Graham Orm
Established Member
Incredible footage. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/v/pd5BMP_41bI&rel=0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3
http://www.youtube.com/v/pd5BMP_41bI&rel=0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3
Feeding an Eagle from a paraglider...video
- Thread starter Graham Orm
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Travis
Established Member
Super Neat. 
Travis
Travis
AES
Established Member
Wonderful film, thanks for posting.
@woodaxed: Re the eagle getting caught in the paraglider cords, it seems from the film that the eagle/s is/are trained and working with a handler, so they have no doubt "learnt" not to get too close to either the canopy or the cords. The film doesn't show any bird getting too close does it (apart from the pilot's hand and/or what I presume is a camera boom)?
And in any case I would guess (repeat guess, I'm no ornithologist) that with claws and a beak like that if an eagle did get caught up then it could soon "cut" it's way out!
So personally I think that anyone referring to this as "irresponsible" may well be over-reacting.
Again, thanks for posting, a lovely film IMHO.
As an aside there's a French bloke who comes to local airshows around here (Switzerland) from time to time. He has a powered hang glider and a flock of about a dozen geese. The bloke has brought the geese up from chicks and they think the bloke (or perhaps the hang glider itself?) is their Mum. Anyway, the airshow turn is to fly up and down the crowd line with the geese formating on the hang glider, taking up the typical V formation with the hang glider at the head of the V!
'onest injuns, I've seen it myself.
Cheers
AES
@woodaxed: Re the eagle getting caught in the paraglider cords, it seems from the film that the eagle/s is/are trained and working with a handler, so they have no doubt "learnt" not to get too close to either the canopy or the cords. The film doesn't show any bird getting too close does it (apart from the pilot's hand and/or what I presume is a camera boom)?
And in any case I would guess (repeat guess, I'm no ornithologist) that with claws and a beak like that if an eagle did get caught up then it could soon "cut" it's way out!
So personally I think that anyone referring to this as "irresponsible" may well be over-reacting.
Again, thanks for posting, a lovely film IMHO.
As an aside there's a French bloke who comes to local airshows around here (Switzerland) from time to time. He has a powered hang glider and a flock of about a dozen geese. The bloke has brought the geese up from chicks and they think the bloke (or perhaps the hang glider itself?) is their Mum. Anyway, the airshow turn is to fly up and down the crowd line with the geese formating on the hang glider, taking up the typical V formation with the hang glider at the head of the V!
'onest injuns, I've seen it myself.
Cheers
AES
Gary Morris
Established Member
Wonderful video, I too thought about the eagle getting caught in the string or canopy, but I guess there's an element of risk involved in everything we do, if there wasn't perhaps it wouldn't be as exciting.
Gary
Gary
Gary Morris
Established Member
AES, no video I spose? Sounds great.
Gary
Gary
AES
Established Member
@Gary
I was AFRAID someone would ask for pix or video!!!
I MAY have a DVD but IF I can find it (and don't hold your breath!) any idea how I could go about posting it on here?
And P.S: IF (note the IF pleaase) I do find it it may even turn out to be a VHS tape, I forget now, it was a few years ago. So ditto the Q, how to post a VHS clip?
AES
I was AFRAID someone would ask for pix or video!!!
I MAY have a DVD but IF I can find it (and don't hold your breath!) any idea how I could go about posting it on here?
And P.S: IF (note the IF pleaase) I do find it it may even turn out to be a VHS tape, I forget now, it was a few years ago. So ditto the Q, how to post a VHS clip?
AES
Gary Morris
Established Member
AES, haven't a clue, sorry to say, someone else may have. (hopefully)
Gary
Gary
Graham Orm
Established Member
I don't think it's for us to speculate on possible accidents, just enjoy the footage eh? I've looked on YT for the geese just in case someone else had put it up but can't find it. Thanks anyway AES great story.
RogerP
Established Member
Gary Morris
Established Member
Brillient, I wonder if it was this method that wildlife camermen get their footage?
Gary
Gary
AES
Established Member
@RogerP: Thanks for posting that, excellent.
@Grayorm, et al:
Well I hunted high and low at home last night and couldn't find my VHS/DVD, sorry.
