How to fly the P-47

[MiloMorai]

 

 

[Bremspropeller]

And a litle something in color:

 

 

Jeffrey Ethell sadly isn't with us anymore.

 

[Poochnboo]

Yeah...he was killed in his favorite airplane. The one his dad flew in North Africa during the Second World War. The P-38. The P-38 video he made for this series is my favorite. According to the FAA crash report, with all of his experience, he made some serious mistakes the day he died. 

"Failure of the pilot to maintain minimum control speed (VMC), after loss of power in one engine, which resulted in a loss of aircraft control and collision with terrain. Related factors were: the pilot's improper fuel management and failure to change the fuel selector position before a fuel tank had emptied, which led to fuel starvation and loss of power in one engine; and the pilot's lack of familiarity with the aircraft, relative to single-engine minimum airspeeds."

The old engine out boogey man that killed so many pilots training to fly the Lightning got Ethell, too. 

8 hours ago, Bremspropeller said:

Jeffrey Ethell sadly isn't with us anymore.

 

Edited October 10, 2018 by Poochnboo

[Bremspropeller]

The fuel-management was an issue - especially in the early Lightnings. Not entirely sure, but I believe the system was later dumbed down somewhat when they re-arranged the cockpit.

[Poochnboo]

Well, witnesses...including, sadly, his father, said that the plane spun as it went in. If you lost an engine in the Lightning on take off, you had to act quickly or the torgue would whip the airplane around and you were dead. 

[Legioneod]

12 minutes ago, Poochnboo said:

Well, witnesses...including, sadly, his father, said that the plane spun as it went in. If you lost an engine in the Lightning on take off, you had to act quickly or the torgue would whip the airplane around and you were dead. 

Yep, very sad. From what I read it was his inexperience in the aircraft (only a handful of hours) that was a major factor in the crash.

Real shame that he died, I really enjoy his videos.