Must see sent by Peabody

[RC Storick]

Too lucky!

[youtube=425,350]XRCbkBfdBrQ[/youtube]

[Patrick Rowan]

1 in a million. That pilot is good.

[Richard Grogan]

WHOAA!!! That dude sure wanted outta that thing when he landed! I bet he made a bee-line to the porta-potty! Kinda gives new meaning to having a bad day at the office,eh??
Great save!

[Greg L Bahrman]

Not to lucky...."Way Blessed"....I'll bet when he opened the canopy he took in the largest breath of his whole life.

[Elwyn Aud]

A time or two I got the impression that the whole thing might have been faked somehow but with the extreme power to weight ratio and full span ailerons on these planes plus expert piloting I guess it's just could be pulled off. Are the ailerons on this plane operated by rods instead of cables? EDIT Here's a link to an interview with the pilot.
http://www.jamesandersson.com/interview.html
Edit: I also found several internet reports claiming the whole thing is fiction.
http://www.reggiepaulk.com/2008/10/killathrill-generates-huge-buzz-with.html

[Mike Palko]

I've seen an F15 fly and land on one wing, but the landing sequence in this video looks horribly fake.

Mike

[Louis Rankin]

No way!!!  Man, that guy should be dead!  I want to be behind him in line when he buys a lottery ticket.  Will look over his shoulder and copy his numbers.

[Elwyn Aud]

I've seen an F15 fly and land on one wing, but the landing sequence in this video looks horribly fake.

Mike

I would have expected a lot more than one big bounce on landing. Lots of bounces and maybe a ground loop thrown in. The wing break looked to clean for a full scale airplane. Wouldn't a high zoot full size stunter have some sort of beefy spar through the fuselage and into the wings? And I could see no evidence of any  license number on the plane

[Richard Grogan]

I think these advanced 3-D pilots have an exceptional feel for controlling/balancing roll with the torque of the engine and are use to performing close in. I believe its the real deal.These guys can hover these planes hanging on the prop.Amazing!

[Mark Scarborough]

sure looks like a large 1/4 scale model to me,,

[Chris McMillin]

It is full-on computer generated.
I used to make stills in B&W of my scale models to fake out my friends that we had found a Mustang or P-40 in the forest, too. When I was 12!
Chris...

[Bill Hodges]

I believe this is totally fake.

Bill Hodges

[Chris McMillin]

Just to go one further, I have known personally two aerobatic pilots killed in aerobatic monoplane accidents caused by wing structural failures. One was in a Rebel 300 and the other a Sukoi SU-31.

Both men were killed by the violence of the instantaneous high G induced by the wing's failure. It is like a cannon shot when it fails and the spar runs through the cockpit wingtip to wingtip. The force of the failure is transmitted directly through the airframe's wing to fuselage mountings and that is directly attached to the cockpit tubing where the pilot seat and seat belt moorings are, therefore transmitted directly to the pilot. These men died from damage to the cervical vertabrae severing the spinal cord or failure of the aeortic muscle. (The human body is amazing but fragile when compared to these forces, think of the recent photos of the Polish formation team mid-air collision where the pilot's body in the yellow flight suit is seen, or the Dale Earnhardt crash.)

This new video shows a wing separated in half like a wing mounted to the fuselage on carbon tubes like that of large scale R/C aerobatic models. Also the rate of descent during the "save" maneuver is reminiscent of a lightweight model rather than a 1800 lbs full scale airplane.
  If the author of the video wished to make it even more believable, he should have made sure the nose never went below about 60 degrees nose high at any time after the "wing failure" because no real airplane has the ability to maintain a hover for more than about 5 seconds let alone arrest ANY rate of descent, and the have airplane would  continue to roll continually until impact as the real airplanes do not have control surface sizes and throws necessary to control the airplane without the other aileron and wing surface at that low airspeed.
  On touchdown the airplane would have to look like the impact seen on national and cable TV of airshow pilot Wayne Handley's Turbo Raven crash in the late nineties. The airplane hit the ground at a high rate of descent and destroyed the structure thus saving the pilot, whom was thrown up out of the airframe which saved his life and he was taken to the hospital by ambulance for a 6 month recovery after multiple surgeries.

BUT; It is a neat video...

Chris...

 

[Randy Powell]

Chris,

That's pretty much what I thought. 1/4 scale, maybe.

[minnesotamodeler]

It is unbelievable flying, but there is no break in the video between the landing and the pilot opening the hatch...no 1/4 scale model. Staged, maybe, but the real thing.

[billbyles]

Just to go one further, I have known personally two aerobatic pilots killed in aerobatic monoplane accidents caused by wing structural failures. One was in a Rebel 300 and the other a Sukoi SU-31.

Both men were killed by the violence of the instantaneous high G induced by the wing's failure. It is like a cannon shot when it fails and the spar runs through the cockpit wingtip to wingtip. The force of the failure is transmitted directly through the airframe's wing to fuselage mountings and that is directly attached to the cockpit tubing where the pilot seat and seat belt moorings are, therefore transmitted directly to the pilot. These men died from damage to the cervical vertabrae severing the spinal cord or failure of the aeortic muscle. (The human body is amazing but fragile when compared to these forces, think of the recent photos of the Polish formation team mid-air collision where the pilot's body in the yellow flight suit is seen, or the Dale Earnhardt crash.)

