Posted on 09/16/2011 5:15:07 PM PDT by PilotDave
A P-51 crashed into a vip area at the reno air races about 25. Initial reports indicate many deaths.
Plus the engine doesn’t dump exhaust under the plane...
Just little details...
So who was it ?????????????????????
Sadly, most of the reports jive with a flutter event. While it is just speculation, the scenario that eyewitnesses have been describing does seem to make sense.
A flutter event is really, really violent. I have been on flutter test flights, that thankfully proved we did not have flutter. A fellow I know was on a business jet that experienced elevator flutter. The control wheel was whipped out of his hand, and the control columns moved back and forth so fast that it became a blur which neither he or the pilot could grab. Eventually the control system connection between the elevators and the control column failed, causing the dynamics to change enough that the flutter stopped. Of course they had no elevator control.
If this plane had just passed another plane (as has been reported) the wake off the other plane could have started the flutter. This would have undoubtedly ripped the stick out of the pilot’s hand. With nothing controlling the ailerons (because he is not holding the stick) a barrel roll as several people have reported is completely possible. He more than likely would have tried to reduce engine power, and it is likely the elevator control system failed due to the overload. This would have let him have rudder and aileron control, but with the aircraft pointed nearly straight down at high speed and low altitude. Rudder and aileron might have let him change his trajectory some (as people have also reported)but at that attitude and altitude, there really was really no chance.
Of course that is just speculation at this point. Unfortunately with the level of aircraft destruction that occurred, unless there is some better photographic evidence we may never know.
Ping me please if you find out who it was...
Will do. Just a bunch of attention seeking whores for posters last night imho
Agree.
Not here. I was knee-deep in weather maps at another site frequented by pilots (TX finally has an opportunity for rain) and Cheney came up.
Ran back over here and threads were being moved out of breaking as soon as they were posted.
Turns out I was punked by a viral youtube comment, and I’m very glad I was.
The idea of it being Cheney mortified me. Around midnight, after no corroborating news, I went to sleep grateful.
Thanks for you post The loss of Cheney would be hugh
I was so scared I had to take two Tylenol PMs to knock me out.
Now it’s almost funny: ‘where were you the day Cheney didn’t die?’
Well i was sitting at my computer
Yes, I am surprised. From the video that I saw, planes were flying over the crowd on EVERY lap. Nothing is ever completely safe, but with the frequency that these guys crash, I’d never go to a race.
Posting the name would have been irresponsible last night; I was pretty sure it was just a couple YouTube trolls making it up, and it turns out I was right. If there had been any confirmation or confirmed independent sourcing I may have posted it, but in this case handling the “information” responsibly was more important than your curiosity.
What I don’t understand is why there was not a fireball. There had to be a lot of fuel in that plane. It seems to be a miracle. “””
These were qualifying heats.
when qualifying, neither planes or race cars carry a full load of fuel. Indy cars are on only what they need for the 4+ laps. Same for NASCAR. Same for these planes—only enough + reserve to do the qualifying laps.
The only cars I know of which use a full load of fuel when qualifying are in drag racing. Their fuel tanks hold enough to make a full throttle run & not much more.
Playing "I've got a secret" in a public discussion forum where people earnestly look for news updates is childish and irresponsible. It would have been more mature to keep completely quiet about unsubstantiated rumors, or to honestly inquire whether anyone knew whether Cheney or GHW Bush (both names were floated last night) were spectators on that date. FReepers have an amazing ability to determine who is where and when very quickly.
It is beyond irresponsible to chatter about secrets obtained from YouTube comments. If you want to gossip about secrets, take it off the discussion board to personal FRmail.
In this time of lightning fast internet, it would take an impossibly grand conspiracy to prevent news organizations and attendees from announcing the names of celebrities who were present at the event. The persistent secretive discussions in the forum last night were nothing more than foolish attention seeking, most likely peppered with substantial alcohol consumption.
Which bias would you like to accuse the moderators of having? Are they acting against "real" conservatives? Against Catholics? Against Mormons?
One of my favorite rants came from a long-time FReeper who alleged that FR was actually a fake site, created by foreign oil interests. He claimed that the majority of FR's content was put there by foreign interests to mock and embarrass conservatives within the USA.
If you don't like how FR is moderated, you are always free to create your own site and moderate it to suit your personal rules and priorities. I'm so sorry that moving a news thread from one folder name to another violates your concept of conservatism.
Well said. I especially object to comments about national security and such. If I had known the source was stupid You-tube comments from the beginning, I never would have given it another thought. Thanks for calling them on it.
NTSB Briefing:
9 total fatalities
1 Pilot
6 spectators on the field
2 died in hospital
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