Scale Models - View Single Post - B-52 Bomber crashes.

12-09-2004

I was at the Nats on the Saturday and watched this aircraft fly. Now my views may upset a few people but nevertheless I believe them to be true.

In my opinion this aircraft should never have been flown in the prevailing conditions. I watched it lurch around the circuit with big pitch changes and serious wing flex/twist evident. I felt it was so bad that I went back to the trade stands in case of an incident. It flew again later on and displayed the same handling characteristics. A couple of days later I was downloading the video of the, not unexpected, crash.

My worry is that if one of these things gets into a crowd of spectators, we can expect serious limitations in the operation of our models. It'll focus establishment interest in us. To fly machines such as this at public displays is courting certain disaster. The Nats may not be too bad as there is good crowd/flight line seperation, but we can all think of plenty of shows where this seperation is very close indeed. The results of the B52 in a crowd just doesn't bear thinking about. You have people buying radio gear close to the flying and obviously switching it on at their cars, which in this case were even closer to the flight line. It's no good saying they shouldn't do it, they do do it!

In my opinion these projects are not properly researched and I'm suprised that full size flying notes were not taken into account by the people building and flying it, and (I assume) the LMA inspectors who must have inspected it at various stages of its construction.

It is all very worrying. A couple of years ago a big Lanc' tucked in at a show during a high speed pass. In Henshaws book, "Sigh for a Merlin", he states that a Lanc' will enter an uncontrollable "tuck" at speeds above 320 IAS (if memory serves!). If the builder/flyer had have thoroughly researched this aircraft the crash could have been avoided. It's highly likely for these large machines to exhibit the same flight characteristics of their big brethren.

I've watched LMA pilots at shows hauling very large models into the sky time and again. The pilot obviously having no real understanding of what he's doing. I watched another Lanc' abused in this way at Weston Park last (I think) year with the inevitable stall and, fortunately, left wing drop into a tree. If it had been right wing drop he'd have been in the crowd. This year it was a jet jockey showing off his (very poor) knife flight skills, the model threatening to pull into the crowd time and again, the pilot obviously flying beyond his capability. He too found a tree and totally destroyed the model. At full size shows any deviation from prescribed shedule means an instant landing. It should be the case at large model events too. A 250 mph jet may be exciting stuff but a glitch putting the model out of control at these speeds frightens the life out of me. Imagine a 15 pound model hitting someone at 250 mph. A half second loss of control could easily put such a model into the crowd line.

250 pound models built of skinned blue foam just doesn't get the job done. This size of aircraft should come under CAA inpection in my opinion. I also think commercially available mass produced radio gear (TX and RX) is asking for trouble too. These items should be subjected to some form of reliability testing before use. Even a special frequency should be considered. Batteries and so on should certainly be CAA passed.

I'm afraid terms such as "terrific achievement" and "super model" leave me completely unimpressed. This thing was an accident just waiting to happen. By the grace of God it didn't fly off into the crowd and kill/burn a couple of families with kids. Let's get on it before it does happen.

12-09-2004	#13 (permalink)
Wowbagger Guest Visit Wowbagger's Gallery Posts: n/a	I was at the Nats on the Saturday and watched this aircraft fly. Now my views may upset a few people but nevertheless I believe them to be true. In my opinion this aircraft should never have been flown in the prevailing conditions. I watched it lurch around the circuit with big pitch changes and serious wing flex/twist evident. I felt it was so bad that I went back to the trade stands in case of an incident. It flew again later on and displayed the same handling characteristics. A couple of days later I was downloading the video of the, not unexpected, crash. My worry is that if one of these things gets into a crowd of spectators, we can expect serious limitations in the operation of our models. It'll focus establishment interest in us. To fly machines such as this at public displays is courting certain disaster. The Nats may not be too bad as there is good crowd/flight line seperation, but we can all think of plenty of shows where this seperation is very close indeed. The results of the B52 in a crowd just doesn't bear thinking about. You have people buying radio gear close to the flying and obviously switching it on at their cars, which in this case were even closer to the flight line. It's no good saying they shouldn't do it, they do do it! In my opinion these projects are not properly researched and I'm suprised that full size flying notes were not taken into account by the people building and flying it, and (I assume) the LMA inspectors who must have inspected it at various stages of its construction. It is all very worrying. A couple of years ago a big Lanc' tucked in at a show during a high speed pass. In Henshaws book, "Sigh for a Merlin", he states that a Lanc' will enter an uncontrollable "tuck" at speeds above 320 IAS (if memory serves!). If the builder/flyer had have thoroughly researched this aircraft the crash could have been avoided. It's highly likely for these large machines to exhibit the same flight characteristics of their big brethren. I've watched LMA pilots at shows hauling very large models into the sky time and again. The pilot obviously having no real understanding of what he's doing. I watched another Lanc' abused in this way at Weston Park last (I think) year with the inevitable stall and, fortunately, left wing drop into a tree. If it had been right wing drop he'd have been in the crowd. This year it was a jet jockey showing off his (very poor) knife flight skills, the model threatening to pull into the crowd time and again, the pilot obviously flying beyond his capability. He too found a tree and totally destroyed the model. At full size shows any deviation from prescribed shedule means an instant landing. It should be the case at large model events too. A 250 mph jet may be exciting stuff but a glitch putting the model out of control at these speeds frightens the life out of me. Imagine a 15 pound model hitting someone at 250 mph. A half second loss of control could easily put such a model into the crowd line. 250 pound models built of skinned blue foam just doesn't get the job done. This size of aircraft should come under CAA inpection in my opinion. I also think commercially available mass produced radio gear (TX and RX) is asking for trouble too. These items should be subjected to some form of reliability testing before use. Even a special frequency should be considered. Batteries and so on should certainly be CAA passed. I'm afraid terms such as "terrific achievement" and "super model" leave me completely unimpressed. This thing was an accident just waiting to happen. By the grace of God it didn't fly off into the crowd and kill/burn a couple of families with kids. Let's get on it before it does happen.