Airshow Miracle

[Lightning]

Hi All,

THIS IS A MIRACLE!!! You MUST see this! I still can't believe it! Could it be possible to use trick-photography or computer generation to pull this off??? I don't think so. Please watch this!

youtube.com/watch?v=XRCbkBfdBrQ

Regards,
Lightning

[Romantic Technofreak]

Hi Lightning,

this blog says it is a fake:

http://www.reggiepaulk.com/2008/10/killathrill-generates-huge-buzz-with.html

But it's a good fake. Very entertaining!

Regards, RT

[Red Admiral]

It looks convincing if you don't know much about how planes fly, but losing a wing would give very different behaviour.

[Lightning]

Hi Guys,

After reading your comments and watcing it a few more times, I have to agree that its a fake. For one thing, he's spinning into the direction of the good wing. If a wing comes off, the plane will spin into the direction of the missing wing. Also, he couldn't hang on the prop and do a knife-edge just before landing.

Red Admiral is right! I got snookered! It was so neatly done that I guess I "wanted" to believe it. I should have looked a little harder.

Can I save face by quoting myself?--"I still can't believe it!"

Be gentle.

Regards,
Lightning

[Kutscha]

Would a model a/c fly differently than a full size a/c?

[Lightning]

Would a model a/c fly differently than a full size a/c?

Models obey all the rules of aerodynamics and physics in the same way that real airplanes do. It's the differences in scale speed, scale power, and scale density that tip the observer off that there is something not quite "right" in the way the model behaves in comparison with the full-size airplane. It accelerates too quickly; its roll rate is too fast; its rate of climb is far too high. It is in every way too maneuverable. There is far less inertia to overcome and the mass of the model, in comparison with the real airplane, is even more scaled-down than the size. The smaller the scale, the greater these differences appear to be from the "real thing."

[Kutscha]

The GILES G-200 AEROBATIC AIRCRAFT

Wingspan (ft) - 20
Length (ft) - 18
Height (in) - 64
Empty weight (lbs) - 750
Gross weight (lbs) . - 1300
Power (hp) - 150-230
Power loading (lbs/hp) - 5.0
Wing area (sq ft) - 75
Stall speed (kts) - 57
Max speed (kts) - 220
Seats - 1
Cockpit width at shoulders (in) - 23
Seat layback angle (degrees) - 45
Rudder pedal adjustment (in) - 6
Fuel capacity (gal] - 18

[Lightning]

Hi All,

I am resurrecting this old thread as the result of having read an article in the September 2009 issue of Aviation History magazine titled "On One Wing and a Prayer." It appears on page 28, and the following summary, including quoted passages, is presented without further comment:

On May 1, 1983, Israeli Air Force pilot Zivi Nedivi's F-15D Eagle collided with an A-4 Skyhawk. "The ensuing collision tore off the F-15's entire right wing--not just a piece of it but the complete wing from the root outward." (There is a photo showing the damage in the article.)

Nedivi pushed the throttles full forward through the afterburner gate. The resulting speed stabilized the "half-an-airplane" so that he could controll it. He flew the F-15 in this manner for some 10 minutes back to his base where he made a landing approach at nearly 260 knots.

"The F-16 touched down wings level--make that wing-level--but was traveling so fast that when its emergency tail hook snagged a snubbing cable ... the hook simply tore off the fighter. Nedivi braked to a stop about 20 feet from the end of the 11,000-foot runway."

The article goes on to say that a video of this landing can be seen on YouTube and that the aircraft was flying again after two months!

Regards,

Lightning

[Double T]

I think this is the one you're looking for Lightning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVkB7V-JybY

Tim

[Lightning]

Hi Double T,I think this is the one you're looking for Lightning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVkB7V-JybY

Tim

Yes, that's the one. It wasn't at an airshow, but it sure qualifies as a miracle in my book. Thanks for the site, Tim.

Regards,

Lightning