How NOT to land your mustang...

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Just looking at the video and I wonder, could the pilot of declared and emergency and asked permission to land on the main runway?
 
according to the accident report he lost power and knew he would make it back to the field BUT not the runway. so he took the best flightpath he could. from that altitide and attitude he may not have seen the burm...OR he was going to try to get past it. it was "forced landing" and he got away without too much damage. looking at it again i do see the prop hit the dirt. depending on how bad it hit it may be able to be reconditioned. although i do believe when you get prop damage there are checks to the crankshaft that need to be performed. its easier to bend one than you might think.
 
GrauGeist said:
Hey Gary, did that 'Stang driver set her down in the grass just in case something went wrong, since the engine was losing power?

It looked to me like there was a runway in the background of the video...
Click to expand...

There is, its the only hard one at Duxford. However, for the maojority of displays. you will often see a few planes on the hard ready for TO and the rest of the flight staggered on the grass between the hard runway and the crowdline. Its the only way to launch upwards of 30 plus Warbirds for the mass formation at the end of the day and for the routine displays, again, if you want to launch 10 fighters, you dont want them 'boiling' while waiting for TO clearance, so the grass is used.

Its nothing unusual to see 4 Griffon Spit's lined up on the hard with 8 or 9 baby Spit's (Merlins) lined up on the grass. even the B-25's use the grass alongside the Skyraiders. I think that the only planes that use the hard as a matter of course, are the Heavies (B-17, Lanc, C47's etc). The fighters normally use the grass. I'll have to get one of the airshow DVD's to you, then you'll see what is used where.

Where Miss Helen touched down is literaly just past the airfield boundary, right next to the Motorway and before the peri track. With a failing engine, he wouldn't have been able to extend his approach by the hundred yards or so needed to touch down on the normal grass area.
 
GrauGeist said:
Hey Gary, did that 'Stang driver set her down in the grass just in case something went wrong, since the engine was losing power?

It looked to me like there was a runway in the background of the video...
Click to expand...
Fighters of tht vintage prefer the grass or turf I believe the few exceptions is the P47 and P38
 
pbfoot said:
Fighters of tht vintage prefer the grass or turf I believe the few exceptions is the P47 and P38
Click to expand...
Taildraggers (Including the P-47) naturally do better on the grass because of the distribution of the weight. Tricycle configurations tend to "dig" into soft surfaces, especially if weight is not kept off the NLG during taxi and rolling at high speeds (take off and landing). Most if not all tricycle landing gear configuations tend to shimmy at the NLG during higher speeds so many aircraft incorporate a "shimmy dampener" that tends to loose effectiveness overtime, especially when operating on dirt and grass surfaces.
 

I've heard from what I comsider reliable sources the P47's that remain won't do the Geneseo air show because of the turf. Maybe its an insurance issue for type as the Lanc won't do Genny anymore because of insurance and turf
 
pbfoot said:
I've heard from what I comsider reliable sources the P47's that remain won't do the Geneseo air show because of the turf. Maybe its an insurance issue for type as the Lanc won't do Genny anymore because of insurance and turf
Click to expand...

That is true - I do know some insurance companies won't cover tail draggers if they are being operated from dirt and grass, and this may also depend on the type of aircraft (a super cub vs. a P-47 or other warbird)
 
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