Been pretty fun so far!
My new baby. Just got her 2 nights ago.
Posted on 09/17/2011 6:31:59 PM PDT by Ron C.
RENO, Nev. – The death toll in the crash of a World War II-era plane during a Reno air race rose to nine people Saturday as investigators combed through wreckage and scoured amateur video clips to determine why the aircraft suddenly spiraled out of control and plummeted to the ground near hundreds of spectators.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/09/17/federal-investigators-looking-into-what-caused-deadly-crash-at-air-show/#ixzz1YGNn9wu6
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
That is way too big to be a trim tab. I have never worked on a P-51, but the size is right to be a servo tab. A trim tab would be about 1/10 the size of that tab if it were trim.
Servo tabs control the entire elevator, the idea is to keep stick forces manageable across a large speed range.
If possible, I think you're supposed to pull up for altitude, out of the race and try to figure things out. But, if the elevator's gone or if just one side is functional or asymmetrical?
Agree. I’ve been reading across the web and have found “experts” who say the P-51 doesn’t use servo tabs and other that swear there are servo tabs on the P-51...
You may have hit on the cause, methinks.
The trim is just a micro adjustment to compensate for cross winds so the pilot doesn’t have to constantly adjust the controls to maintain a constant heading.
I don’t know if the plane used hydraulic, cables or what. If it is cables, a snapped cable could wrap around, jam, or freeze controls.
I’m just guessing. Usually something like this isn’t caused by one thing but several failures (Murphy’s Law).
Thanks for that info!
A few years ago my wife and I were at the Reno Air Races. We were sitting high in the stands and she was pointing down to the box seats, wondering how we could get seats down there in front. Now she knows they're VIP seats, and after this crash she says the high seats are close enough. Saddened to see so many serious injuries. Nothing like seeing it live, but fear this is the end of the shows.
Sooo... it could be we see a broken servo tab - and so broken, would prevent elevator control... very likely why he could not pull the plane out of the dive.
Been pretty fun so far!
My new baby. Just got her 2 nights ago.
He could compensate for a small loss of trim, but may not have the strength to compensate foor a large loss. Remember too that the plane was moving fast just above the ground, with little time to react.
I'm terribly sorry to hear that. I just learned this morning that two co-workers and their families are among the seriously injured, and I pray that none are among the dead, because specific information is unavailable to us at this time.
Mark
The trim is just a micro adjustment to compensate for cross winds so the pilot doesn’t have to constantly adjust the controls to maintain a constant heading.
This was an elevator tab.
I just looked up design info on the Mustang. It is, indeed, a trim tab. But it would still cause a huge shift in control force, to the point of not being able to control pitch after it departed the aircraft.
“In the case of some aircraft the servo tab is the only control that is connected to the pilot’s stick or wheel”
Wonder if that was the case in this P-51. There are obviously significant modifications from the original design. If his was built that way,, he would have lost control when the tab separated.
The color is "Tinted Metallic Candy Red". And yeah, the absolute beauty of this car brought a tear to my eye when I first saw it.
Well,, really we keep calling it a “P-51”. But in many ways, thats about like calling a NASCAR racer a “Chevy”. That is such a custom built machine that they could have chosen any type of control system for the elevators that they liked best for racing.
At least it sounds like we are sure to get an answer. The team knows what was on it, and the photos of the damage will explain a lot. That place has more professional photgraphers per square foot than we can guess.
There are likely to be some incredibly detailed photos of the crippled plane still to emerge for investigators.
But in many ways, thats about like calling a NASCAR racer a “Chevy”.
Good point.
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