That Bearcat oops Part Deux!

Jack Cook · **Posted:** Tue Feb 15, 2011 12:47 am

I could tell you but then you'd know and were's the fun in that :shock:

Xrayist · **Joined:** Wed Jun 08, 2005 12:51 am **Posts:** 327

Starting early this year...usually all the cloak and dagger and the "neener, neener, neener, I know something you don't" crowd isn't seen out of hibernation until closer to Reno.
Yes, I realize that people have a right to privacy, but then shouldn't everyone keep their mouths, and keyboards shut, until the owner, or involved parties make the decision to talk about it, or post it THEMSELVES?

rwdfresno · **Posted:** Tue Feb 15, 2011 1:03 am

Yeah, Brandon, ditto on that. Anyway, the whole incident seems absurd, and none of the obfuscation seems necessary. I'm sure a good number of us know the truth at this point as I've heard the story now validated by 4 independent sources. Several years ago an incident was posted about another Wixer involving a T-6 and a power line, and I think that individuals approach was a lot more respectable in my opinion. People care about these warbirds and the people involved with them and to turn their concerns into a big joke seems a little petty to me. Many of us have been involved with various aircraft and individuals over time and the people and aircraft are like family. You one of them get banged up and you want to know what happened. Sure, I get it, it is a privately owned aircraft (actually more than one involved in this case), and maybe it is nobodies business. The fact remains when it comes to incidents like this it all goes on the public record so why not just be upfront about it, or say nothing at all. Why turn it into an experiment in sociology.

astixjr · **Posted:** Tue Feb 15, 2011 1:46 am

Nobody got hurt. The plane is not a pile melted Aluminum on the runway. All things considered, it might just turn out to be an expensive taxi incident. Maybe the image is a Photoshop job and the FAA/NTSB info is a WikiLeaks hack. I like the "staged" idea. That's a good one, I'll have to remember that.

The thread did bring back a hazy memory from my childhood. My father's Tora Kate replica shared a hangar for a while with John Gury's Bearcat at Arrowhead Airport back in the mid 70s. I remember a bunch of pilots standing around the Bearcat's prop one day, after it had been pulled off the F8F due to a "prop curl" issue. There was much hand wringing and lamentation going on. John Gury walked over and said something to the effect of "This is going to cost a fortune, probably $500.00 per blade and I need four of them"

. The event quickly turned into a wake where much beer was consumed :drinkers:

and many cigarettes were smoked. Poor John, he was forced to fly his Orange and Black Bearcat until the Navy Blue one was fixed.

What would a fresh set of blades for a Bearcat cost these days? Anyone?

warbird1 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 21, 2007 6:25 pm **Posts:** 2760

rwdfresno wrote:

Yeah, Brandon, ditto on that. Anyway, the whole incident seems absurd, and none of the obfuscation seems necessary. I'm sure a good number of us know the truth at this point as I've heard the story now validated by 4 independent sources. Several years ago an incident was posted about another Wixer involving a T-6 and a power line, and I think that individuals approach was a lot more respectable in my opinion. People care about these warbirds and the people involved with them and to turn their concerns into a big joke seems a little petty to me. Many of us have been involved with various aircraft and individuals over time and the people and aircraft are like family. You one of them get banged up and you want to know what happened. Sure, I get it, it is a privately owned aircraft (actually more than one involved in this case), and maybe it is nobodies business. The fact remains when it comes to incidents like this it all goes on the public record so why not just be upfront about it, or say nothing at all. Why turn it into an experiment in sociology.

I agree 100%. That's exactly what I was trying to convey in the other thread. Thank you.

Nathan · **Posted:** Tue Feb 15, 2011 6:20 am

rwdfresno wrote:

Yeah, Brandon, ditto on that. Anyway, the whole incident seems absurd, and none of the obfuscation seems necessary. I'm sure a good number of us know the truth at this point as I've heard the story now validated by 4 independent sources. Several years ago an incident was posted about another Wixer involving a T-6 and a power line, and I think that individuals approach was a lot more respectable in my opinion. People care about these warbirds and the people involved with them and to turn their concerns into a big joke seems a little petty to me. Many of us have been involved with various aircraft and individuals over time and the people and aircraft are like family. You one of them get banged up and you want to know what happened. Sure, I get it, it is a privately owned aircraft (actually more than one involved in this case), and maybe it is nobodies business. The fact remains when it comes to incidents like this it all goes on the public record so why not just be upfront about it, or say nothing at all. Why turn it into an experiment in sociology.

I agree. But, all I wanted to know was if it was a movie stunt or real. I think thats what most people wanted to know in that thread. Not directly details if it was a real crash. As it was very confusing with contradicting stories. No one could give a clear answer if it was real or not. Then people(like me) started joking about it and the thread got out of hand.

Fouga23 · **Posted:** Tue Feb 15, 2011 8:26 am

I also heard what really happened. It was piloted by Angelina Jolie, who got probed by an alien, causing her to lock up the brakes, causing the nose dive, causing the alien to hit the prop and turn into a nice pita sandwich.

Fouga23 · **Posted:** Tue Feb 15, 2011 8:28 am

Quote:

I agree. But, all I wanted to know was if it was a movie stunt or real.

Given that apparently the FAA issued an incident report, I think the latter :wink:

rwdfresno · **Posted:** Tue Feb 15, 2011 10:05 am

rwdfresno wrote:

People care about these warbirds and the people involved with them and to turn their concerns into a big joke seems a little petty to me.

Oh just to add clarity to my statement, this is no way being critical of Jacks illustrating the absurdity of the situation by making jokes about the situation. It is more about the folks directly involved turning the incident into an episode of Punked.

Jack Cook · **Posted:** Tue Feb 15, 2011 10:17 am

Correct Ryan I wasn't making light of the situation just some folks and their secret society :shock:

That being said, I would suggest the next time they try some filming that they use a "less" powerful
wind making machine :idea:

the330thbg · **Joined:** Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:06 pm **Posts:** 2713

rwdfresno wrote:

It is more about the folks directly involved turning the incident into an episode of Punked.

100%. That was my (our) biggest beef. Once we found out no one was hurt and the aircraft was only slightly damaged.., we just wanted to know what went wrong.

From a safety and lessons learned aspect it seemed like a fairly rational 'next step'. :rolleyes:

Then this bozo 'punks' us and then gets upset when we turn on him.., DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! :shock:

rwdfresno · **Posted:** Tue Feb 15, 2011 11:31 am

...and "no comment" would have been a reasonable response. Nobody owes anyone here an explanation.

the330thbg · **Joined:** Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:06 pm **Posts:** 2713

Correct, mate!

Nathan · **Posted:** Tue Feb 15, 2011 11:55 am

deleted

Bill Greenwood · **Posted:** Tue Feb 15, 2011 1:30 pm

Would someone please explain to me what this post refers to and what happened to whomever? Someone refers to photos, but I don't see any.
I was away for a week or so, maybe I missed something, but don't know about this.
It sounds like there was a taxi prop strike?
I do know that the Bearcat has a very big prop and not a lot of ground clearance, so you would have to be mindful of that when taxing and landing. I know they sit very nose up on the ground and Howard always makes a full 3 point landing in his. I never saw him make a bad landing in it.

And a prop strike would be an incident, I think, if that and certainly not an accident.

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That Bearcat oops Part Deux!

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