Two lunaticsdaredevils are going to swap aircraft in mid-air.
[Monday-morning update]
So, apparently the stunt was a half success. I couldn’t tell from the original story whether or not they’d have parachutes (though if not, that seemed totally nuts), but apparently they did, which is why the pilot survived the failed attempt.
And really, FAA? Who are you to decide what is in the public interest, and whether or not someone should be allowed to do something even if you think it isn’t? I thought this was America.
[Bumped]
Never did figure out why it was a good idea to perform a midair exit from a perfectly functional aircraft.
Pretty sure you had it right the first time, Rand
IMHO, when it comes to trading aircraft, it’s easier to get the paperwork done on the ground.
But not as exciting.
OTOH I guess some people will do almost anything to reduce the ground travel and hanger rental involved in an aircraft trade at a foreign FBO.
One of these pilots, Luke Aikins, performed another huge stunt a few years ago, jumping out of a plane at 25000 feet without a parachute. He landed in a giant net.
https://youtu.be/aPC_h9Vmlxw
My best friend works on the stunt team for the Marvel movies, and worked with Luke Aikins on both the no-parachute stunt and the upcoming plane swap. He’s had to keep his mouth shut about this for three years. I asked him about it today:
“We had to override the plane’s autopilot thing to allow it to continue to dive properly, among other things.”
How will they avoid collision?
“Set a course, straight and narrow. Planes will be at a set dive angle, already tested with a pilot onboard. They have to match the windsuit flight speed and allowable angle properly.”
I imagine that they will have to postpone this stunt until the Brandon administration’s challenge to Judge Mizelle’s ruling on mask mandates is resolved. I can just see the TSA agents guarding the entrance to each of the plummeting aircraft stopping Aikins and Farrington from entering the other’s aircraft until they are properly masked…
*Snort* Thanks for that image!
You don’t want to come in too fast and miss the door but keep going forward.
It only hurts for a little bit…
However, I believe they said the engine is off during the dive. They didn’t say if the prop was feathered. Hopefully not.
The Cessna 182 has a constant speed prop, but it doesn’t feather. This stunt wasted a perfectly good 182.
Apparently they planned well for failure. The unmanned plane came down on a parachute.
The stunt was not successful but no one was hurt.
A follow-up from UPI, apparently the FAA doesn’t care much for daredevils:
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/04/25/arizona-plane-swap-pilots-red-bull/7541650895978/
I believe I read each plane had a back-up pilot in case the stunt failed. It half-failed.
My bad. Didn’t see anyone in the planes during transfer. So maybe one crashed? This video doesn’t show it other than the blue plane was in a bad inverted flat spin. No sane pilot would have let that happen had s/he been aboard.
The planes were equipped with parachutes in case of failure.
The parachute slowed the speed of impact, but it didn’t do much to save the aircraft. I think the crazy youtuber’s plane had less damage.
So what going to happen with FAA and Starship launch, this time?
A month or so ago, there was a pilot who faked a plane crash for his YouTube channel. The FAA likely has that recent incident in mind as other people, even more responsible people, try stunts.
The personal pilot people were pissed.
This isn’t just an aviation problem. The Wyoming Highway Patrol acted like a bunch of’ jackboots even though my buddy and I were well under the speed limit on I-80 outside of Laramie when we attempted a truck swap.
You probably tried doing it without a beer in one hand and got their attention.
Trent Palmer reaction to the intentional crash here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=724JxkwWqA8
So there is this take on YouTube by AvWeb. Setting aside the typical pilot swagger in communication; I tend to agree with his general opinion. The stunt needed more planning, but overall, I think it should have been allowed. Obviously, the FAA disagreed, and that’s probably because the promoters also did a half-ass job presenting their case, as they did a half ass job of planning the stunt. Willfully ignoring the regulations is dumb, and the failure of the stunt pretty much makes the FAA’s point about not approving a waiver for not having a pilot at the controls. All in all, that they didn’t take the time to stop, rethink how to do the stunt, and get full approval will likely be detrimental to what could have been a cool experience. As the video notes, if they must have stuck with the time table, then do like Discovery and move the stunt across the border to Mexico.