An YOU thought YOUR commute sucked!

[underpants]

The pilot is fine...the airplane not so much.



A file photo from September 14, 2003 showing United States Air Force Captain Christopher Stricklin as he ejects from the USAF Thunderbirds number six aircraft less than a second before it impacted the ground, at an air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho. Stricklin, who was not injured, ejected after both guiding the jet away from the crowd of more than 60,000 people and ensuring he couldn't save the aircraft. This was only the second crash since the Air Force began using F-16 Falcons for its demonstration team in 1982. The ACES II ejection seat performed flawlessly. NO SALES REUTERS/U.S. Air Force/Bennie J. Davis III/Handout

[GOPisEvil]

1. Didn't trof post the in-cockpit view of this?

Wild!

[underpants]

3. No way, where?

That would be awesome

[GOPisEvil]

5. I bet it's tucked away in the recent archives.

Maybe 2-3 weeks ago. PM him, maybe he has the link saved.

[Superfly]

7. I would love to see that myself...

...

[Superfly]

2. That is an incredible picture...

too bad it represents the loss of $30,000,000!

[waterman]

4. So good of that cowling to pop away

before the actual ejection proceedings

[Superfly]

6. What cowling?

That's the canopy.

[waterman]

9. Oooops, yep....meant canopy

[Superfly]

8. Video right here:

http://www.rapp.org/archives/2004/01/thunderbird_crash/

[underpants]

10. Man he stay cool as a cucumber until the end

Very cool.

[Superfly]

11. Facial expressions really don't show

through a darkly tinted visor. He was probably shitting in his nice red flightsuit.

[underpants]

13. I know I meant he didn't start moving around frantically

Of course I never been in one of those and that apparently is why

:scared:

[CanuckAmok]

12. His composure is pretty amazing...

That's the value of good training. You can see from his body language that he's in full, calculated control of the situation, even though you can see he begins to hyperventilate immediately before the ejection...

[freestatevet]

14. That's why he's one of the best

[RebelOne]

17. Wow, that was amazing.

[Robb]

15. Evil Knievel remained unimpressed

...noting that Stricklin was cheating using an F-16 to jump all those cars when in his day he would do it on a motorcycle. :)

What a photo. What a pilot!

[Taeger]

16. If a Bush had been the pilot

If a Bush had been the pilot, they would have bailed out early and the the plane take out a couple hundred people.

Note that Pappy Bush killed crewmates by bailing out of an aircraft instead of trying to lay it down on the surf.

[JohnyCanuck]

18. Too low for a Split S.

I was watching the video clip here of the cockpit view and when I saw the guy start the roll to initiate a split S maneuver I said :wtf: he looks wayyyy to low to be trying a split S. According to the accident investigation the pilot initiated the Split S maneuver from only 1,670 ft AGL and it looks like that was too low to get all the way around without impacting terra firma.

For the non aviators among us, a Split S is when you roll the aircraft on it's back so it's upside down and then pull back on the stick bringing the nose down towards the ground all the way through back to straight and level flight again only you're now going in the opposite direction to where you were heading when you initiated the maneuver. (It's like the second half of a loop)

As a side note, the accident investigation report was issued this week. It concluded that the accident was caused by pilot error. The pilot misinterpreted the altitude required to complete the "Split S" maneuver. He made his calculation based on an incorrect mean-sea-level (MSL) altitude of the airfield. The pilot incorrectly climbed to 1,670 feet above ground level (AGL) instead of 2,500 feet before initiating the pull down to the Split S maneuver.

http://www.rapp.org/archives/2004/01/thunderbird_crash/

I've done Split S's, but that was 20 years ago in a 2 holer Pitts at 6000 ft AGL with a qualified aerobatics instructor in the back seat. Brings back some fond memmories.

[Ready4Change]

19. Technically

Nit-picking here: Technically he was doing 1/2 of a Reverse Cuban 8. It's just like a Split-S, but you first pull the plane up to a 45 degree climb. Then you roll and then pull through 5/8's of a loop.

I too have flown them, but in something with less performance than even a Pitts, and with the same safety factor of several thousand feet between me a Mother Earth. Got to get myself back into a good paying job so I can get back into flying again. Lotta fun.

But doing that close to the ground? No thanks. I'll leave that to the airshow guys (and gals.)

[JohnyCanuck]

20. Thanks for the correction n/t

n/t

It's been 20 years since I last flew as pilot in command myself, and now I've got medical issues that keep me out of the cockpit. Major Downer.