This new video shows a wing separated in half like a wing mounted to the fuselage on carbon tubes like that of large scale R/C aerobatic models. Also the rate of descent during the "save" maneuver is reminiscent of a lightweight model rather than a 1800 lbs full scale airplane.
  If the author of the video wished to make it even more believable, he should have made sure the nose never went below about 60 degrees nose high at any time after the "wing failure" because no real airplane has the ability to maintain a hover for more than about 5 seconds let alone arrest ANY rate of descent, and the have airplane would  continue to roll continually until impact as the real airplanes do not have control surface sizes and throws necessary to control the airplane without the other aileron and wing surface at that low airspeed.
  On touchdown the airplane would have to look like the impact seen on national and cable TV of airshow pilot Wayne Handley's Turbo Raven crash in the late nineties. The airplane hit the ground at a high rate of descent and destroyed the structure thus saving the pilot, whom was thrown up out of the airframe which saved his life and he was taken to the hospital by ambulance for a 6 month recovery after multiple surgeries.

BUT; It is a neat video...

Chris...

 

Hi Chris,

Although the (full-scale) aircraft in the video does have the capability of flying knife-edge and not only sustaining flight but gaining altitude at a moderate rate (as you well know from your acro experience), the way the wing departed looks bogus to me.  These all-kevlar/carbon-fiber wings are, as you noted, tied together with a one-piece spar from tip to tip.  There is no way that the wing could have departed with such a clean break.  Also, had either wing departed it would have very likely taken out the aileron pushrod control system leaving him with no aileron control on the remaining wing.  I have flown an Extra 300 which has a very similar wing and have pulled the wing for the mandatory 1,000 hour wing spar & attach point inspection and I know exactly what they look like.

The landing looked bogus also since the airplane rolled out level, hit the runway, bounced (which you would expect), and only rolled about 8 or 10 airplane lengths and stopped.  At the high speed he would have had to fly to maintain flight in knife-edge flight that airplane would have rolled much farther before stopping.  Just didn't look right.  As far as being able to sustain knife-edge flight with one wing, if he somehow still had the ability to control the aileron on the left wing I think he could have maintained enough roll control to keep it stable in knife-edge flight and climb at a fair rate but I just doubt that he could have rolled out and landed.  The video sure got everbody's attention, though.  If this happened in reality the pilot's best (and probably only) bet would be to maintain knife-edge flight, climb to about 3,000' agl, and bail out.

Bill

[Chris McMillin]

If you listen to the peoples voices in the background it is not the usual stuff people say at an airshow when the wing comes off the performers airplane!
There is some "interview" of the alledged "pilot" on a website (I was sent the link by Dad) and the guy is a good looking actor type saying stuff that seemed written by those that weren't airplane types.
It is defintely computer generated and modeled after some pretty convincing parameters, but as you know, it just doesn't happen like that! The touchdown, roll out, goofy attitudes in flight, and the fact the guy didn't knife edge it to a nice bail-out like you said, means it just ain't real.
Chris...

P.S. Roger took the Skybolt to a guy at Fla-Bob to get the seats reconfigured and possibly new style gear. he moved out on me

[Richard Grogan]

Seems like an extreme amount of effort and expense went into making a fake video for UTube. What is there really to gain from such devious deception? It certainly doesn't look planned or staged, judging by the poor amateurish videography. I have viewed it frame by frame, and dont see any signs of punching in or out of frames. And if it was a tip to tip spar, they had to saw the wing off a real plane just to fool you! I imagine stranger things have happened and were considered fake as well...Bravo!!

[Bradley Walker]

Fake.

[billbyles]

If you listen to the peoples voices in the background it is not the usual stuff people say at an airshow when the wing comes off the performers airplane!
There is some "interview" of the alledged "pilot" on a website (I was sent the link by Dad) and the guy is a good looking actor type saying stuff that seemed written by those that weren't airplane types.
It is defintely computer generated and modeled after some pretty convincing parameters, but as you know, it just doesn't happen like that! The touchdown, roll out, goofy attitudes in flight, and the fact the guy didn't knife edge it to a nice bail-out like you said, means it just ain't real.
Chris...

P.S. Roger took the Skybolt to a guy at Fla-Bob to get the seats reconfigured and possibly new style gear. he moved out on me

Looks like Roger is going to keep my old Skybolt for awhile...guess I won't get the chance to buy it back after all.  Hate to see him make the changes but it's owner's choice.  I did not have one problem with the stock landing gear in the ten years and 700+ hours that I flew it; don't see much reason to change it.  Or, was it broken and needed fixing?  Naaahhhh.

Bill

[Bruce Shipp]

Google "killathrill", the sponsor on the side of the plane.  Apparently it has worked better than they ever dreamed!

