minivin Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Taken from an email that's being going around the aviation world; Not something that you see every day Pilots Hone Their Skills For Upcoming Airshow Season. Photography by Frans Dely/Aviationdimension.com Early morning anglers are treated to the spectacle of four T6 Harvard Aircraft from The Flying Lions Aerobatic Team waterskiing across the Klipdrift Dam near Johannesburg South Africa. Lead by Scully ! Levin, with wingman Arnie Meneghelli, Stewart Lithgow and Ellis Levin, this renown airshow display team rehearse a sequence for the newly launched "Aviation Action" television program on Supersport. Arnie Meneghelli from Academy Brushware, owner of the aircraft had this to say, "What we did today I believe is a world first. It illustrates that South African airshow pilots are amongst the best in the world". This unusual act, approved by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and supported by Castrol Aviation, was meticulously planned and took place under the watchfull eye of divers and paramedics that were on site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Just plane good fun ? Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 That is unbelievably dangerous IMHO I'm amazed the aircraft didn't flip and plough in nose first!!! Rather them than me is all I can say!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Absolutely fantastic and some of the best flying I have ever seen. Lara. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troddenmasses Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 That is unbelievably dangerous IMHOI'm amazed the aircraft didn't flip and plough in nose first!!! Rather them than me is all I can say!!! Actually, in a tail wheel aircraft, no where near as dangerous as it looks. At that speed the water would act like concrete, and in a tail wheel aircraft all of the forces would be nicely balanced. It is simply aquaplaning - just like in a car. A tyre aquaplanes at 9* the square root of the tyre pressure - above that and you're ski-ing. If somebody tried it in a modern 'tricycle' aircraft, death would be pretty much certain. That said, here's a picture of what happens when it goes wrong Thought I would attache a nice photo of the aircraft that I used to fly, before some cretin 'forgot' to tie it down when it got breezy. What you can't see properly, is that it is very neatly parked on top of another aircraft. We lost 14 aircraft that day, all because the ops manager wanted to go down the pub a bit early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
02GF74 Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 now ex-ops manager ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troddenmasses Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 now ex-ops manager ? Yup, in a now ex-club. Unfortunately, the insurance excess on each aircraft was rather high, and all of them going over at once put something of a strain on the finances. It was just before the start of the summer as well, so the loss of the aircraft meant that there was no cash coming into the club. Result - no club, and me no longer flying 300 hrs per year Anybody interested in how it's done - have a look at Professional Pilot's Rumour Network Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minivin Posted March 2, 2006 Author Share Posted March 2, 2006 With the stability it also helps that they're Harvards, very stable platform that we've been using as a photographics platform for years, still got one used to train the Empire Test Pilots School, although it's days of photo-ing C130 Hercules pallet drops are now over (A400M may change that....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 mmm all very well till a 6" high wave comes along undercarriage digs in and blat.... I see what you mean though Impressive but still not very sensible IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 mmm all very well till a 6" high wave comes along undercarriage digs in and blat.... I see what you mean thoughImpressive but still not very sensible IMHO When you really think about the whole "why are we here thing" life is not very sensible in general I think it is fine to do these things in a proffesional way, as these guys, but a bit silly if you do not have the safety and backup etc. Lara. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.