Reno 2011

[lfries]

This was my first year to attend the Races. This year my son Todd told me he wanted to go so naturally I started planning early until waiting for them to be over my usual mode of planning. We were having a really good time until. The tragedy won't wipe out the good memories but will remind me how fragile life can be. I thank God that we were safe. Maydays are pretty common at Reno with the AC giving up speed for altitude. I noted the Galloping Ghost being high as it was coming up to the finish line on lap 3 or 4. I realized something was wrong when she didn't level off and continued into a loop. I can't really describe the rest but I can still see it in my mind. I really applaud the announcers, the crowd, and especially the emergency workers. It seemed like time stood still, what seemed like a long time after the impact I saw a part of one of the Propellor Blades come scooting across the tarmac and stop just a few feet away. We were approximately 100 yards away. I have attached some pictures. One is the Galloping Ghost in her pit on Wednesday another is passing the finish line on her last full lap. Others are of the Thunderbirds for the Air Force People, a U 2 fly over for the spooks, and lastly pictures for Taylorcraft People.
I hope that the Races continue.
I'm not sure I did the attachments. Sorry if there are none ar duplicates

[lfries]

Re: Reno 2011

Here is a try on the attachments

[M Towsley]

Re: Reno 2011

Our friends were out there in the pits when it happened. I am afraid the lawsuits alone will inundate the race owners to bankruptcy or insurance rates too high to pay. Very sad.

[Carrieve]

Re: Reno 2011

I hope the races continue also. I have a special reason as my daughter was killed in '08 racing a Cassut there. She would want them to continue and to succumb to news broadcasters and nay sayers would be wrong. I am sorry for those that perished, but it was a true accident and I believe we can all go sometime.

[lfries]

Re: Reno 2011

My feelings are there were more killed 0r injured on the roads than the numbers at Reno. Personally I like to believe that people who attend events such as this are not as prone to be suit happy. I did note an attorney advertising in a Reno paper that this was preventable. The only way for this to be true is to for go mans dreams.
ambitions and enjoyment.

[M Towsley]

Re: Reno 2011

Your best friend will sue you given the right circumstances. Just a fact of today's society. I hope it doesn't happen, and I have never been there...

[Guest]

Re: Reno 2011

It very likely that your freind will have nothing to say about it but rather his insurance company will sue you to recoup their costs/losses imposed by his claim.

[lfries]

Re: Reno 2011

I don't see the post but I received an e mail that flyguy made a post. He was wanting to know why the pilots head couldn't be seen in the pictures. My son has been asking about this since the incident. I can only guess it may be due to the small shallow size of the canopy or operhaps he was looking down trying to pull the stick back as best he could I'm assuming under tremendous aft stick pressure. No hard feeling if anyone wants to correct me as I am only guessing and I know nothing about flying these aircraft.

[clear_prop1961]

Re: Reno 2011

Lloyd- I was told by somebody very knowledgable about the races that it is very likely that the high G forces the aircraft experienced, for what ever the reason was.... lost of trim tab, etc, that it put the pilot on the cockpit floor between the seat and the stick. There was just no time to recover from that condition. I don't know if these aircraft have 5 point safety belt harness, but if not this would make sense. The other point made was that from the photo you can see the tail wheel down.... showing that the up lock likely was broken from the high G forces.

It's a sad day for the races.
Jerry

[Larry Lyons]

Re: Reno 2011

If you go to Av Web and read, then look back to 94 I beleive at vooDoo you will see the same thing happened there. The trim tab departed, at pitch up the pilot blacked out and finally got control back at 9,000' (2,700 meters). Not saying that is what happened here but the evidence says it might have. L

[flyguy]

Re: Reno 2011

Lloyd et al, I deleted the post as I found answers to my questions looking at additional pictures and seeing witness accounts and videos on line.

A pilot friend of mine suggested yesterday over lunch that the aircraft had pitched up so violently that the pilot was unconscious.

Looking at the photos (one with the missing tab and one with it coming off) it looks like there is a remaining tab that though small, is significantly deflected in the direction to produce pitch up. Let me see if I can find it again.
DC

[partyofone]

Re: Reno 2011

I read on another forum that the VooDoo pilot experience over 10 Gs when that happened. One can assume that this guy felt the same pressure and just didn't have time to recover.

[lfries]

Re: Reno 2011

A fairly knowledgeable friend thinks he could have experienced up to 20g's. I'm sure that in the 10-20 range with no G suit his blood must have settled in his feet. I'm thinking the top of the loop was no higher than a little over a 1000 foot agl. If VooDoo looped he must have gone higher in the loop. The videos I have seen make everything happen a lot faster than I remember. It seemed like everything was in slow motion. I spoke with a vendor located behind the stands and close to directly behind the impact point. She told me she couldn't move, she could only scream.

[Ryan]

Re: Reno 2011

I had read that in the VooDoo incident from the '90s that he went straight up to 9,000+ ft. His account was when he awoke his head was in his lap, and he was looking at his feet, which would seem to explain the "pilotless" cockpit photos from this past weekend.

[M Towsley]

Re: Reno 2011

What I have read so far is a possible pull of 11 g's for this incident.