Precision40 Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 onboard camera captures Thunderbird ejection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajarrel Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 Reminds me of an axiom I was taught when I was flying: "Maintaineth thine altitude, lest the ground rise up and smite thee." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 Whew!!! Can you imagine..............?.....!!! Ouch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 With an F-16, one automatically thinks "engine failure" but it sure looks like he just screwed up and didn't have enough altitude for his loop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precision40 Posted February 13, 2004 Author Share Posted February 13, 2004 With an F-16, one automatically thinks "engine failure" but it sure looks like he just screwed up and didn't have enough altitude for his loop. The official accident report said something to the affect of "He determined his height needed to be 1500 ft. to perform that loop when it fact the minimum had to be 2500 ft. The report also said he lost his slot on the team and has been reassigned to another job at the Pentagon. Oops!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 I was thinking there's no way you could remain a member of a precision acrobatic team after F'ing up like that; no confidence from the team. So when you F up in the services, you get sent to the Pentagon? That's just great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 I thought they send you to the base in Greenland. I don't know if it is fact or fiction, but I heard a story about a guy who burnt down a C-17 at Travis and was assigned to Greenland. It's a funny story none the less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Greenland is probably for enlisted men, Pentagon for officers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypool40 Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 I have a neat still taken from outside I'll send you, but I don't know how to post pics on this site. I heard it was a confusion between MSL and AGL. Not being a snob but for those who ain't airplane geeks like me, MSL is "Mean Sea Level" an arbitrary plane in space you do calculations from, and AGL is a true "Above Ground Level" measurement. These guys do calculations and determine that they need "X amount" of space to pull "Y" maneuver. Something like "I need 2500 MSL, and we are at 1000 field elevation so I'll start things at 3500 MSL". Sometimes MSL and AGL are very close, like here in FLorida, other times like in the video....that are not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn jones Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 it's a shame we couldn't see the pilot's eyes. lynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Some of his very-last-minute body language and head movements revealed sudden tension....... not so much the agony of defeat but the agony of decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 It looked like his left (throttle) arm was getting busy just before he punched out. BTW, modern ejection seats are amazing devices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skywalker Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 BTW, modern ejection seats are amazing devices. You know, they're called zero-zero for a good reason! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 this looks like a still photo of same: found here: http://www.afforums.com/ppost/showphoto.php/photo/916 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 Here's the link to the original picture, it's big, 3008 x 1960. http://www.avweb.com/newspics/DavisTbirdEject.jpg FROM AVWEB: "AVweb has confirmed that the image last Thursday posted to our Picture Of The Week section of Capt. Christopher Stricklin's Sept. 14, 2003, ejection from Thunderbirds jet number 6 -- roughly eight-tenths of a second before aircraft impact -- is in fact authentic. It was shot by Staff Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III, Still Photographer, U.S. Air Force, from the catwalk atop the tower at Mountain Home AFB, and was not officially released by the Air Force until last Friday afternoon. For the photographically inclined, Staff Sgt. Davis said he shot images with a Nikon D1X camera using a 300-mm lens with an aperture setting of 2.8 and shutter speeds of 1/1000 and 1/2000. For the now famous (and now official) shot, Davis "waited for the aircraft to level and clicked the shutter." And yes, he did experience some concern that the jet, which the Air Force says Stricklin turned away from the crowd, appeared instead to be directed at the tower. By his own account, the wreckage stopped just 100 feet shy of the tower's base. The nature of the lenses involved offer explanation for the automobiles so clearly visible in Davis' still image, but absent from the in-cockpit video. The picture and story have generated a great deal of material, rumors and interest. So we invite you to enjoy: " The article is at http://www.avweb.com/newswire/10_05a/briefs/186582-1.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precision40 Posted February 21, 2004 Author Share Posted February 21, 2004 Now he's a highly paid pencil pusher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 I have a relative who has the rare double. And yes two ejections does end your job as pilot in the armed services, even if neither ejection was pilot related. Strike aircraft, even when he dumded his, were still very expensive. The guy in the video should go buy a lottery ticket, he is very lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 Too bad he wasn't using a Martin Baker ejection seat. If he did, he would belong to an exclusive tie club. There's a couple thousand that own one tie. Over 100 that own 2 ties. And a handful that own 3 or more ties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Ellis Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 From another view, an amateur video from the airshow line. http://www.avweb.com/newspics/tbird.wmv Article and links http://www.avweb.com/newswire/10_06a/briefs/186633-1.html. IMHO, this guy screwed the pooch. I have no sympathy for those that make basic flight school 101 errors. As the quotation goes "Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of carelessness, incapacity, or mistakes." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garfield Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 As the quotation goes "Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of carelessness, incapacity, or mistakes." Hmm ... sounds a bit like our sport too doesn't it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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