Reno race crash in front of grandstands

Here is the money shot!

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I_Money said:
I have no problems with pilots taking extreme risks and having an abnormally high accident rate - the problem lies when spectators become involved. If Reno wants to survive they will have to ensure spectator safety and how you do that I do not know. Maybe this form of air racing will become more popular.

Giant Scale R/C Air Racing: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly! - YouTube
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No(bolded). The problem lies when the spectator isn't willing to accept the risk of being at the race in the first place. Everything you do is a risk. Walking out the door to get the mail is a risk. If you are not willing to accept the risk of being a spectator at an event like this, then don't go. Some of us do inherantly dangerous things. I just got back from a motorcycle ride. I accept the risk that that it is a very dangerous hobby. You accept the risk of driving to work every day. The chances of you getting hurt at an air racing event as a spectator are far far FAR less than the drive to the event.

Accept the risk of being involved in an accident, or simply stay home.
 
Interesting image I saw on another forum. Hard to tell to me, but is the circled area a possible area of skin wrinkling or is it just a weird reflection?

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I_Money said:
Wow I didn't know you we had a real race pilot here!!!
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I have aspirations of running at Reno in the future as well.
 
One of my best friend's dad and step-mom were there, both ok, another close family friend said he was looking straight at the spinner as it came in and maybe 1/2 a second before it impacted it pitched up slightly and hit less than 100' from where he was, he is ok. Unfortunately, a friend of a friend lost his brother. There are no words.
 
That one pic definitely appears to me to be oil canning there on the aft fuselage.
Anyone know what Vne is and what they typically see during a race on one of these things?

In the other pic where it is vertical down, interesting the tail wheel popped out.
 
jdlilfan said:
Another angle. LiveLeak.com - Eyewitness video from Reno Air Race disaster - Very close shot!

RIP and hope to all who survived a speedy recovery. I hope the show will go on.




*Mods, please delete video if found offensive, that was not my intention.
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wow...unbelievable. That must have been terrifying for anybody that was there. Such a tragedy.

For everyone who says these races should be banned, I agree with those who say "everything we do comes with risk". If you don't realize that sitting under a plane flying at 500mph less than 100' off the deck isn't risky, than I don't even know what to say. Accidents happen. After the 1988 crash of Frecce Tricolori, did we just cancel airshows? Unfortunately accidents happen, and unfortunately, sometimes innocent people lose their lives.
 
I talked to my friend there. The plane went in about 25' from where he was. Luckily, everyone he was with survived with nothing more than compound fractures and lacerations.

He described the scene as "a war zone" and "blood and guts everywhere". He still sounded in shock.

God bless the deceased. It sounds like the survivors are going to have some serious downline repercussions as well. I hope the survivors can move forward.
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
Interesting image I saw on another forum. Hard to tell to me, but is the circled area a possible area of skin wrinkling or is it just a weird reflection?

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I have aspirations of running at Reno in the future as well.
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Not a reflection, but a phenomenon called 'oil-canning'. It's pretty normal when airplanes are going full bore at high speed. Think of the downforce that the horizontal stab is generating at that speed.

On Unlimited racers, it's also normal to have the fuselage oilcanned in a twisting motion when they're on the course because of the engine torque.

IMHO, the missing trim tab explains this incident pretty clearly.
 
Hacker15e said:
IMHO, the missing trim tab explains this incident pretty clearly.
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Agreed. Not to "close the book" as an amateur, but trim failure followed by GLOC sure seems to fit the bill pretty closely. As an aside, apparently something similar happened to Bob Hannah in 1998.

Button describes what happened to his airplane in Saturday's heat race. Apparently, the left elevator trim tab came off the airplane at speed, causing the bird to abruptly pitch up, subjecting driver Hannah to over 10 G's of deceleration forces, and causing him to lose conciousness! When he came to, the raceplane had climbed to over 9,000 feet of altitude. A shaken Hannah regained control and brought Voodoo in for a safe landing. Suspected structural damage kept the sleek raceplane out of Sunday's championship competition.
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Terribly sorry for those affected.
 
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