Biplane crashes on take off

Hmm... that must have been exciting.

I couldn't quite tell what happened though. Ground loop?


Naw a ground loop would have been a lot more exciting. I'm thinking that the pilot wasn't looking where he/she was going. Hopefully it wasn't the guy holding the camera. If it was I'm pretty sure the accident investigation would go a little something like this.


FAA: you crash the plane?

PIC: Yup.

FAA: You holding the camera?

PIC: Yessir.

FAA: Uh huh...interesting....Hey, can I see your license really quick?

PIC: Uh....sure here ya go.

FAA: See ya!
 
The guy in the front seat of the biplane (ergo, the one taking the video) is the passenger.

It's not a ground loop...it was a loss of power on takeoff.
 
The guy in the front seat of the biplane (ergo, the one taking the video) is the passenger.

It's not a ground loop...it was a loss of power on takeoff.

Do you have confirmation, or is that just what you thought after watching the video? I assumed they just got too close to the trees.
 
PIC: Yessir.

FAA: Uh huh...interesting....Hey, can I see your license really quick?

PIC: Uh....sure here ya go.

FAA: See ya!

Brings up an interesting topic, probably separate from this thread, what to do when apprehended by an inspector or someone from the FAA. When asked to show your license, you simply just show it, don't hand it over. Agree/Disagree??
 
Thats what I was thinking. Typical "more right rudder, more right rudder, MORE RIGHT RUDDER."

On my Swift, with a strong crosswind from the left, you can run out of rudder. Some of the old guys say that a slight drag on the brake can correct that. I don't have to go and for me, that is a sure sign it is time to hang around the hangar and drink coffee or adult beverages. I've aborted twice in strong winds when the Swift seemed to have a mind of its own.
 
On my Swift, with a strong crosswind from the left, you can run out of rudder. Some of the old guys say that a slight drag on the brake can correct that. I don't have to go and for me, that is a sure sign it is time to hang around the hangar and drink coffee or adult beverages. I've aborted twice in strong winds when the Swift seemed to have a mind of its own.

There is a one of a kind Waco - a Waco CRG - that was built specifically for the Ford Reliability tours. One remains and belongs to a friend. Love this airplane. Power is a 350 HP Wright. On take-off, brake is a necessity until you get moving a bit. That is under normal conditions. Some of those older airplanes have exceptional flying qualities. And by exceptional I mean "really strange and goofy".

CRG.jpg
 
Do you have confirmation, or is that just what you thought after watching the video? I assumed they just got too close to the trees.

Yep, that's what happened -- not speculating.

There's a pretty extensive thread on it both at the Key Publishing Forums and at the Warbird Information Exchange Forums. I will try and find links to the actual discussions and post them here.
 
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