Re:What Happens When a Drone Hits an Airplane Wing? [video]
by bronco21016 on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @10:18PM
(#18136591)
You’d be shocked how little of the wing is actually supporting the entire structure. Typically there is one main spar that holds up the entire wing and the skin and ribs only hold a fraction of the load which is distributed to the spar. As you might imagine the spar is going to be a pretty heavy duty piece of aluminum and not easily damaged by something like this. A wing can sustain a fairly large hole as long as the spar isn’t damaged.
Control cables would be a concern but hydraulics and fuel aren’t typically going to be a concern. Fuel isn’t as combustible as everyone likes to think. There are also additional tanks. Hydraulics offer redundancy on aircraft that use hydraulic control surfaces.
I’ve seen a Cirrus SR20 hit a deer at takeoff speed and leave a 2.5 ft hole in the skin of the wing the went as deep as the reinforced fuel tank. The aircraft continued flight and came back around and landed just fine. Even flew to the repair airport after cleaning up some loose fiberglass.
Personally what worries me more is what would happen if they fired this thing at the plexiglass windscreen. In a GA airplane that would likely be fatal.
Control cables would be a concern but hydraulics and fuel aren’t typically going to be a concern. Fuel isn’t as combustible as everyone likes to think. There are also additional tanks. Hydraulics offer redundancy on aircraft that use hydraulic control surfaces.
I’ve seen a Cirrus SR20 hit a deer at takeoff speed and leave a 2.5 ft hole in the skin of the wing the went as deep as the reinforced fuel tank. The aircraft continued flight and came back around and landed just fine. Even flew to the repair airport after cleaning up some loose fiberglass.
Personally what worries me more is what would happen if they fired this thing at the plexiglass windscreen. In a GA airplane that would likely be fatal.