But I did find a couple of still pix (not taken by me). They're small, but along with the video I hope they give some idea of what I was talking about, see below:
Just to give you a little more info. Dittingen is a small village in Switzerland, near Basel (NW of the country) and about half an hour drive from me. Hidden at the top of a big wooded hill, where you'd never expect to see any sort of airfield, is a small grass strip which is the home of the local gliding club ("SG Dittingen").
Every 2nd year they hold an airshow with all sorts of interesting aeronautical stuff to see, and it was at the 2005 show that the powered hang glider/geese combination appeared.
I have also searched a lot on Youtube (and on various other video sites) for a video clip of the geese, but no luck, so it looks like the clip posted by RogerP is the only one around.
Anyway if anyone is generally interested, a quick search for "Flugtag Dittingen" on Youtube will show up lots of videos of the shows held in 2007, 2009, and 2011, though as said, I can find nothing on the geese in 2005.
Krgds
AES
@Grayorm, et al:
Well I hunted high and low at home last night and couldn't find my VHS/DVD, sorry.
But I did find a couple of still pix (not taken by me). They're small, but along with the video I hope they give some idea of what I was talking about, see below:
Just to give you a little more info. Dittingen is a small village in Switzerland, near Basel (NW of the country) and about half an hour drive from me. Hidden at the top of a big wooded hill, where you'd never expect to see any sort of airfield, is a small grass strip which is the home of the local gliding club ("SG Dittingen").
Every 2nd year they hold an airshow with all sorts of interesting aeronautical stuff to see, and it was at the 2005 show that the powered hang glider/geese combination appeared.
I have also searched a lot on Youtube (and on various other video sites) for a video clip of the geese, but no luck, so it looks like the clip posted by RogerP is the only one around.
Anyway if anyone is generally interested, a quick search for "Flugtag Dittingen" on Youtube will show up lots of videos of the shows held in 2007, 2009, and 2011, though as said, I can find nothing on the geese in 2005.
Krgds
AES
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Gary Morris
Established Member
Great pics AES, must have been a great thrill watching the Geese flying at such close range. Makes me wonder why they choose to fly like that, I know it may be said that it resembles a 'large goose', but you don't see them flying with other birds / birds of prey, so they must have some idea of what's wot. I'll google that link, thanks AES.
Gary
Gary
AES
Established Member
@Gary Morris:
Yes, it was a mixture of thrilling, astounding, and amusing!
As the bloke on the PA told us all, the hang glider pilot brought the geese up from chicks and it seems that they (the geese) thought it/he (the glider/the pilot) was Mum. Or so the PA bloke said.
On the day of the show the pilot had a sort of rabbit hutch come wire mesh "run" set up on the (grass) airfield with the geese wandering around inside it. Shortly before he was due to start his show the pilot let the geese out of their hutch/run and starting to feed them (amid much honking - from the geese that is) :lol:
Then as soon as the engine of the hang glider started up (quite noisy actually) they all started to line up in the 2 arms of a V and then took off just as the hang glider did. They obviously (I guess) thought they were in for more food (which they did get as soon as he landed after a session of perhaps 5 mins flying up and down).
As I say, until I saw yesterday's clip of the eagles and para gliders, I'd never seen anything like it before.
I hope you enjoy whatever Dittingen videos you find, it is a somewhat "unusal" air show in many respects.
Cheers
AES
Yes, it was a mixture of thrilling, astounding, and amusing!
As the bloke on the PA told us all, the hang glider pilot brought the geese up from chicks and it seems that they (the geese) thought it/he (the glider/the pilot) was Mum. Or so the PA bloke said.
On the day of the show the pilot had a sort of rabbit hutch come wire mesh "run" set up on the (grass) airfield with the geese wandering around inside it. Shortly before he was due to start his show the pilot let the geese out of their hutch/run and starting to feed them (amid much honking - from the geese that is) :lol:
Then as soon as the engine of the hang glider started up (quite noisy actually) they all started to line up in the 2 arms of a V and then took off just as the hang glider did. They obviously (I guess) thought they were in for more food (which they did get as soon as he landed after a session of perhaps 5 mins flying up and down).
As I say, until I saw yesterday's clip of the eagles and para gliders, I'd never seen anything like it before.
I hope you enjoy whatever Dittingen videos you find, it is a somewhat "unusal" air show in many respects.
Cheers
AES
riclepp
Established Member
Rio for real is a fantastic flim. =D> =D> =D>
wow, great clip thanks for the link
Karl
Karl
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