Think I saw a plane crash this morning. | GTAMotorcycle.com

Think I saw a plane crash this morning.

Riceburner

Well-known member
Anyone close to Buttonville Airport? At about 7:30am this morning saw what looked like a small red plane with wings vertica, trailing heavy smoke heading down at Buttonville at a steep angle. As I passed lots of smoke covering the ground. Berms beside 404 blocked view.
 
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It's a stunt plane. I just saw it performing various stunts, including what appeared to be a plane crashing with smoke, and then recover mid-air.
 
It's a stunt plane. I just saw it performing various stunts, including what appeared to be a plane crashing with smoke, and then recover mid-air.
crazy hooligans ;)
 
That thing must have a crazy small turning radius then. But why practice on the approach to the runway?
 
I remember as a kid they used to build and test Tornado fighters across the estuary from where I lived. One of them was painted fluorescent yellow and it used to go out for flight testing over the sea and I’d watch it from the beach occasionally. One day I was watching it as it flew by and then I lost sight of it and the engine noise just quit suddenly, it didn’t die away like it usually did. I didn’t realize it for a few days until I caught up with the local news but the thing had crashed. Pilot ejected. All ok.
 
That thing must have a crazy small turning radius then.

Turn radius is just function of speed.

E.g An aerobatic plane won't turn in a smaller radius than a "garden variety" C172 flying at the same speed

An aerobatic plane WILL "roll" a LOT faster (wing tip over wing tip), and can also execute "hard pull ups / push overs" to greater G limits than a regular non-ab plane (typically +/- 10G versus ~+3.8 / - 1)

And some "turns" aren't "really" a turn in an aerobatic plane (i.e. a "hammer head" turn)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerobatic_maneuver

But why practice on the approach to the runway?

1) Runway is a good visual reference for loops / other maneuvers

2) Over the airport is Buttonville controlled airspace (tower ATC), so safer than practicing "out in the wild" (uncontrolled airspace).

Airport probably not that busy, give the ATC guys something to watch :)
 
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