Reno 2011, this is the question I have to ask.
Racing is dangerous, no shit.
Air racing is more dangerous, no shit.
A 74 year old man doing 9G turns at 500mph 50 feet above the ground
sounds like an invitation to disaster.
HH
Is 74 years of age to old to drive a race plane?
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Pudfark
Re: Is 74 years of age to old to drive a race plane?
Apparently...though they are saying at the moment..equip failure....
Ain't the first time...rich boys with their toys...have killed folks...
They folks doing this kind of thing?
Won't have to wait for a rule change....
Civil suits will take care of that...
Old Pudfark sez: " It's even dangerous when 74 year old folks fuck.... "
Ain't the first time...rich boys with their toys...have killed folks...
They folks doing this kind of thing?
Won't have to wait for a rule change....
Civil suits will take care of that...
Old Pudfark sez: " It's even dangerous when 74 year old folks fuck.... "
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HappyHappy
Re: Is 74 years of age to old to drive a race plane?
Yep sad but true.
But a new picture on CNN a split second before the crash shows two things clearly.
The engine was still at a high power setting (note prop pitch) and the landing gear was dropping! (note deployed tail wheel).
I believe Gary Levitz was lost in his racer "Miss Ashley" to the same scenario.
In the case of Gary Levitz the gear dropped resulting in the tail breaking off at about 490 mph.
"Miss Ashely" was far from being a P-51 any more, it was really a purpose built race plane.
HH
But a new picture on CNN a split second before the crash shows two things clearly.
The engine was still at a high power setting (note prop pitch) and the landing gear was dropping! (note deployed tail wheel).
I believe Gary Levitz was lost in his racer "Miss Ashley" to the same scenario.
In the case of Gary Levitz the gear dropped resulting in the tail breaking off at about 490 mph.
"Miss Ashely" was far from being a P-51 any more, it was really a purpose built race plane.
HH
Re: Is 74 years of age to old to drive a race plane?
Very old aircraft, many years of racing and pulling g, very heavily modified, very old 'enthusiast' pilot... no surprise.
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HappyHappy
Re: Is 74 years of age to old to drive a race plane?
The NEWS media is all ot about the elevator trim tab breaking off.
Has anyone noticed the F'n LANDING GEAR coming down?
Damn people are so numb!
There is no doubt the landing gear would screw things up
a whole lot more than a trim tab, especially if it broke off.
Things would get weird for sure, but the gear dropping would
break the airplane.
Also another point, no pilot is visable in the final dive.
Those racing cockpits are tiny, you would have a hard time
getting your head out of view.
Previous still shots show the pilots head and shoulders.
Me thinks he was passed out or dead before he snapp rolled in.
HH
Has anyone noticed the F'n LANDING GEAR coming down?
Damn people are so numb!
There is no doubt the landing gear would screw things up
a whole lot more than a trim tab, especially if it broke off.
Things would get weird for sure, but the gear dropping would
break the airplane.
Also another point, no pilot is visable in the final dive.
Those racing cockpits are tiny, you would have a hard time
getting your head out of view.
Previous still shots show the pilots head and shoulders.
Me thinks he was passed out or dead before he snapp rolled in.
HH
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Pudfark
Re: Is 74 years of age to old to drive a race plane?
Good points all, Happy....
What is it about history folks forget?
In WWII, if you were over 26 years of age, you
were considered to old to train to fly that aircraft...
Over 30 years of age, you were probably grounded
or soon to be....With a mental and physical work load,
not to mention reflexes required to fly that type of plane,
in that environment? It is beyond stupid to allow anyone
over the age of 45 to fly like that..and even then, with a
medical certificate, that no Flight Physician would sign...
When it comes to "common sense" and personal responsibility,
in this instance? It was a double failure.
What is it about history folks forget?
In WWII, if you were over 26 years of age, you
were considered to old to train to fly that aircraft...
Over 30 years of age, you were probably grounded
or soon to be....With a mental and physical work load,
not to mention reflexes required to fly that type of plane,
in that environment? It is beyond stupid to allow anyone
over the age of 45 to fly like that..and even then, with a
medical certificate, that no Flight Physician would sign...
When it comes to "common sense" and personal responsibility,
in this instance? It was a double failure.
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HappyHappy
Re: Is 74 years of age to old to drive a race plane?
"Good Morning America" has some extremely high res photographs showing clearly
that the pilot was still in an up-right position at the top of the pull up.
There is NO sign of the pilot on the way down.
The canopy is totaly void of a pilot.
The trim tab did not seperate till after the top of the loop.
The tail wheel was down and locked.
The tail wheel takes a few seconds to deploy under normal circumstances.
The hint here is it was already on the way down before the pull up.
The photos of just before impact are to grainy to be sure BUT I suspect seeing
the main landing gear door opening on the left wing.
To sum it up the landing gear may have caused the mayday, that's my bet.
This is too athletic a sport for a 74 year old man to participate in.
IMO The pilot was the weak link, he caused the fatal results.
HH
that the pilot was still in an up-right position at the top of the pull up.
There is NO sign of the pilot on the way down.
The canopy is totaly void of a pilot.
The trim tab did not seperate till after the top of the loop.
The tail wheel was down and locked.
The tail wheel takes a few seconds to deploy under normal circumstances.
The hint here is it was already on the way down before the pull up.
The photos of just before impact are to grainy to be sure BUT I suspect seeing
the main landing gear door opening on the left wing.
To sum it up the landing gear may have caused the mayday, that's my bet.
This is too athletic a sport for a 74 year old man to participate in.
IMO The pilot was the weak link, he caused the fatal results.
HH
Re: Is 74 years of age to old to drive a race plane?
I agree with you guys; I fly for a living, it's not an old man's game. If you want to be flying in a high speed high g environment even in your 40s you need to be in fairly extreme shape for your age - at 74 you just aren't keeping up with things mentally and physically. There's a long thread at Sim Outhouse with plenty of folks defending the pilot's experience and safety record.... I'm sure he had a lot of hours and a perfect safety record all the way to the point of impact...
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HappyHappy
Re: Is 74 years of age to old to drive a race plane?
A quire from "Warbird Alley".
"You cannot break the record for low flying. You can only tie it."
The "experts" are now saying that Jimmy Leeward experianced "in excess of 11 G's"
in his pull up. We may know what caused the mayday. But I doubt he was in control
of that plane after that extreme pull-up. A 11g load should black out any human
in a second or two.
HH
"You cannot break the record for low flying. You can only tie it."
The "experts" are now saying that Jimmy Leeward experianced "in excess of 11 G's"
in his pull up. We may know what caused the mayday. But I doubt he was in control
of that plane after that extreme pull-up. A 11g load should black out any human
in a second or two.
HH