# A hawk stole my airplane! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 18, 2007, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hawk-stole-my-airplane/412209 "2007-07-18T01:25:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hawk-stole-my-airplane/412209/21 "2007-07-18T16:30:06Z")
A little hijack - My husband and I are thinking about getting into flying toys. Do you have any suggestions for a starter plane for newbs like us? Something that isn’t too expensive, too fragile, and will fly enough for us to have fun with. Cool story. We have lots of raptors in our neighbourhood, too - it never occurred to me that one of them might take an R/C airplane! (People fly them in the field at the end of our street all the time.) And thanks for the mind picture of the hawk flying off with a squirrel. I can only imagine the ball of fury he’d have in his claws (little freaky tree rats). ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hawk-stole-my-airplane/412209/22 "2007-07-18T16:50:09Z")
[QUOTE=Like Fry] I just got into the R/C hobby with airplanes a few months ago. At our clubs flying field Hawks/Eagles/Raptors/whathaveyou (I dont know what they really are) like to circle over and watch the planes fly. Ive heard stories of the birds attacking some of the planes and leaving marks in the tails. Fry [/QUOTE] It´s not just that they like watching the planes fly, hawks, eagles and the like soar on thermals (rising currents of air), when they see something riding one they´ll get close to it to catch a hitch on the thermal. R/C glider pilots, conversely, do the same when they spot a bird riding a thermal. [QUOTE=featherlou] My husband and I are thinking about getting into flying toys. Do you have any suggestions for a starter plane for newbs like us? Something that isn’t too expensive, too fragile, and will fly enough for us to have fun with. [/QUOTE] You can visit the [Small Flying Arts](http://www.smallflyingarts.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl) forum, there´s section for R/C and mini/micro R/C, plus there´s a lot of really nice people in there how will help you get started. ---
**Author:** ![tbdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@tbdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tbdi)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hawk-stole-my-airplane/412209/23 "2007-07-18T16:51:21Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] [Here](http://www.bcm-law.com/Bio/MichaelBrandow.asp?) is the attorney to use. [/QUOTE] That’s going to give me nightmares tonight! ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hawk-stole-my-airplane/412209/24 "2007-07-18T17:01:14Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] A little hijack - My husband and I are thinking about getting into flying toys. Do you have any suggestions for a starter plane for newbs like us? Something that isn’t too expensive, too fragile, and will fly enough for us to have fun with. Cool story. We have lots of raptors in our neighbourhood, too - it never occurred to me that one of them might take an R/C airplane! (People fly them in the field at the end of our street all the time.) And thanks for the mind picture of the hawk flying off with a squirrel. I can only imagine the ball of fury he’d have in his claws (little freaky tree rats). [/QUOTE] Have a little look at the link I posted. There are a number of similar planes in similar configuration - high wing, pod and boom fuselage, self-banking, of blown polypropylene construction which is very tough. They’re not expensive and you can pull a few basic aerobatics or just fly 'em high and bring them down slow. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hawk-stole-my-airplane/412209/25 "2007-07-18T17:04:24Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] I know how the bird feels. That’s how I felt the last time I ate a rice cake. We love hawks, except when they come and steal the doves off our birdfeeder. [/QUOTE] Steal!?! Did the hawks take them out to a farm in the country where they can play all day long? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hawk-stole-my-airplane/412209/26 "2007-07-18T17:08:29Z")
Where the fuck were Thundercracker and Skywarp while this was going on! If I were Starscream, I’d be pissed. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hawk-stole-my-airplane/412209/27 "2007-07-18T17:13:24Z")
[QUOTE=tbdi] That’s going to give me nightmares tonight! [/QUOTE] Missed our talk about it [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=428078), did we? ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hawk-stole-my-airplane/412209/28 "2007-07-18T18:03:04Z")
[QUOTE=Push You Down] Where the fuck were Thundercracker and Skywarp while this was going on! If I were Starscream, I’d be pissed. [/QUOTE] Those guys never really liked Starscream anyway, so it’s not beyond them to leave him out to dry. Actually, no one really liked Starscream, come to think of it. No matter, when he takes his rightful place as leader of the Decepticons, those insolent bastards will pay! ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hawk-stole-my-airplane/412209/29 "2007-07-18T18:08:08Z")
Starscream: Who disrupts my coronation? Galvatron: Coronation, Starscream? This is bad comedy. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hawk-stole-my-airplane/412209/30 "2007-07-18T18:15:16Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] Now you gotta get a video camera and try to make it happen again. [/QUOTE] I agree. [QUOTE=Boyo Jim] Maybe you should attack the hawk with it? Or is that cruel? Um, don’t hit it. [/QUOTE] Naw, just tie some raw meat to it. That way the hawk gets rewarded for its trouble. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hawk-stole-my-airplane/412209/31 "2007-07-18T18:51:45Z")
[QUOTE=tbdi] That’s going to give me nightmares tonight! [/QUOTE] He’d eat the hawk live, and possibly two or three bystanders. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hawk-stole-my-airplane/412209/32 "2007-07-18T19:07:11Z")
A jay tried to steal my sandwich once, but your story is cooler. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hawk-stole-my-airplane/412209/33 "2007-07-18T23:26:24Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] Steal!?! Did the hawks take them out to a farm in the country where they can play all day long? 🙂 [/QUOTE] Why, yes, yes they did. And when I caught my beagle with a baby bunny in his mouth, he 'splained (with his innocent brown eyes) that he was just giving him a ride. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hawk-stole-my-airplane/412209/34 "2007-07-18T23:59:46Z")
[QUOTE=Muffin] At least it neither tried to eat it nor mate with it. Nifty story – thanks for posting! [/QUOTE] Possibly the funniest visual imagry since Gary Larson drew a ship full of mannequins sinking, and a shark says “What is this? Some sort of cruel hoax?” 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hawk-stole-my-airplane/412209.md?page=1)