SAFA Skysailor Magazine

24 SKY SAILOR May | June 2020 M y first flight from a new launch was spoiled by relentless attacks from an aggressive wedgie. I became overly distracted… How was I to save my precious wing from the ‘diving ball of feather-covered knives’? It was clear that if I wanted to keep on using my new launch I would need to develop some tactics to make future encounters safer – distraction is dangerous. My wife and I used to rehabilitate and release wedgies that had come into care after being injured. Some injured birds were in care for many months (especially if they had been poisoned) and usually needed to be force-fed until they fed themselves, exercised, and routinely checked and or medicated – so you got to know them, and they you. They are actually quite placid and easy to handle – just big chooks – nothing at all like the demons we some- times encounter in the sky, why is it so? Know your demons – ditching the myths! The Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax), or bold eagle, is an apex predator in Australian landscapes. They’re big, with wingspans up to 2.5m. They have low aspect wings with several aerofoils that can be adjusted to achieve very slow to very fast flight. Their tail is quite long and manoeuvrable which enhances their agility during normal flight and dive. The talons do the capture, killing, and cutting. As they approach your wing from a dive, they will present talon-first! Wedgies have been recorded at dive speeds of up to 22m/sec, and when you add their weight of around 5kg, you have a pretty impressive projectile. Their eyesight is a lot better than ours, a human with 20/20 vision will be able to see a moving dingo from a kilometre away, whilst a wedgie would be able to see a moving rabbit. Like us, they see in colour. Unlike us, they see some of the near ultra- violet spectrum, and are also believed to be able to see some of the infrared spectrum – yes, they may actually ‘see’ thermals. Sound is very important to them, and it pretty much comes down to either ‘fornicating or fighting’. Doms in the Sky For sport pilots in Australia, the Wedge-tailed Eagle (Wedgie) is an inevitable encounter – sometimes good, sometimes bad – and with a little bit of knowledge, we can deal with such encounters in a manner that ensures a safer outcome for all when sharing the sky with these beautiful birds. by Todd Dennis The pointy bits! Photo: Linda Dennis A demon, or just a protective parent? Photo: Linda Dennis Flying with a juvenile… awesome! Photo: Todd Dennis