OT: RUforReal

[zappaa]

What’s the Navel aviators mindset in regard to bringing back his equipment in tact?

Who makes the determination and when is the decision to abandon your plane and bail out made?

 

[RU4Real]

What’s the Navel aviators mindset in regard to bringing back his equipment in tact?

Who makes the determination and when is the decision to abandon your plane and bail out made?

When the aircraft is, in the judgment of the Pilot in Command, no longer airworthy.

Not sure what the specific USN training is on the subject, but USAF pilots are always deemed more valuable than their aircraft.

 

[zappaa]

What if the pilot is compromised but his aircraft is in tact?

I see war clips of either aircraft or pilot compromised in some fashion that ends up in a crash, why not just parachute out in that scenario

 

[RU4Real]

What if the pilot is compromised but his aircraft is in tact?

I see war clips of either aircraft or pilot compromised in some fashion that ends up in a crash, why not just parachute out in that scenario

In aircraft not equipped with ejection seats (anything prior to jet age) it's very difficult to "bail out". Anything other than straight and level flight, or at worst a very gentle descent, would be physically unmanageable.

 

[zappaa]

So a B29 crew in 1945 making an approach with no landing gear in tact, had no option to bail out

 

[RU4Real]

So a B29 crew in 1945 making an approach with no landing gear in tact, had no option to bail out

You're definitely better off landing the plane gear-up than you are jumping out of it. Gear-up landings aren't that big a deal for a reasonably skilled pilot. A JetBlue crew did it a few years ago. Parachutes - especially the old ones - can be pretty hazardous.

 

[Piscataway_rivals]

Ever wonder why kamikaze pilots wore helmets?

 

[RU4Real]

Ever wonder why kamikaze pilots wore helmets?

Radio speakers and noise reduction. They weren't crash helmets.

 

[FELONIOUSMONK]

If the guy in Seattle would have joined this thread he might still be alive.

 

[e5fdny]

So a B29 crew in 1945 making an approach with no landing gear in tact, had no option to bail out

If you’re around this week head on over to Wall Airport and ask a few questions...

https://www.collingsfoundation.org/event/wall-township-nj/

There will be a B-17, B-24, B-25 and a P-51 there to check out and get a ride on the B-17, B-24 and the P-51.

 

[RUBand]

A mechanic where I worked part time during my RU days was in the Air Force during WW II, flew in a Flying Fortress. They got hit (showed me the scares on his arm from stuff flying through the plane). Captain announced immediate bailout, parachutes on, and out. He landed in a tree.

 

[zappaa]

If you’re around this week head on over to Wall Airport and ask a few questions...

https://www.collingsfoundation.org/event/wall-township-nj/

There will be a B-17, B-24, B-25 and a P-51 there to check out and get a ride on the B-17, B-24 and the P-51.

The sound of those WW2 aircraft are incredible. Imagine the P-51, a single engine prop doing over 400 mph in 1944.
Or a P-38 twin prop doing 440 mph

 

[e5fdny]

The sound of those WW2 aircraft are incredible. Imagine the P-51, a single engine prop doing over 400 mph in 1944.
Or a P-38 twin prop doing 440 mph

You have to be there on the flight line when the B-17, B-24 and the B-25 taxi and take off together for their first flight of the day.

If you have any sense of history it will move you.