Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » OFF TOPIC- The Chicken Cannon (True story)
| OFF TOPIC- The Chicken Cannon [message #196934] |
Thu, 31 January 2013 05:19  |
kerry pinkerton
Messages: 2565
Registered: July 2012
Location: Harvest, Al
Karma: 15
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Senior Member |
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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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| Re: [GMCnet] OFF TOPIC- The Chicken Cannon [message #196953 is a reply to message #196934] |
Thu, 31 January 2013 09:37  |
Len Novak
Messages: 676
Registered: February 2004
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Karma: -3
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Senior Member |
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Ahhhhhhhhhh, the famous T-37 bird proof windscreen. No place to hang your
helmet like the older windscreens and it did make you flare a tad high but
it could stop a 4 pound bird at 200 mph or a 200 pound bird at 4 mph!
Len and Pat Novak
1978 GMC Kingsley
The Beast II with dash lights that work and labels you can see!
Fallbrook, CA new email: B52Rule@Roadrunner.Com
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showgallery.php?cat=4375
www.bdub.net/novak/
-----Original Message-----
From: gmclist-bounces@temp.gmcnet.org
[mailto:gmclist-bounces@temp.gmcnet.org] On Behalf Of Kerry Pinkerton
Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2013 3:20 AM
To: gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org
Subject: [GMCnet] OFF TOPIC- The Chicken Cannon
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, near Huntsville,
77 Eleganza II, "The Lady", 403CI, also a 76 Eleganza being re-bodied as an
Art Deco car hauler
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Len and Pat Novak
1978 GMC Kingsley
The Beast II with dash lights that work and labels you can see!
Las Vegas, NV new email: B52sRule@Gmail.com
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showgallery.php?cat=4375
www.bdub.net/novak/
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