Draco crash on takeoff 16 Sept 2019

Looks like a pretty good crosswind. Hope everyone is ok.
 
Better day to just stay on the ground. Holey yikes, that was a crosswind!
 
Damn. Draco is a beast. Seems like they should be OK. Time to get "back to work"!!
 
Looks like there might have been a gust in an already strong crosswind. There’s a little rope closer to camera guy on ground that almost makes it look like the gust was more of a tailwind.
 
If you look close at the left aileron it appears it had full upward deflection which would have been the correct input.
 
In one of those ironic twists, this is from 9/11:
"Loss of DRACO. Sad week and loss for Draco, myself and friends. No, Draco has not crashed or been damaged but it feels a bit like it. I’m heartbroken to report that DRACO airshow performances and racing is over. I have attached a short compilation of DRACO performances and trips from Florida to Alaska and everywhere in between.

What happened? Sadly in an effort to cross off a bucket list item and race Draco at Reno, I inadvertently lost insurance coverage for all show performances. I am not upset with the insurance companies, we should all be grateful for every company who supports aviation. My provider and underwriter did everything possible to work past this and I am forever grateful to them for the attempt and efforts to get me insured, but after working on this for over a month, time has run out and I just can’t bring myself to pay $45,000/year to do a couple events."

This from Mike today:
 
At about 2:00 he says "...If I, heaven forbid, ground loop my aircraft..." I think the Gods were angry
 
Kenny Phillips said:
In one of those ironic twists, this is from 9/11:
"Loss of DRACO. Sad week and loss for Draco, myself and friends. No, Draco has not crashed or been damaged but it feels a bit like it. I’m heartbroken to report that DRACO airshow performances and racing is over. I have attached a short compilation of DRACO performances and trips from Florida to Alaska and everywhere in between.

What happened? Sadly in an effort to cross off a bucket list item and race Draco at Reno, I inadvertently lost insurance coverage for all show performances. I am not upset with the insurance companies, we should all be grateful for every company who supports aviation. My provider and underwriter did everything possible to work past this and I am forever grateful to them for the attempt and efforts to get me insured, but after working on this for over a month, time has run out and I just can’t bring myself to pay $45,000/year to do a couple events."

This from Mike today:
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Cue the conspiracy theories that he crashed on purpose to put it to the insurance company.
 
Salty said:
Cue the conspiracy theories that he crashed on purpose to put it to the insurance company.
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Funny you say that, because that was the very first idea that came to mind.
 
Standup guy but yes had he not been showing off he probably would have been fine which I’m sure he fully admits.
 
mr_happyland said:
I didn’t see any “ hot dogging” just gusty winds
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I don't see anyone saying he was hot dogging. I don't guess most of you have flown a highly modified high lift wing with slats and such? Crosswinds are a problem. Operating across or diagonally on the runway is common practice. Clearly he was bucking a crosswind from the beginning of the clip but when he added flaps is when he lost control. There's a lesson in that.
 
The mighty Draco crashed today. Glad pilot is ok...

 
mr_happyland said:
I didn’t see any “ hot dogging” just gusty winds
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you don't pitch up like that bro....cept when you're hot dogg'n. lower the nose....or lower angle of attack....and or raise flaps....and takeoff into the wind. Basic stuff.
 
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Looks like everyone is OK. Mike seems pretty beat up about it. I can't imagine seeing years and years of labor and planning going down the drain so quickly.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
If you watch the video to which I linked, he says it was his fault. I saw no "showing off". He was just leaving for home.
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I did watch the video and yes given the winds he pulled it off way sooner than he should have showing off. Nothing wrong with rolling in the mains until you get enough airspeed going over the ailerons to maintain level flight. Still falls in the pilot error bucket he admits to. Lots of pressure put on you as a YouTube star and airshow pilot to constantly put on a show.
 
Collin Kaufman said:

Looks like everyone is OK. Mike seems pretty beat up about it. I can't imagine seeing years and years of labor and planning going down the drain so quickly.
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One interesting note: for Mike Patey, a huge project such as Draco takes months, not years. Most of the design/construction is on his YT channel.
 
Grum.Man said:
I did watch the video and yes given the winds he pulled it off way sooner than he should have showing off. Nothing wrong with rolling in the mains until you get enough airspeed going over the ailerons to maintain level flight.
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Hard for me to tell when he pulled it off vs. when the winds actually took over.
 
Haha. You don’t read the thread for 5 minutes and that happens lol

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Stewartb said:
He could have (should have) taken off across the runway.
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"This runway is short, but it sure is wide."

It might be just the camera angle, but it almost looks like the upwind wing is sitting higher than the downwind wing even before the takeoff roll. Is the engine torque on that airplane strong enough to do that?
 
Kenny Phillips said:
The wonky Wilga gear setup sure didn't help.
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If you watched his build videos, you will know that the one thing he has never liked is the landing gear. He has always hated it and completely redesigned the shocks into a dual setup to try to help with all the wobble on takeoff. He usually hold the brakes and bottoms out the gear to try and keep the plane from leaning over and catching a crosswind under the upwind wing.

That's exactly what happened here and he almost predicted it. He's probably angry at himself for letting it go this long before re-engineering it again.
He'll have plenty of time to get it right when he rebuilds it into Draco2!
 
Matthew said:
"This runway is short, but it sure is wide."

It might be just the camera angle, but it almost looks like the upwind wing is sitting higher than the downwind wing even before the takeoff roll. Is the engine torque on that airplane strong enough to do that?
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Looks to me like the whole airplane is leaning! He is a class act and takes full responsibility. I am sure that won't stop the peanut gallery here.
 
Salty said:
Cue the conspiracy theories that he crashed on purpose to put it to the insurance company.
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Don't know but I am sure we, err, the insurance will pay for a brand new plane for him. No sympathy other than no one got hurt. Probably has sponsors to pay for it also.
 
Crazy to see, this dude spends a lot of time, money and effort on his builds. Glad he's not hurt.
 
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