Here are a few other un-doctored examples:







Still pretty cool.

[dennis lipsett]

If something like this actually happened then where was the national exposure. If that vidio was real then it was worth quite a bit of money to the news networks. To have a pilot survive this in the face of recent airshow disasters would have been a guarantee for the nightly news.
Dennis

[Clint Ormosen]

I honestly can't believe that some here are actually entertaining the idea that this video is not fake. 

[Larry Cunningham]

Well, Darr. I assumed it was real, but now that I look at it, I see one
major thing that doesn't make sense - the ship loses its right wing, but
spins the wrong direction.

Not sure why the stab didn't hit first and dig in a little. Things are just a
little too smooth.

Finally, had this happened, I'm pretty sure it would have been reported,
multiple times, in the main press. And shown, again and again, in the "reality"
clip shows.

It does show what is possible nowadays, with video editing.

L.

"I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it." -Pablo Picasso

[john e. holliday]

Several people that have me on their E-Mail list have sent the video to me.  I agree a giant or quarter scale plane it it is posssible.  In the video of the so called real plane they do lose video of the plane.  The first when it goes into a slo spin and then just after the flop down.  How come they don't show the broken wing side of the real plane?  I say it's fake also.  My opinion,  good entertainment tho,  DOC Holliday

[peabody]

I have had comments from the guy that sent the link to me...here they are:
Here's a different take from another very knowledgable friend-
 
Spoke with some aviation insurance folks today and they claim it's real.  Since they
insure Lycoming and got the word from them - it was powered by a Lycoming IO-580,
at 315 hp, the largest 6 cyl engine they make.  It swings a 78" 3-bladed prop and claim
it is the best power to weight ratio for the buck.  The 580 was designed to the large,
stretched, and heavy, C-206. 
 
A high time aerobatic nut I know told me it was quite simple (he brags a lot) and the
pilot was both lucky and sharp.  He explained that the pilot rolled 90 degrees so as
to place the remaining wing in a position to act as a rudder and placing the vertical
stab in a position as a small wing while using the actual rudder as at elevator.  He
added that this would be possible when flying a really over powered engine such as
the IO-580.
 
It is plausible if you think back about 5-7 years ago when an IDF F-15 lost a wing in
a midair and managed to recover and land safely.  Couple of engineers I know claim
that with enough power, it is plausible outcome.  In fact NASA is doing testing now
with a break-away wing on a 1/4 scale F-18 prior to testing a full size F-18 and their
tests have been very promising with the model recovering and landing okay with a
wing on one side only.  They don't plan to build half-wing F-18s but rather utilize the
on-board computerized FCS to rapidly reconfigure the control surfaces on battle
damaged aircraft so the pilot can return to friendly airspace.  They are working on
this at the request (and funding) of DARPA.
 
 

[Alan Hahn]

Current money is that it is fake.

[billbyles]

Well, Darr. I assumed it was real, but now that I look at it, I see one
major thing that doesn't make sense - the ship loses its right wing, but
spins the wrong direction.

Not sure why the stab didn't hit first and dig in a little. Things are just a
little too smooth.

Finally, had this happened, I'm pretty sure it would have been reported,
multiple times, in the main press. And shown, again and again, in the "reality"
clip shows.

It does show what is possible nowadays, with video editing.

L.

"I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it." -Pablo Picasso

Hi Larry,

I have over 1,500 hours in acro airplanes from Skybolts, Pitts S1-S, S1-T, S2-A, S2B, and the Extra 300 and they are all set up with symmetrical airfoils, zero wing & stab incidence and zero-zero engine offset.  The airplane could, in a vertical downline situation, rotate either way depending upon the aileron input, if any aileron input was possible.  However, as Chris McMillin and I posted earlier in this thread, we agree with you that the thing looks fake...just too many discrepancies, notwithstanding Peabody's last post.  Even if the "pilot" had retained aileron control and been able to roll out level at the last second, the airplane set down, bounced, and only rolled about ten airplane lengths before it was able to stop.  His speed to maintain knife-edge flight would have been pretty high and the airplane would have rolled much farther on the runway than it did in the video.  This thing is bogus, although pretty well done.

[Chris McMillin]

Hi Bill, and others.

It is a publicity stunt for a clothing upstart. No real airplanes were injured in the production of this video. They have made their mark, I'm sure.

Chris...

[Elwyn Aud]

What would the  wing root structure of a full scale, high G rated aerobatic ship look like. My guess is it wouldn't look like this, especially following major structural failure.

[Richard Grogan]

What would the interior wing root structure of a full scale, high G rated aerobatic ship look like. My guess is it wouldn't look like this, especially following major structural failure.

Shoulda' used Gorrilla Glue...

[Chucky]

Unfortunately, this video has been shown to be a hoax:

http://www.reggiepaulk.com/2008/10/killathrill-generates-huge-buzz-with.html

This feat has been done on several occasions by R/C modelers.  Here's an example:

http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/1239-full.html#199066

Probably has much to do with air density relative to size and weight of the machine.