A Kiwi two-seat Spit has suffered its second landing mishap in a year, with the same pilot walking away shaken but unscathed after the gear collapsed.
The Spitfire plane crash landed at Auckland’s Ardmore airport at 11.50 this morning.
The plane – one of only two in the country – is owned by local man Doug Brooker, who imported the two seater aircraft last year.
It is Mr Brooker and the plane’s second crash this year; on January 15 it suffered a heavy forced landing on Hood Aerodrome, near Masterton.
Just after today’s crash Mr Brooker told Stuff.co.nz: “I don’t feel like talking right now”.
No, I should think not, not at NZ$ 3 million for the acquisition, and it’s not like they’re giving hull insurance away.
Apparently the machine is one of only a handful of original two-seat conversions of the Mk IX Spitfires left flying. A picture on this page shows the head-on view of the mishap, with the chewed up wooden prop. These propellers are exclusively manufactured in Germany, of all places, which is a little ironic given the effort the Luftwaffe took to wreck Spitfire production during the war.
Well, I suppose the Spit could have gone over on its back, busted a gut, and immolated itself, along with its cargo, but still…one wonders how much a little bit more flight instruction would cost the lad, as compared to a replacement cost that leans toward infinite.
And thoughts from his missus?
Incident’s such as these lead to the debate being stirred as to whether such treasures should be spared the risks associated with leaving the earth for their more natural element.
As for me I hope they keep flying until they are all gone. A replica made of fiberglass serves my purposes just as well sitting silent behind a velvet rope. The sights, sounds, vibrations, and smells of one of these beasts rumbling overhead can only be understood as they actually occur, even if, such events become increasingly rare, in my opinion.
Landing gear collapse, eh? Servo’s must have been of the finest-quality Lucas production.
– Max
The photos and thread on NZFF is of the previous crash in January.
More photos (including of the recovery) at
http://rnzaf.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Airshows&action=display&thread=10376&page=2
Good point Mongo. The ability to afford one may be negatively correlated with the ability to fly it.
For context, the owner/pilot is an Aerobatic display pilot – MX2 (so no shortage of tail-drager experience)
Yabbut thinking of Lex’ observation about his own tail dragger time, that being cert in a Citabria doesn’t put him in the Warbird class…yet. Aerobatics notwithstanding, mebbe this guy is still a little bit beyond his skill grade in the Spit.
Just sayin’
Not much to add but – if you’re going to crash / heavy landing, guess it’s better to do it at the airfield where the restorers are located. The firm that restored it after the firts incident is located at Ardmore (where the crash occurred).
Got to feel for Doug Brooker – apparently mega hassles getting the Spitfire to NZ in the first place
.
Still one MVIX flying in NZ’s skys though:
try again:
ok – not working
url: http://www.spitfirepv270.co.nz/
This one has semi official backing from RNZAF ……
Agree with Mongo, either the owner is over his head or he is a $#!T magnet. Either way, it doesn’t bode well for the longevity of the Spit. (IMHO probably the most beautiful of any aircraft ever made)
Is the Rolls Royce Merlin OK? The rest of the aircraft can be fabricated if need be, probably for less than restoring and refitting an original part. The Merlin? Not so easy.
I have to say, of the aircraft engines I’ve had a chance to see the guts of, the Merlin is by far the one that fascinates me the most. How much of that motor was later adopted is amazing. The cylinders and cylinder heads were nearly copied by Offenhauser and Meyer-Drake in the 50’s. Sodium-cooled exhaust valves were just entering vogue back in the 80’s. Steel liners in aluminum alloy cylinders were the bane of high-performance motors until the mid 60’s, when the unequal expansion problems seem to have been mostly worked out for some manufacturers.
– Max
Weren’t Spitfires notorious for gear issues in WWII? And at least slightly tricky (although not as bad as the Bf109)to land because of the narrow track of the landing gear?
Seems everyone’s bashing the pilot, but it could have been a good old system failure – the plane is only 60+ years old after all.
The narrow landing gear on the Spit and the BF-109 were mainly a hazard due to the grass fields they tended to operate from. Doesn’t take much of a gopher mound to turn your runway into a roller coaster. But otherwise, most pilots report landing the Spitfire was a dream compared to most tail-draggers due in part to the very balanced and light controls coupled with a very low stall speed with plenty of warning offered.
One story that crops up often is landing gear failure on take-off, the pilots throwing the lever before take-off was complete so the gear would retract as soon as there was no weight on the legs and they’d have one less item to check while setting up for a max-power climb. Couple this with a rough, grassy field and there were times when gear went up before the airplane.
Myself, I agree with you — the landing gear is a mechanical system and this plane was obviously in the air before attempting to land, ergo if the landing gear lever was actuated, the gear went down, and failed to stay down. Not the fault of the pilot, at least regarding his piloting skills. It may have more to say about his mechanical skills, his mechanic, or his willingness to open his checkbook for maintenance.
– Max
Too bad his name’s not Doug Bader…
Somehow, I am thinking more Thurman Munson, than Chuck Yeager.
Had to pleasure to take one of the taxpayer’s assets to the original CAF facility at Harlingen, TX, for their annual show. Quickly figured out that there were a bunch of those folks with more money than airsense. They actually created at “VT-1″ — completed by stealing the patch and all, which was somewhat offensive to those of us who had to learn the convoluted entry procedure for NAS Saufley (before its days an an official prison, being then only an unofficial prison).
The reason for this attempt to force something even approximating NATOPS checks on a bunch of testosterone fueled captains of industry is obvious. The success, somewhat less. I’m just thinking that the confluence of self made money, and high performance a/c, isn’t good.
Guys
Oh so very harsh
Plane had just come out of the shop – following a re-build for the first accident at the beginning of the year. So, no, don’t think it would have been due to maintenance or skimping on da money
Initial reports in the NZ Herald & Stuff suggested more long the lines of a “prop strike” — plus a cross wind ??? factor.
for those interested – some of the background — and some pretty good images.
Some good news:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3152813/Hunt-on-for-rare-Spitfire-parts
Mr Brooker said it was a very minor mishap.
“The wind turned around and it pushed the aircraft off line a bit. It was a pretty innocuous landing.
“One wheel folded up as the aircraft yawed around in the wind. I sat there and swore.”
…
He said he had “great hopes” he would get his Spitfire back in the air within three months.
“But that depends on the availability of parts.”
He said the cost of repairs was immaterial.
“It’s a bit like saying how much are you going to spend on a Picasso,” he said.
It was the aircraft’s second accident in New Zealand. In January it was damaged when it landed heavily at Hood Aerodrome, near Masterton.
Mr Brooker said damage in the latest incident was “nowhere as bad as Masterton”.