VAC Avenger ditches at Cocoa Beach show 04/17/21 - pilot OK

[JohnB]

This might be a silly question...but I haven't seen it answered...
Did the pilot know there were swimmers in the area?

If not, I can't say he did anything wrong. He put it down close to shore.
Remember, whenever an aircraft flies there is a chance it will come down on someone.

As far as the warbird community "eating its own"... I sure can't disagree,
for examples a look no further than this forum.

Some people go out of their way to insult fellow members, pass judgement on things they don't know about, show off their "superior" knowledge and generally act like "informal Richards".

You'll find examples of that in nearly every thread.
No matter how egregious, there are plenty of folks here willing to ignore or even defend such behavior.
I know if a few members who once posted well received info and photos here but have left over the climate here.

Of the several aircraft and automobile forums I check on, this is by far the most I'll mannered, fractious and back-biting of the lot.

[Cvairwerks]

Have to laugh John, as stuff here is pretty tame compared to what I’ve seen on some other boards. In this case, one would have to talk to the pilot as to what he saw. A few people on some other boards remarked about shadow of the aircraft movement in relationship to the swimmers. With all the video I’ve seen, having been shot on cell phone cameras, it’s hard for me to tell the horizontal and vertical separation during the ditching. With some cleanup and known photo analysis techniques, it could be determined how close things were. I do know that cell video appears to be pretty rough when dealing with depth of field issues.

[bdk]

The FAA & NTSB are usually pretty thorough in their investigations, though I don't always agree with their conclusions.

It will all boil down to:

1. What did the pilot know?
2. When did he know it?
3. Was aircraft the maintenance appropriate?
4. Airshow safety management

[ErrolC]

Some recent photos of the airframe at Valiant.
https://travelforaircraft.wordpress.com ... t-landing/

[Fearless Tower]

The FAA & NTSB are usually pretty thorough in their investigations, though I don't always agree with their conclusions.

The NTSB USED to be pretty thorough. Today, they are an organization riding precariously on a reputation established decades ago.

I put very little faith in anything the NTSB publishes these days. And I say that having worked with the DOJ on a few transportation cases involving the NTSB. It's pretty sad when the DOJ lawyers do a more thorough investigation than the NTSB.

[Warbirdnerd]

New listing at Controller-
https://www.controller.com/listing/for- ... y-aircraft

[sandiego89]

New listing at Controller-
https://www.controller.com/listing/for- ... y-aircraft

Is the jazzy scooter included?

Curious would this normally be an insurance sell, or organization sell?

[bdk]

Curious would this normally be an insurance sell, or organization sell?

Was there hull insurance?

[marine air]

I've been thinking about this aircraft. I would like to suggest that the CAF National either buy it or se if they can find a donor to get it for their organization. There are plenty of aircraft that have gone down in saltwater to fly again. The Boeing 307 now at the Smithsonian, the F4U-5, a Grumman Duck in Miami Harbor and many, many Grumman Gooses and Widgeons. I think it would be a strategic move as over time the CAF may lose a few of their irreplaceable combat aircraft. At present they only have one Wildcat, One Bearcat, Zero, Hellcat, Dauntless and Helldiver. These simply couldn't be replaced and the cost of some of the others would make replicating cost prohibitive. There is a ton of knowledge and spare parts for the TBM and it is a crew aircraft.
It can be argued the CAF inventory is a little heavy on BE 18's , T-6's, and a few other types.

[Randy Haskin]

It can be argued the CAF inventory is a little heavy on BE 18's , T-6's, and a few other types.

With the counter being that those kinds of trainers are more likely to attract sponsors (for not only their lower experience bar to enter, but also their lower sponsorship costs).

Just as importantly, they extremely valuable/fertile training grounds for raising the next generation of pilots who will go on to fly Texas Raiders and Gunfighter and their many peers that aren't at all neophyte-pilot friendly.

That makes them just the kind of aircraft that one would want in number and in numerous places around the country.

[Taylor Stevenson]

It can be argued the CAF inventory is a little heavy on BE 18's , T-6's, and a few other types.

With the counter being that those kinds of trainers are more likely to attract sponsors (for not only their lower experience bar to enter, but also their lower sponsorship costs).

Just as importantly, they extremely valuable/fertile training grounds for raising the next generation of pilots who will go on to fly Texas Raiders and Gunfighter and their many peers that aren't at all neophyte-pilot friendly.

That makes them just the kind of aircraft that one would want in number and in numerous places around the country.

Right on, Randy.

The CAF would actually love more T-6's, PT's, L-Birds. On that note, if anyone knows of nice airworthy PT-19/23/26's for possible donation or purchase, please let me know...

With regard to the Beech 18/C-45/SNB/AT-11/etc., these are some of the CAF's highest revenue generating rides aircraft and make great support aircraft/"crew haulers" to bring volunteers to shows.

While the fighters and bombers get most of the glory, these smaller aircraft are the lifeblood of the organization, and the warbird movement as a whole.