| OFF TOPIC- The Chicken Cannon [message #196934] |
Thu, 31 January 2013 05:19  |
kerry pinkerton
Messages: 2565
Registered: July 2012
Location: Harvest, Al
Karma:
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Ok, I once worked at a company that made wind tunnel models for Nasa and commercial customers. We were based in Tullahoma, TN, the home of Arnold Air Force Base and Arnold Engineering and Development Center (AEDC) AEDC is (or at least was in the 80's) the largest wind tunnel in the world with 17 or so separate test cells from low speed to hypersonic (think orbital re-entry speeds). Some are model sized and some are full sized.
The following story is true to the best of my knowledge, it is widely told around AEDC as true. If not true, it should be, for it is one hell of a good tale.
One of the problems with aircraft is that they are not the only things flying around up there. Bird strikes have been the cause of many, many plane crashes and near crashes. Back in the early days of aviation, pilots and crew were actually killed by birds coming through the canopy. Obviously, development of new and improved cockpit canopies, airframes, and engines was a priority but how to test them?
Sometime after WWII AEDC built a test cell to investigate the impact of bird strikes on various 'things'. What they did was basically build an air cannon not much different from the pumpkin cannons you might have seen on the Discovery Network. A bunch of pressurized air from storage tanks is released at once to force the projectile down the barrel.
Projectiles...hummm...what could we use to simulate a bird strike thought some enterprising engineer? How about a chicken? And so the famous Chicken Cannon was created. It actually as a non cute name like Subsonic Test Cell number 12B or something equally governmental but everyone knows it as the Chicken Cannon.
And yes Martha, they did originally use real chickens although I never heard they used live chickens. At least if they were, they weren't live long after being accelerated from 0 to 4-500 mph in about 20 feet.
All went well for a few years. In the late 40's early 50, many folks in rural Tennessee kept chickens and the procurement officer would simply go buy one as needed. Lots of lowly airmen around to clean up the resultant mess.
Sometime in the 70's or so, some enterprising young officer had a brainstorm when his wife told him that the local Kroger had roasting hens on sale. He promptly bought one and discovered it worked great and was much less messy not having all the blood and feathers and other pieces parts that they'd been using. Knowing a good idea when they saw one, AEDC promptly bought a chest freezer (from the local Sears the story goes) and the next time Kroger had a sale, they bought a few dozen of the appropriate size, and dropped them in the freezer. Now all they had to do was get a frozen bird, let it thaw for a couple days and they were good to go. You see where this is going don't you?
Yep, one day they forgot to get the bird out in time to thaw completely and fired a 5 pound chunk of frozen bird at 400 mph at a test canopy. As the legend goes, the frozen bird, went completely through the canopy, through the back of the test cell, and knocked down an oak tree 1/4 mile down range.
And that is the legend of the Air Forces Chicken Cannon as I understand it. Ken Henderson or any other Air Force types have any more info?
Kerry Pinkerton - North Alabama
Had 5 over the years. Currently have a '06 Fleetwood Discovery 39L
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