Hot Mic

Omakase

Amazon Search

Don’t try this at home

A few years back I posted a pic showing some T-6′s flying in formation and landing. On a lake.

It caused a bit of a stir at the time – some of the folks who linked to the pic said that it had been photoshopped. That the flume coming off the wheels was “too symmetrical.” That no sane formation of pilots would intentionally fly that low.

I never did claim that they were sane. After all, best as I can tell? They were South Africans

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIGptOBRDxM[/youtube]

Thanks to Tailspin Tommy for the taildragger link!

Share

16 comments to Don’t try this at home

  • I don’t know anything about flying… but THAT was cool. :)

  • GEO6

    THAT is why life insurance companies don’t want to touch ANYBODY in General Aviation… .

  • Fine line between “Stoopid” and “Onions of Steel!”

  • Ens Tim

    Eh, I say 1 above MIF for BAW.

  • P-3W

    Way cool — but good God Almighty!

    Taking a nose plant in the water can’t be a good thing. Them fellas are definitely on the edge of the Bell Curve for nuts!

  • Deborah Aylward

    Meaning no disrespect, Lex, to anyone at this site (yourself included), but that is goooooooooood flying!!! Thank you, sir.

    Veritas et Fidelis Semper

  • djvc

    I remember this from a while back, crazy.

    Lake is glass though, i have to think that as crazy as it seems, it’s not all that dangerous [well, other than tying the low altitude record] on a glass lake. Couldn’t imagine this on anything other than that.

  • Wow! Gotta show that to my father in law. He’s a smallcraft pilot – flies a Mooney. He’ll LOVE this!!!

  • Kris, my Dad lives in Kerrville,Home of Mooney Aviation, I have been there many times.

  • While I don’t know anyone that’s done this personally, I’ve heard that it isn’t as insane as it may look. The water offers quite the “lift” at those speeds. Haven’t you ever hydroplaned in your car before?

    Bunch of mooney people on here, ehh? (perhaps by association, anyway). Well, add one more to the list … it’s what I fly. Went to the Mooney homecomming last year–Kerrville is a charming place :)

  • sandman

    Everyday skill among cropdusters; those that survive…

  • As the saying goes about crop dusting: if the power lines don’t get you, the chemicals will…

  • When the photos of these guys were posted on Pprune, a whole heap of ‘experts’ piped up to cry ‘shopped!’

    Then some ag pilots came out of the woodwork to post photos of themselves doing the same thing. The only ‘shopped’ portion being the regos, carefully blacked out…

  • Scott

    djvc beat me to it. I was wondering if that counts as ‘pretty much’ tying the low altitude record…

  • Worth noting that it was done in formation too. Have a bunch of time in the AT6/SNJ and can say that the big ol’ fat tires they have are perfectly happy in grass, even soft grass. No clue how they feel on water, and will never know—self preservation being stronger than my curiosity and all.

    Alaskan bush pilots with so-called tundra tires use the technique to get into short gravel bars on rivers. See the end of this clip
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8IB4FcvE_U

    Try THAT in an F/A-18!

  • lex

    No thanks! I bet they go through some prop tips. Not to mention tires. Wow.

eXTReMe Tracker

View My Stats