The following description was updated Oct. 22 for clarification: Tests performed at the University of Dayton Research Institute’s Impact Physics Lab show that even small drones pose a risk to manned aircraft. The research was a comparative study between a bird strike and a drone strike on an aircraft wing, using a drone similar in weight to many hobby drones and a wing selected to represent a leading edge structure of a commercial transport aircraft. The drone and gel bird were the same weight and were launched at rates designed to reflect the relative combined speed of a fully intact drone traveling toward a commercial transport aircraft moving at a high approach speed. See the full story at https://www.udayton.edu/blogs/udri/18-09-13-risk-in-the-sky.php. For media requests or use of this video by your organization, please email udripr@udri.udayton.edu.
