Seagulls

[octagon]

It has been pretty quiet on the forum, so I thought I would post something that fascinates me, the seagulls here in myrtle Beach. I am drawn to anything that flies, and watching these guys is quite amazing. I love to watch their landing technique, which they all do pretty well the same way. They always land directly into the wind, regardless of where they approach from. They come in, and if high they do a series of what look like stalls and then recover. As they get closer to the ground, they increase their dihedral, probably to make them more stable closer to the ground and to kill some lift. Then, when about a foot off they flair and just before touchdown drop their gear and at the same time give their wings a little kind of quiver, killing any lift. If it is windy at all they all face directly into the wind, I suspect so they can take off in a hurry. Man, I wish I could consistently land a plane as well as these fellows land. Even if it is crazy windy, they never seem out of control, although they do fly less and hunker down on the sand.

[davidk]

Have to wait for the spring to see how this Seagull will fly.

[octagon]

If she flies even 1/10 as well as these guys down here you will have a sweet model Davey.