Strike - DA40

Post by jeremywpb »

Some of the bird ended up in the back seat, and some of the glass went inside. The bird didn't hit the prop only the canopy. The frame is fine, it almost looked like he was aiming for the pilots head.

Thanks to everyone for the support and help with the possible new canopy.
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Re: Bird Strike - DA40

Post by Tom-B »

Jeremy - from the bird remains has anyone been able to identify what kind of bird hit your aircraft? I ask because it would be interesting to know how little mass was needed to damage your canopy in this way.

So happy you were able to safely handle this scary event.

As you order your replacement - I had a DA40 that was completely clear. My current canopy has the standard painted shade, and while I often appreciate the relief from the sun, I have to say that if I had a need to order a new canopy I would try to get a completely clear canopy again. The clear canopy just added another level to the joy of flying the DA-40.
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Re: Bird Strike - DA40

Post by CFIDave »

And in case you were unaware, there's a NOAA website where you can report your bird strike (they keep track of these in a database).

And if you haven't already cleaned up all of the bird remains, if you put a feather into a ziplock plastic baggie and ship it to NOAA, they'll do a free DNA analysis on it and let you know exactly what type of bird it was -- again, for their research database.
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Re: Bird Strike - DA40

Post by Boatguy »

I think there are three canopies. The original, the tallboy, and the double bubble. The double bubble is designed for pilots wearing helmets. My DA40NG came with the tallboy.
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Re: Bird Strike - DA40

Post by Rich »

jeremywpb wrote: Mon Jul 06, 2020 3:15 am Some of the bird ended up in the back seat, and some of the glass went inside. The bird didn't hit the prop only the canopy. The frame is fine, it almost looked like he was aiming for the pilots head.

Thanks to everyone for the support and help with the possible new canopy.
The dynamics are interesting. It almost sounds like it was diving at you. Hitting the upper part of the slanted canopy from directly ahead would seem to have resulted in a glancing blow. Maybe crack the canopy, but a big hole like that with bird and canopy parts inside the plane? I'm informed that when a bird senses an imminent impact it will dive. That might have been in play here. In my case that definitely happened, as I first saw the bird ahead and slightly above and it did one of those flip-around things and dived downward and to my left. It hit me about 1 second later, after it did exactly the wrong thing.

Any clue what kind of bird? Mine was probably a seagull. It cracked the leading edge of the left wing, as I hit it dead on at 130 Kn., with bird blood/innards on the upper and lower surfaces. The plane momentarily yawed a few degrees left and recovered. The impact produced a big audible BOOM. No obvious further impact (if you will) on flight characteristics. Speed tape on the leading edge allowed it to be ferried the ~600 nm from Seattle to Minden.
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