bdk wrote:
Fire prevention, extinguishing and containment is somewhat of a black art in the aerospace industry. To certify an aircraft for these things requires a significant amount of engineering and testing. Considering the 1982 timeframe the aircraft was built I think it was up to the level of expectations for the time. How many other unlimited racers have had as significant a fire before or since?
Dago Red and the Pond Racer both also had in-flight fires. In the Pond Racer incident, the pilot had significant smoke inhalation which may have impaired his ability to land the aircraft safely.
It is very easy to second guess all this after the fact. I sure wouldn't want to be the person in the cockpit to make the decision and have a bunch of guys that weren't there telling me what I should have done 15 years later. The bottom line with the Corsair is that the safety pilot told him to get out more than once. There's no time to argue in a situation like that.
And as you know Brandon, the safety pilot was the owner of the airplane. Before oil fires go out on their own, they typically ignite another part of the airframe or the intense heat they generate compromises integral parts of the structure causing mass failures. The scary part in the Corsair is, you have that big fuel tank between the pilot and the object on fire. To the nay-sayers I say, thanks but no thanks, Steve Hinton made the right call in protecting his friends (Kevin Eldridge) life.
John