Warbird Accident T-6G Texan Maneuvering Flight 

Scott, thanks so much for your evaluation of this accident. Back in 1968 my father and I rescued N7197C from Parker Cramer airport in Clarion, Pa. for a sum of $2800.O0. After an extensive annual, new fabric controls, and much more I began flight training at KDUJ in PA. with the help of ex Air America pilot Bill Andresevic bravely instructing from the back seat. With only 100 hours total time, and zero tail wheel experience, 97C was a handful. Thanks to Bills instruction, I soloed after 9 hours and flew her safely for the next 15 years, selling her in 1983 after 700 plus hours. It was sad to see that 97C had crashed with the loss of two souls. Thanks again for your perspective on this accident. Greatly appreciated! Doug Goss

Last year I had the opportunity to fly the T-6. In the front seat was an experienced instructor and display pilot. Before we departed, he gave me a throrough briefing, where he explained we would not do low-energy and high-AOA maneuvers. He also briefed the engine failure procedure after take-off, and made sure I knew the bail out procedure. It was a great flight where he went through his airshow display routine. We never excceeded 3.5 G. The T-6 may look innocent, and this pilot let it look easy, but it surely can bite.

Thanks Scott for good coverage. Having spent most of my long flying career at 200' or below flying Ag and pipeline patrol, I appreciate your admonition that altitude is the normal pilot's, "get out of jail free card." Not having that I defaulted, favored, lived, coveted, horded, airspeed. Level turns are the greatest danger during maneuvering flight so crop dusters and pipeline patrol pilots simply do not make them. One departure is fatal. We simply use that horded zoom reserve airspeed to pitch up wings level before releasing back pressure on the stick in the 1 g turn of any bank angle. If making a shallow turn, not much pitch up is needed. In the pattern, which I consider maneuvering flight, I have convinced many flight instructors that their student could get away with releasing back pressure and not flunk the flight test. If trimmed for Vy, say 75 mph, the climbing turn crosswind would reduce airspeed below 75 unless back pressure was released to allow the safety feature of dynamic neutral stability to happen. Doing what the airplane wants to do in turns, lowering its nose, will maintain target airspeed for any turn except a level turn. Yes, in very steep back to back Ag turns we safely take a bit of the nose tuck out with a bit of back pressure We pull maybe 1.2 g. In steep turns, the airplane doesn't need to return to trimmed airspeed so quickly. And before we pull up, we level the wing. We don't want graveyard spiral, load factor, or flying the down wing through a wire.

As soon as you said a 5G turn at 800 feet, I immediately thought that's crazy.

Leave yourself at least 2 ‘F’ups high😢 Thanks Scott!

Thanks Scott. Sounds very likely. My Dad trained in an N3N and SNJ during WWII, and later owned a an SNJ-5 I flew a bit. He used to drive home to me that during WWII training, he saw more young airmen and instructors die in Stall-Spin training incidents in the SNJ than he saw in combat. Often in the SNJ after loss of power on the first take-off of the day. He also said that the T6/SNJ being designed to train pilots in survival skills, ad it was not a forgiving as some fighter aircraft like the F4F, F6F and SBD.

Great Nickel Scott! I remember John Collver in “War Dog” at a Chino show. It was my first time a a youngster seeing T6/SNJ aerobatics and I could believe it back then how a trainer could pull that off. I know now, and it was a great fun show.

Thanks again, Scott. I really enjoy your videos.

I appreciate your experienced viewpoint Scott! I personally have never flown a T-6. They seem to be sweet but demanding airplane.

Many WW2 era radial powered tail draggers continue to be lost from retired airline pilots with more money than skill!

Good hearing from you. Good video as always.

My grandfather (who over-G-ed a SNJ while he was in the Navy) demanded that I finish any aerobatic maneuver at 3,000.5 feet AGL. He would say "...and that last six inches of altitude is from the parachute that you better be wearing, too...".

Always good advice TY that's my Nickle on the grass!! 👍

No telling how many times he got away with these maneuvers at that altitude in the past, but on that day, something was different and the holes in the cheese lined up. Very sad. On a happier note.....when we gonna see some flying videos of you and the bonanza?

I lived in a hanger home at KDWH near Houston for 8 years from 2001 until 2009. We had an upset recovery school on field that lost two pilots who were my friends a few years apart back then.

Thanks Scott

Thanks for the new video sir, very good 👍

Sad, I have flown a demonstration flight 15 years ago on a CAF T-6 and enjoyed it. We did do a barrell roll and some aileron rolls, but I never felt like we were pushing the G limits of anything. I probably would not have been open to it anyway as it was my first time in anything smaller than a Beech 1900 commuter aircraft.

It is my understanding that the concept of flying higher and "announcing"-for accountability among friends if nothing else-a *hard-deck* applies to everyone. As for the 4+ G-loading, airframe issues aside, most humans are just not in good enough shape to do that for the heck of it. It does not make sense. A roller-coaster may pull harder than that, but it also isn't being flown in three dimensions by an occupant.

Well said.

The other tragedy is the loss of the T6. 60 years ago us kids had a field full of them to play on which had never been flown. After WW2 the need for them evaporated so they were stored in a warehouse in wellington NZ with the wings stacked against a wall. . A guy who was experimenting with a Ag plane prototype thought they could be a source of parts .how ever, they were too long to fit into the rail wagons so the tail sections were removed...with an axe. When delivered we would go to the aerodrome and spend whole satudays playing fighter pilots even though we were too short to see out ..LOL!.

Pulling 3 g's in every turn is common in an aerobatic airplane due to light controls. Pulling more than 4 g's is unnecessary and just beating the aircraft. That's a pilot issue. Low to the ground is not a big deal if g load and AOA is strictly controlled along with airspeed. The closer to the ground the faster you fly. And please take it easy on the old war planes. I always fly very smooth aerobatics in my buddies SNJ.

There is NO reason to pull more than 4 G's on a T-6! You can do loops all day long, gain altitude and never pull more than 4 G's! Could not imagine pulling 4 or 5 G's in a turn? Also, if the ball get's out of center in those kind of turns, it'll go right over on it's back!

I'm thinking GLOC. Pulling in excess of +5 g, especially consecutively, without a g suit, or having a bad day if usually g tolerant, could get "interesting".

He was showing off to his grandson

It is a trap. What happens when a pilot does steep turns at low altitude is that they use a visual ground reference to make the turn, the airspeed goes below stall, and the plane crashes.

Well now, I got a notice on this one. Let's check it out.

You stall, you fall.

My GUESS is he added some top aileron.

Complete insanity.

Classic case : Pilot : “ Watch this! “ Me: slide back canopy and jump out .

5Gs below 1000 feet? Would a Thunderbird pilot do that even?

What would be your minimum altitude for high G maneuvers in a T-6?

GLOC???

IPad flying across cockpit? Hubris gone over? Sad....

Always get a couple mistakes high before you do anything like this.

Was pilot drunk ? OMG !

Seems irresponsible with a young Grandson doing manoeuvres like thar

He could have killed himself privately. Or not. Nauseous, weren't you? Good grief.

Suicidal flying. With his grandson.

So WB pilots are still doing stupid. It's never ending, story after story... and another old plane gone. Its time for change...big change.