Blue Angels lose one

KennyFlys said:
During my time in the Navy, I did not see an out-of-shape pilot. As docile as the Viking, Hawkeye and similar aircraft are, even these guys were still in good shape. The same went for the C-9 and P-3 pilots I came across. Physical condition is a large part of a flight officer's fitness report. Enlisted got away with murder by comparison.
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Flying is both a mental and physical exercise, and I'd be willing to bet that there is a link between physical fitness and mental acuity. So for flying, I'd guess that it leads to better coordination, better reflexes, a better response to sudden unexpected stress...things of that nature.

If anybody knows of any formal studies involving this, I'd enjoy looking at them.
 
Blue Angels Coming to Brunswick
Despite the death of one of their pilots, the Blue Angels will be coming to Brunswick this summer.

A spokesman for the Brunswick Naval Air Stations says the Blue Angels will appear at the Great State of Maine Airshow on September 15th and 16th.

Officials say Kevin Davis of Pittsfield was killed when his fighter jet crashed at an air show in South Carolina Saturday.

Posted by: Molly Talevi, Producer
Last update: 04/22/2007 at 17:21:10 (5)
 
NC19143 said:
Here is some unsupported speculation, I'll wager this is the same type of accident the Thunderbirds had a few years ago, when the flight leader flew 3 of his flight into the ground by pulling out too low, the rest just blindlly followed.

It's too bad the kids folks were watching.
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Lead did not pull out too low, he had a loose bolt jam up his horizontal stab, and the other three in the formation are there to do only that...follow. If they focus on anything else but lead, they die. It was none of the pilots fault.
 
skimanjim said:
Lead did not pull out too low, he had a loose bolt jam up his horizontal stab, and the other three in the formation are there to do only that...follow. If they focus on anything else but lead, they die. It was none of the pilots fault.
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I just viewed the news video, and it was not what I first thought. he was rejoin the formation, not in trail.
 
mikea said:
It turned, out, sadly, out that the Blue Angel that crashed was Kevin "Kojack" Davis who Pat Raycraft flew with on our Blue Angels video.

RIP, "Kojack," indeed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM9t_bbkeQc
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You mean Kevin Davis? That hits home even harder...that just means that many of us have "flown along" with him as well.
 
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NC19143 said:
I just viewed the news video, and it was not what I first thought. he was rejoin the formation, not in trail.
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In viewing the video, it looks like he got his nose buried too deep trying to convert back into position from the opposite direction on the rejoin -- an incredibly difficult move to make. Based on the video, he'd be looking "up" (from about 120 degrees of bank) and 45-90 degrees off the nose at lead while pulling a boatload of g's -- easy to lose track of exactly where the ground is.
 
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It was a pretty high aspect rejoin with, as you said, a boat load of gs involved. These guys were in great shape, but no one is immune to GLOC'ing. The only reason I even suggest it is that he seems to just let off the pull at the end. :dunno:

Hopefully the AIB can shed some light on this story and put any speculation to rest.

Ron Levy said:
In viewing the video, it looks like he got his nose buried too deep trying to convert back into position from the opposite direction on the rejoin -- an incredibly difficult move to make. Based on the video, he'd be "up" (from about 120 degrees of bank) and 45-90 degrees off the nose at lead while pulling a boatload of g's -- easy to lose track of exactly where the ground is.
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Ron Levy said:
In viewing the video, it looks like he got his nose buried too deep trying to convert back into position from the opposite direction on the rejoin -- an incredibly difficult move to make. Based on the video, he'd be "up" (from about 120 degrees of bank) and 45-90 degrees off the nose at lead while pulling a boatload of g's -- easy to lose track of exactly where the ground is.
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As grim as that may be, your probably correct.

low and slow is a lot of fun, low and fast is a lot of work.
 
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