The famous P-51, "Big, Beautiful Doll", has been lost at an airshow. 
Mid-air contact with another plane during a formation flight. The pilot bailed out and was OK.
The famous P-51, "Big, Beautiful Doll", has been lost at an airshow.
Mid-air contact with another plane during a formation flight. The pilot bailed out and was OK.
Here's a pic of the Skyraider that hit the Doll, after the impact. At least this one made it back safely.
First of all....WOW.
Second of all, I cannot imagine the presence of mind it would take to save your plane after a crash like that. If it were me, I would have been like "Welp...I'm berkeleyed"....
It's a good thing I don't fly.
can't watch.....too painful
WTF was that guy thinking? He hit the Mustang from behind.
That is really sad to hear and see One of the first planes I fell in love with.
This reminds me of why I have mixed feelings when I see SOME vintage car races. Fortunately the deep pocket guys can pay to get almost any wreck restored from a number plate. I love to watch the events @ Goodwood but the intensity of the racing is over the top for vintage sometimes.
Wow...
I'd be very interested in a play-by-play analysis of that one.
Clem
hard to judge as we were not in the cockpit.. but the p51 didn't look too badly damaged. Most of the parts that sheered off appeared to be from the raider.
When I first saw the collision and saw the raider head for the deck.. I thought he was going down.. the p51 seemed fine till the pilot popped the canopy and bailed
That’s a shame. Losing a retired warbird (and my personal favorite plane, like, ever) like that in an exhibition flight is a special kind of wrong.
That Douglas AD-1 is a tough airplane. The P-51 took a solid hit on the rudder and elevator. It probably broke or jammed the control surfaces.
I hope the other pilot got what was coming to him. That was a totally uncalled for manuever. If he saw he was not going to clear the P51.. he should have aborted his climb and turn. I would not want to be in his shoes right now.
As for the P51.. those guys. or at least somebody, has deep pockets.. hopefully enough to see her fly again
Graefin10 wrote: That is really sad to hear and see
I couldn't agree more, I mean it's good to see them out on the track but some of those cars are irreplaceable, man!!!
I'll quote Clarkson by saying, "Oh my God, I'm spinning five million quid!!!!"
I'm at a loss for words besides sadness. I have seen Big Beautiful Doll fly dozens of times.
Tight formation flying is interesting. Especially with unmatched planes. Sad, preventable, etc. But also par for the course.
I have not read any reports from Mr Davies, but the scuttlebutt on the flight boards is that is rudder and elevators were likely jammed and the plane was unflyable and unlandable.
It looks like the P51 canopy was jettisoned imediately after the collision. So I suppose the pilot probably spent a little time assessing the situation, and a little time gtfo. I'm curious how bailing out works in a WWII warbird. I would imagine it is tantamount to jumping out of a Miata at 150 mph (as far as physical complexity of exiting the cockpit...I'm NOT trying to diminish the gravity of the situation).
I would imagine it would be WAY intense, probably more than an ejection seat, since you run the risk of clipping the tail wing, whereas the ejection seat you're along for the rife, but what a ride it is!
I t looks like the AD was pulling as hard as he could and the P-51 was pulling harder and losing more speed. As Foxtrapper points out they are unmatched airplanes doing a high G formation flight. In hindsight the AD probably should have been on the outside of the turn. At least no one got severely injured.
Looks like the Skyraider pilot increased throttle (too much) as he initiated his climbing turn. He was banked so far to the left that he couldn't see, couldn't measure the closing rate until the last second and couldn't avoid a collision.
A sad event but there are two more very lucky pilots out there.
pilotbraden wrote: At least no one got severely injured.
That is very true.. wounded pride can heal
The p-51 will fly again if the data plate survived. It will be all new metal but legally the same airplane.
Glad they're both alive. Sad to see the ol' bird go. I guess it's better than rusting away in a graveyard though (weak condolences to the ones involved, I know).
ClemSparks wrote:I'm curious how bailing out works in a WWII warbird.
foxtrapper wrote: P51 bailout instructionsClemSparks wrote: I'm curious how bailing out works in a WWII warbird.
I have that book, I got it when I was 6-7 years old. It has been read many times by my brother and me.
Moment of silence please.
ClemSparks wrote: I'm curious how bailing out works in a WWII warbird.
SOP would be to jettison the canopy, roll the plane over onto its back, cut power, and bail. All of this assuming you had time, altitude, and control to do so, of course.
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