Went to the Flying Legends Airshow at Duxford yesterday and can honestly say i've never been to one like it before. Over the years, first as a child with my dad and now as a father myself, i have been to quite a few airshows and at every single one i've said wow that was close as pilots display their aircraft just feet apart. Yesterdays was the first where i said "Whoa ****, that was close!!" and things got worse from then on.
They display at Duxford by using multiple aircraft mostly in two groups using two display lines one in front of the other. This means you can have multiple aircraft flying in apposing directions which makes for some very cool displays. In order to get this many planes up, while some aircraft are displaying you will have the next group take off and then the previous group land.
This is one of the best videos on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6c3v9iihgw) showing all of this, you'll see what i mean about half way through.
So, the first incident yesterday. Four Spitfires were coming into land line astern about 10 seconds apart when a Skyraider came in for a low pass .(This was one of three displaying at the time. A Skyraider is a very large single crew single engine fighter bomber used mostly for bombing and close air support. It was used in conflicts such as Korea and Vietnam and if you've ever seen a Nam film where the grunts on the ground call for close air support and you see a plane with a propeller, it's probably one of these.) Don't know if he got his timing wrong or just started his pass to far up field or to low but **** it was close. He came in from above and right of the Spits and i guess the tower must have shouted coz he suddenly pulled up very hard and climbed away. He then took up a holding pattern away from the display area and then landed with the other two without taking any further part in the show.
Second incident. A replica Fokker Dr1 did an incredible display, you just wouldn't believe how tight it could turn and loop. However, on landing it clipped a wing on the ground and flipped up onto its nose. Very low speed so pilot was fine.
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Third incident. At the end of their shows they try to get as many aircraft in the air as they can for a flypast. I think they had about 27 up yesterday. They make several passes first as one large group with multiple formations of 3 or 4 aircraft. They then split into two groups and one will make another pass, then go around again but split out into the individual 3 or 4 ship formations (about 10 seconds apart) and the do another fly past but this time split towards the end of the fly past so they can separate out ready for landing. It was at this point when one of the final formations had a big problem. The lead aircraft a P51 Mustang pulled up and turned to the left, a second or two later the Skyraider who was on the left of the formation pulled up and turned left but didn’t see that the P51 hadn't turned very tight at all and they collided.
The P51 didn't seem to lose much control but the Skyraider which had lost a substantial part of it starboard wing seem to tumble and then go into a dive before the pilot managed to regain control about 300 to 400 feet above the ground. Just as he was pulling out of the dive the P51 went into one at quite high speed and crashed into a field behind some trees. The pilot managed to bail out and his shoot opened close to the ground but walked away reportedly uninjured. In the second video you can just make out the shoot opening at about 35 seconds in (http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Royston/Video-Dramatic-moment-planes-collided-at-Duxford-show-11072011.htm). The Skyraider pilot managed to land safely. A very scary incident.
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Yikes..
TBH I never have liked airshows for this very reason. Old planes showing off = things that go wrong. All you have to do is google it and you'll find loads of crashes etc. at airshows. In fact the only reason I consider the Bournemouth airshow is that they fly over the water and not the crowd.