B-17 and P-63 lost at Dallas CAF show

I had the good fortune to sit in a P-39 for a short time and the view forward out of that airplane is very limited from what I recall was the gun sight. The windshield is small and surrounded by heavy frames. Above is the same, heavy frames forward and above. The sides are no different and made worse by the heavy door frame on the left bordered by heavy canopy frames around it. The cockpit was claustrophobic and cluttered and I would not have looked forward to engage in a dogfight with the airplane. When the Russians got their P-63's they used them for infantry support because it was better for ground attack than aerial combat. It was a heavy airplane, if I recall something close to 7000 lbs. I can't believe that I'm referring to something 78 years ago but I can still remember the smell of 135 and zinc chromate.

 

Bob- A lot of Russian aces loved the P-39/P-63, but most of their engagements were at low altitude where the Allison worked well.

 

VFR, cleared to over take an aircraft, yet never sees the aircraft, runs into said aircraft. Blame it on the airplane.

 

I found that out, Taz. Thanks

 

My airplane was destroyed and three people were fatally injured when the guy flying my airplane climbed into a large formation ahead and under the nose of a larger biplane. The biplane pilot never saw him and the guy flying my airplane (a high wing monoplane) didn't see the biplane. The weather was severe clear VFR. In the following law suit , the judge ruled contributory negligence, both were wrong. Every airplane ever built has a blind spot or two that is a contributing factor in safely flying them. Any pilot ,regardless of the number of hours or impeccable and vast mental skills, can be trapped by the built-in Gremlins.

 

Any aircraft visibility shortcomings don't matter if the conflicting flight paths are at different altitudes.
>>> sorry to beat a dead horse, buuut ..... I like some of the quotes in this article.

NTSB: No altitude advice before Dallas deadly air show crash
https://www.fox4news.com/news/ntsb-no-altitude-advice-before-dallas-deadly-air-show-crash

"..... group of historic fighter planes was told to fly ahead of a formation of bombers without any prior plan for coordinating altitude."

"there were no altitude deconfliction briefed before the flight or while the airplanes were in the air."

".... they had an intersecting flight paths, and there was no provision made to say we will not be at the same altitude,"

"The main thing is to maintain separation and to know where all aircraft of the formation are," he said.
"And if you don’t know where they are, then we have to have a deconfliction plan saying, ‘I’m going to 5,000 feet. I know they’re at 2,000, and we’ll sort this out.’
But this was a deconfliction plan that the NTSB said was never made before or during the show."

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I mentioned this very thing in a previous post. These airplanes were on two eccentric arcs at the same altitude, the P-63 on the inside of the two with a bank angle and nose heading that hid the B-17 and allowed him to eventually to collide with it where the two arcs intersected. I may be all wet but after viewing all of the videos this is my impression. I'm no expert, just an interested old pilot. The NTSB will release its findings some day but they have already stated , there was no altitude assignment to separate the fighters and bombers. A sad chain of events from which we should learn..

 

Interesting...go to 11:38

 

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at 16:00 ...... OUCH!!! ...... tell us what you really think of the air boss.

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Perhaps this makes sense to someone.

 

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In that recording it was said there was a single mission with a thousand bombers of which over 400 didn’t make it back .
Wow .

 

Surprising that apparently none of the pilots listening to the clearly dangerous instructions (fighters instructed to cross the bombers' path, on the inside of the turn, at same altitude) said f this I'm pulling out.

 

Or at least said out loud "Hey, wait a minute". Like they say, safety is everyone's business. The life you save may be your own.

 

They really strain to take-off without the superchargers, even at light weight.

 

I believe they don’t run superchargers to reduce engine wear. It’s my understanding that they don’t fly at a very high altitude for xc either.

 

Yup, It is a maintenance issue. They not only stress everything on the powerplant, but they are also high maintenance themselves.