Forum: Civil and General Aviation

A stunt plane act goes seriously wrong but pilot seems to make an incredible (impossible?) recovery.

http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=XRCbkBfdBrQ

Real or fake?

Whatever it is, it is very well done, either from the pilot or from the video editor.

F-16.net Sponsor

I've seen this recently as well- hard to say if it is real or not. However, a lot of aerobatic planes have such powerful engines that they can actually fly like a helicopter while pointed straight up! So- if it is the real deal, that is one EXTREMELY LUCKY pilot!!! Crazy Pilot

Call me a skeptic, But I'm finding that hard to buy. Thats not to say I don't believe in miracles, but...

Elite 1K Joined: May 26, 2005 - 08:39 PM Posts: 1496

The landing bounce looks preeeeeeety fake to me, but its hard to say because the camera conveniently goes out of focus and wobbles right at that instant. The way it bounces seems like there's not enough mass. Maybe they intercut the real plane with an R/C model that lost a wing?

I think the video is fake. I also think that it would be possible to recover from the wing falling off. Anyone remember the incident with an F-15 where it had a midair and was safely on the ground before the pilot noticed a wing was missing?

Forum Veteran Joined: Dec 15, 2006 - 12:28 AM Posts: 760

Come on guys, it’s a good fake and that sometimes it is hard to tell but it is fake. However to aviation professionals and aficionados I would think that the landing would be a dead giveaway that it’s a fake. Do you think an aircraft with one wing could correct itself against the laws of physics and do it so crisply just before landing. Don’t you think the landing gear or fuselage would have been damaged by such a hard landing?

The closer you look at it particularly if you compare frames from earlier in the video to frames near the end of the video there are clearly two different aircraft involved. It looks like there might be a model involved and some very good perhaps professional video editing.

The more you analyze it the more it should be obvious that it is a fake, though I understand at first glance that some might be fooled.

DEBUNKED: The Best Air Race Pilot Ever!!!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=J72y_qFV2oc

Notice after landing how the wheel pants are white on the starboard side but yet when the aircraft turns the wheel pants appear black on the other side. The wheel pants look dark/black on the fly by; but yet at a very similar angle on the ground it appears to be white, then miraculously is black on the other side? I’ve never noticed any wheel pants that are different colors on each side. Quite strange indeed

THE BEST AIR RACE PILOT EVER DEBUNKED
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=LrTCBiB0bOI

This one looks real. Wink

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsNIhBlyepc

Forum Veteran Joined: Dec 15, 2006 - 12:28 AM Posts: 760

ATC wrote:

Anyone remember the incident with an F-15 where it had a midair and was safely on the ground before the pilot noticed a wing was missing?

Yes however that is a much different matter. The F-15 still had a little bit of wing left, and the body of the aircraft itself had a flat bottom and essentially was a lifting body. So there are still was some lift coming from both sides of the aircraft. Whereas in this fraudulent video, the entire wing is gone, and the bottom of the aircraft is round and not a lifting body. Therefore virtually all the lift on the aerobatic airplane would be coming from one side so it would be virtually impossible to right itself without thrusting itself downward ( losing significant altitude and being very awkward) and it would be impossible to sustain.

The F-15 was able to land because even though the symmetry of lift was thrown off side to side there still was lift coming from both sides. In order to compensate for the unequal lift, the pilot had to land the F-15 at an unusually high rate of speed. If I remember correctly he used up almost the entire runway and possibly broke an arrester or hook or cable.

F-15 No Wing And A Prayer (Clipped Wing) (No Wing)
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=I7PBHawwpeM

The flat bottom of an F-15 is not that significant to the argument. I totally agree about the video being a fake. However, when you consider seeing a Pitts or Extra fly knife-edge passes at an airshow - you see that the plane will fly without lift from the wings.

Forum Veteran Joined: Dec 15, 2006 - 12:28 AM Posts: 760

ATC wrote:

The flat bottom of an F-15 is not that significant to the argument. I totally agree about the video being a fake. However, when you consider seeing a Pitts or Extra fly knife-edge passes at an airshow - you see that the plane will fly without lift from the wings.

I disagree. Look at the angle of attack of the pits or extra that’s doing a knife edge.

If you don’t believe me perhaps you should search the Internet videos for some RC aircraft doing knife edges. I suggest comparing the knife edges of models that are built with rounded bodies versus aircraft models that are built as “profiles” ( flat sided/body fuselage). I think you’ll find that the angle of attack of a knife edge of a “profile” (flat sided/body fuselage) is much less than of a rounded body aircraft under similar conditions (loading & speeds).

With the profile model is easier to knife edge in the knife edges look a lot better. Also you can do a considerably slower knife edge with a profile aircraft compared to a rounded body.

3D Profile Flying
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=lj5l2gm2v0A

The thing that bugged me the most about it was the fact of the wing coming off like that. Aerobatic planes are majorly solid and able to take some serious Gs, yet the plane didn't seem to be doing anything that radical when the wing came off. Now a model that someone already messed up a few times or landed pretty rough regularly would easily lose a wing like that.

I will be amazed if Snopes or some other reliable source said it was real!

ATC wrote:

Anyone remember the incident with an F-15 where it had a midair and was safely on the ground before the pilot noticed a wing was missing?

Yes, see http://www.f-16.net/varia_article8.html

Fake.

Fake - something wrong with a/c texture and sun glare at the end...

Cylon

Been debunked on several sites. Basically an online e-commercial for the company that appears on the side of the plane. If ya slow the clip down at the end just as it goes outta frame slightly (right before it makes the left turn), you can see a dissolve as it transitions from the RC to the real plane.

Notice how you never see the right wing root in the end of the video when the pilot is getting out of the airplane? You gotta admit that it's a clever fake and very well-done.

Another thought: there were no trailing control cables, or any fuel leaking, or paint rips, or any other fairings flapping in the breeze in this video. And--the airplane is sitting perfectly wings-level at the end. Wouldn't it want to list to port?

I went through the NTSB accident database looking for Extra crashes and none matched this video. I'm assuming that the airplane is an Extra. It's certainly not a Pitts.

Forum: Civil and General Aviation

Best recovery ever - Real or fake? [Video]