I doubt I will ever be more disappointed that I didn't have a camera attached!

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
It is a crystal clear day in southern Pennsylvania. I took my modified Wild Hawk out for a flight at my house a few minutes ago. Thought about mounting the camera since it is such a beautiful sky, but chose not to. I took her up pretty high, cut the motor and caught sight of a bird soaring out of the corner of my eye. Decided to head for it, as it seemed to have found a decent thermal. I figured it was a buzzard, but noticed the outstretched wings were flat - no dihedral. It was still far enough away that I couldn't positively identify it, but I pretty much knew what it had to be. My hands started trembling. Then, as it circled, I got a full view from its bottom side. Sure enough, Bald Eagle! I managed to get fairly close, but kept a healthy distance. I was able to soar with it for a couple of minutes, then it angled its wings and glided off to the west. It was an AWESOME experience! Of course, no camera on board.
 

sandblaster

Senior Member
I'm disappointed right along with you. What a shot that would be. Maybe the eagle will hang around and give you another try.
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
I saw one last Saturday a few miles north of my house. I'm guessing it is the same one. We have several nesting pairs in our area. I'm not sure what to make of their presence this time of year. I thought Bald Eagles migrated south for winter. But, from what I've read on the internet, some eagles do not migrate, so maybe this one is a home body.

I do know where one nest is in our area. Maybe I'll get the canoe out over the break and check it out. The two I've seen recently are adults. I see a fair number of juveniles around, but always in summer. I was kayaking on a creek a couple of years ago and found one sitting in a tree about 15 feet above the water. I was able to drift under it and sit there for a while. Pretty cool!
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
They are awesome! The recovery over the last few years seems to be nothing short of amazing. Glad to hear they are successful where you live, too!
 

ananas1301

Crazy flyer/crasher :D
Wow! Well that would have been an awesome shot but nevermind.

At leasts it didn´t attack your plane :D:D (It most likely wouldn´t have anyway because the plane was bigger then th eagle, or wasn´t it?)
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
No, the Eagle was definitely bigger than the Hawk beat. If it chose, it could have ripped it to shreds! The eagle had no reason to be aggressive. No chicks to protect this time of year. And they eat fish. Since we don't have any flying fish around here, no worries!
 

glydr

How many letters do we ge
Many years ago I flew full scale gliders. I was thermalling about 9000ft in a Blanik and found myself approaching a massive eagle. Suddenly he noticed me, flapped his mighty wings and quickly left. Possibly wondering what sort of bird he just saw!

No camera.
 

ananas1301

Crazy flyer/crasher :D
Wow! That must have been a massive eagle!

But I guess taking that risk for that experience is definitely worth it!
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
They are big! Adult females range in wingspan from 79 to 90 inches (200 - 229 cm) and adult males from 72 to 85 inches. My Hawk's wingspan is only about 54 inches (137 cm)!
 

Fishbonez

Active member
It is a crystal clear day in southern Pennsylvania. I took my modified Wild Hawk out for a flight at my house a few minutes ago. Thought about mounting the camera since it is such a beautiful sky, but chose not to. I took her up pretty high, cut the motor and caught sight of a bird soaring out of the corner of my eye. Decided to head for it, as it seemed to have found a decent thermal. I figured it was a buzzard, but noticed the outstretched wings were flat - no dihedral. It was still far enough away that I couldn't positively identify it, but I pretty much knew what it had to be. My hands started trembling. Then, as it circled, I got a full view from its bottom side. Sure enough, Bald Eagle! I managed to get fairly close, but kept a healthy distance. I was able to soar with it for a couple of minutes, then it angled its wings and glided off to the west. It was an AWESOME experience! Of course, no camera on board.


Oh that would have been awesome. I know how you feel as well I actually got my hawk to fly with some geese who were graciouse enough to let me follow behind their formation. NO Cam
 

Brian fred carr

Site Moderator
Mentor
I got involved with a bunch of seagulls not long ago down at the riverside and my wife (bless her) distracted me and when I
looked up there were about 17 small white gliders to choose from (no decals stuck on) had to down elevator immediately to pick
it up again.............lol
 

Fishbonez

Active member
I got involved with a bunch of seagulls not long ago down at the riverside and my wife (bless her) distracted me and when I
looked up there were about 17 small white gliders to choose from (no decals stuck on) had to down elevator immediately to pick
it up again.............lol

LOL Thats funny I dont care what anyone says thats funny

ARGH THE HORROR
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
Wives don't get it sometimes. Take yesterday, for instance. I'm racing a '71 Mustang on a road course and had just taken the lead on the end of the second lap. Its only a three lap race. I'm hauling a$$ down a long straight that ends in a tight chicane. What does my wife do? Steps right in front of me as though what I was doing at the moment wasn't at all critical to my success in the racing series. I respectfully requested that she step aside (MOOOOVE!!!). By the time I was able to see again, my car was careening sideways through the grass. I finished 3rd. Thanks, hon.
They just don't get it.
 

Fishbonez

Active member
Whoa I thought you were talking for real there for a moment. I was about to reach through the PC and smash ya for letting her wreck a mustang LOL :black_eyed:
 

colorex

Rotor Riot!
Mentor
Yeah. That's too bad man. If you had a good camera, you could have gotten the story in a newspaper :)