"Jim Logajan" wrote in message
.. .
The goose and falling weight do, however, strike with comparable kinetic
energies:

E_goose = 0.5*14*120*120
= 100,800

E_wt = 0.5*1000*15*15
= 112,500

So maybe this is why Sport Aviation claims the strikes are comparable. If
I
recall correctly, damage is roughly proportional to energy of impact, not
momentum. (Based on the theory of spring deflection, I believe: Suppose
the
object (goose or large weight) strikes a compression spring. The spring
would compress to about the same amount because the spring equation,
E_spring = k_spring_constant * X_deflection, shows the linear
proportionality between energy and compression.)

Yup, good point. If the goose exerted the same force as the falling weight,
the goose's energy would be much greater than the falling weight's; instead,
the goose exerts far less force, but its energy is comparable to the falling
weight's.

--Gary