WWII Avaition Buffs..... - The Firearms Forum

Xracer · 07-24-2007, 08:19 AM

Yesterday, a pilot of a North American T-6, on his way to Oshkosh, had engine problems and made a forced landing on an Interstate Highway in Wisconsin.

A State Trooper caught the landing on his dash camera:

http://www.themilwaukeechannel.com/t...53/detail.html

I'd call that a darn nice "dead stick landing"!!!!

polishshooter · 07-24-2007, 09:12 AM

Wow, and he even "bounced" it over a cop car!

Great catch, X....

Marlin · 07-24-2007, 09:22 AM

Looks like one mighty good piece of flying. I'd hate to try a dead stick under the same circumstances.....

polishshooter · 07-24-2007, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marlin

Looks like one mighty good piece of flying. I'd hate to try a dead stick under the same circumstances.....

But under OTHER circumstances it would be FINE for you Marlin????

Actually, it's kind of amazing if you look back not too long ago...guys taking off in rickety biplanes with NO navigation devices, NO advance avionics, internal combustion engines only having been around for a couple of DECADES at most....flying with one eye on the ground looking for the NEXT convenient field or road that you could use when the engine WOULD (not COULD!) quit was the rule not the exception...it took a lot of guts....

And then fast forward to 1942 or 43....not much farther along, and picture the poor guy going up in the Solomons or over New Guinea...in a PATCHED up, worn out P-40 or Wildcat, with "field expedient" maintenance, brushed off spark plugs stretched long past replacement, heck even hand FUELING from drums strained through a chamois if you were LUCKY, taking off and landing on pock marked, muddy, PSP runways, usually between bouts of MALARIA or at least dysentary....to go into COMBAT, sometimes flying hundreds of miles to do THAT, over an area which is either uncharted jungle complete with headhunters, or trackless shark infested water, uncertain radio reception, NO direction finders, navigation aids, no good charts or search and rescue teams...getting lost or running out of fuel, or engine quitting meant DEATH....and "MIA" on your record....and the guys in the ETO thought THEY had it rough....

It is AMAZING we had guys who did that....WILLINGLY...

Marlin · 07-24-2007, 08:13 PM

I flew many, many hours in a T-6. Have good memories of the experience.

millwright · 07-24-2007, 08:49 PM

Seems like the 'stick' was fine - the engine was 'dead'...... The T-6 is nifty as is its navalized cousin, the SNJ which I have some time in.

Hard to tell for the light, but looked like the thing was windmilling for a time as it appears he got the flaps down. They're operated by a hydraulic pump on the engine accessory case that's engaged or disengaged as needed to operate flaps and gear. (At least on the SNJ I'm familiar with.)

Nifty bit of flying I agree. Visibility over the nose isn't the best in a 3-point landing attitude either. You can lose a full-size pickup under it easily. >MW

polishshooter · 07-24-2007, 09:21 PM

A buddy of mine I work with was a pilot, his roommate in flight school is now a Captain for Continental...and he sends me all kinds of stuff posted on pilot's websites and stuff about aviation...so I returned the favor and forwarded this to him.

He called me up today after he got it, and told me one of the guys he went to flight school with once lost an engine on takeoff in a Cessna and put it down on a convenient golf course fairway that was close to the runway....and ended up right next to the green...

He said the FUNNIEST thing about it was a bunch of golfers came running and driving up to see if he was all right, and then IMMEDIATELY pushed the Cessna off to the side so they could "play through," even BEFORE the cops got there!

07-24-2007, 08:19 AM	#1
Xracer TFF Admin Staff Mediator Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Minn-eeee-sota, ya, sure, you bet! Posts: 9,144	WWII Avaition Buffs..... Yesterday, a pilot of a North American T-6, on his way to Oshkosh, had engine problems and made a forced landing on an Interstate Highway in Wisconsin. A State Trooper caught the landing on his dash camera: http://www.themilwaukeechannel.com/t...53/detail.html I'd call that a darn nice "dead stick landing"!!!! -->

07-24-2007, 09:12 AM	#2
polishshooter Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Indiana Contributor Posts: 7,863	Re: WWII Avaition Buffs..... Wow, and he even "bounced" it over a cop car! Great catch, X.... __________________ The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living.

07-24-2007, 09:22 AM	#3
Marlin TFF Admin Staff Chief Counselor Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: At SouthernMoss' side forever! Contributor Posts: 13,853	Re: WWII Avaition Buffs..... Looks like one mighty good piece of flying. I'd hate to try a dead stick under the same circumstances..... __________________ *The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing.* *The only criminal class native to the United States is Congress.*

07-24-2007, 08:13 PM	#5
Marlin TFF Admin Staff Chief Counselor Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: At SouthernMoss' side forever! Contributor Posts: 13,853	Re: WWII Avaition Buffs..... I flew many, many hours in a T-6. Have good memories of the experience. __________________ *The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing.* *The only criminal class native to the United States is Congress.*

07-24-2007, 08:49 PM	#6
millwright Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 1,440	Re: WWII Avaition Buffs..... Seems like the 'stick' was fine - the engine was 'dead'...... The T-6 is nifty as is its navalized cousin, the SNJ which I have some time in. Hard to tell for the light, but looked like the thing was windmilling for a time as it appears he got the flaps down. They're operated by a hydraulic pump on the engine accessory case that's engaged or disengaged as needed to operate flaps and gear. (At least on the SNJ I'm familiar with.) Nifty bit of flying I agree. Visibility over the nose isn't the best in a 3-point landing attitude either. You can lose a full-size pickup under it easily. >MW

07-24-2007, 09:21 PM	#7
polishshooter Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Indiana Contributor Posts: 7,863	Re: WWII Avaition Buffs..... A buddy of mine I work with was a pilot, his roommate in flight school is now a Captain for Continental...and he sends me all kinds of stuff posted on pilot's websites and stuff about aviation...so I returned the favor and forwarded this to him. He called me up today after he got it, and told me one of the guys he went to flight school with once lost an engine on takeoff in a Cessna and put it down on a convenient golf course fairway that was close to the runway....and ended up right next to the green... He said the FUNNIEST thing about it was a bunch of golfers came running and driving up to see if he was all right, and then IMMEDIATELY pushed the Cessna off to the side so they could "play through," even BEFORE the cops got there! __________________ The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living.