Looks like he drove the prop into the ground. Frame by frame you'll see much of the prop fly away and disintegrate into the ground.. by then his flaps and rudder aren't doing too much good... SV
Pilot error. He has a healthy dose of down elevator and once the nose started to dive he tried to correct with full up elevator.
I think you're right. Looks like he had the tail way up for some reason. Should have been much lower like these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A24fXmkSVhs
These airplanes operated from grass strips for at least 6 years during the war and I do not know of anything like this ever happening. They always had up elevator from the start of the take off roll and lifted off gradually from the strip. I think that this guy screwed up.
I presume he got out okay (with the help of the spectators). As badly pranged as the airplane looks (one wing now has too much dihedral!) it will probably be rebuilt.
Can anybody tell me if insurance would cover this? I hope it's not a stupid question...I imagine the value of a spit makes it worth rebuilding.
The airplane is Spitfire PR XIX, ex serial PS 890 originally in the RAF. Sold to the Royal Thai Air Force very soon after its entry in service in 1945. Was restored at Planes of Fame, Chino, California in 2002, registered N219AM. Sold to Christophe Jacquard in France in 2005, registered F-AZJS. Accidented this Sunday, June 11th at Villette-Longuyon, in the North-Eats of France. Pilot was Cédric Ruet, unharmed. Rgds
jeez was this his first time in the plane? Flew the prop right into the dirt. Glad he apparently got out ok.
No, it wasn't his first flight on the aeroplane, even if the accident looks quite puzzling. Capitaine Cédric Ruet is an experienced Armée de l'Air pilot, but he also has flight time on several warbirds, including the Hawker Sea Fury. He has approximatively 6.000 hours military time, including 2.000 on the "Rafale", of which he was solo display pilot in 2010 and 2011. Also 18 combat missions. Rgds
It deceptively looks like something happened under the right wheel; but, that is actually debris from the prop strike. Also, both wheels were still on the airplane after it flipped. It does appear to show he tries to pull the nose up (rear elevator position), but probably too late. Regardless, glad pilot is OK and hope they can restore the plane soon.
After looking at it bit by bit slow, it looks like he got the tail up pretty fast and the airplane responded to the drag on the right wheel and he didn't have enough airflow over the tail to counter it. He had full left rudder and full up elevator to no avail and perhaps should have pulled the power back sooner. Just an amateur's impressions.
I just looked at another video of the Spitfire incident and I have to change my earlier assessment of the cause. From the wider angle view it appears that the pilot simply got the tail up too high and the prop hit the ground first and tripped the airplane.
Your assessment in post #5 was spot on. These planes have big engines and big props ..... for going fast .... once away and with the gear retracted. Never have I seen them perform a tail high TO or landing. Its always a fly off or land from either a 3-pt or a tail low wheel attitude. The video is a graphic display of why.
Can't for the life of me figure out what this dude's rush was to get the tail up. Did it all with power. I'm pretty sure there is a warning in the Spit manual that states at what minimum airspeed full elevator effectiveness occurs. Just as with rudder authority, any early tail liftoff is frought with potential problems. A complete pooch!
prop strikes ground at 3:28 He doesn't appear to have pulled back on the stick until after the first strike. If you didn't know, by clicking on the little gear in the lower right side you can slow down the youtube video to 0.25 speed minimum. VERY lucky that nobody in the crowd (apparently) was hit by shrapnel. Watching other videos of spitfires taking off the tails do leave the ground pretty early in the roll, but never more than a couple feet until the main gear are airborne. Not this time...
There's nothing wrong with flying the tail off the ground after elevator and rudder authority are established based on airspeed. This guy flew the tail off with power over the elevator and when the prop started kissing the dirt, the nose started pulling left from the prop walking it that way. The nose yawing left likely led to the tail blocking some of the left half of the elevator, further reducing the minimal elevator effectiveness at that speed. Just a mess.
Don't these things have monster amounts of torque for their weight? I remember reading something somewhere that its pretty easy to flip up on the roof so to speak on take off if power up is not done exactly right. http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/supermarine-spitfire-134209906/ "Monster torque shoves the right wing down rapidly, very much like the P-40," Perhaps just getting on the juice to quick?
Pictures in the local press are not pretty (don't look at these if you don't like bent aeroplanes); I know that today's rebuilders are capable of miracles, but... Edition de Longwy | PHOTOS. Le Spitfire, chasseur monoplace de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, a raté son décollage à Longuyon Rgds
