Anyone know Brian North? I don't but a friend had met him. Was killed when his plane crashed yesterday. The article says that the plane was a reduced scale SE-5a, build by hand, no kit, other articles say that it was a Gypsy (Gipsy is proper, I think) Moth... I don't know. Was RAF with loads of medals. In his 70's. "British pilot killed in plane he built near Watkins Posted: 11/22/2012 08:28:49 AM MST November 22, 2012 7:40 PM GMTUpdated: 11/22/2012 12:40:23 PM MSTBy Kirk Mitchell The Denver Postdenverpost.com Here's another article with a pic and video of the wreckage... also says it's an SE5a, but most say Gypsy Moth. http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/pilot-of-world-war-ii-era-plane-dies-in-crash-at-front-range-airport A retired British Royal Air Force engineer was flying a replica World War I biplane he built when the plane crashed and burned near Front Range Airport in Adams County on Wednesday. Dennis Heap, executive director of the airport, identified the victim as Brian North, 72, of Parker. The plane was a replica of an RAF SE5a, only it was about two-thirds the size of the actual plane. North had been a wing commander of the Royal Air Force and was a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Heap said. "There are not that many people who go to Buckingham Palace to get a medal from the queen," said Michael Buehner-Codrey, a former RAF pilot. North was a highly skilled engineer who didn't build the plane with a kit but only with plans, Buehner-Codrey said. It took North about six years to make the parts and build the plane in Great Britain. He disassembled the plane, crated the parts, and shipped them to the United States about two years ago when he and his wife of 50 years moved to Parker to live with their daughter, her husband, and three grandchildren, Buehner-Codrey said. North finished six weeks ago and had been flying the one-seater plane for about a month. On Wednesday, Buehner-Codrey was planning on flying the plane after his friend's half-hour flight that began at 1:40 p.m., he said. North called the control tower and got clearance to perform a "touch-and-go" landing, meaning he planned to touch the wheels on the runway before taking off again, Heap said. North had made a series of right turns until he was approaching the runway for the touch, he said. But suddenly North called the control tower and in a garbled transmission requested a "full-stop" landing. The plane plummeted, crashed and burst into flames about a mile north of the runway. "He was flying in a pattern one moment and down on the ground — crashed — the next moment," Heap said. Heap said the garbled transmission could indicate electrical failure caused the crash but the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA will investigate the cause of the crash to make sure. It did not appear that weather contributed in any way to the crash, he said. Buehner-Codrey said North was primarily a family man who often volunteered his time to a group called the EAA Young Eagles, which gives youths an opportunity to learn how to fly airplanes." Here's another article with a pic and video of the crash remains. http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/pilot-of-world-war-ii-era-plane-dies-in-crash-at-front-range-airport
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFWMBT1zDlI[/ame] You may not want to see this, but it is an example of a stall. Be warned it is simply the worst thing I could ever imagine happening while performing this stunt. It also involves a Tiger Moth. Yesterday, while driving around rural SC we saw a biplane, a Stearman flying overhead and turned into the grass strip to watch it conducting "touch and goes". I thought it was a thing of beauty, and was surprised at the sink rate, as he seemed high on approached. It was apparent that these are not good gliders.
Terrible accident. I know it happened fast, but it's hard to believe at impact he was hard over...full left aileron, full left rudder. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Another classic stall-turn-spin incident. really too bad. Re the Stearman glide...or lack of it. Two big wings, 8 struts, 20 wires, welded down landing gear, and two big wheels . Like a rose bush in full flight.
OK, here's the final... It was a 2/3 replica of an SE5a, not a Gypsy Moth. Here are pics of Brian with his plane. (One article called it a Gypsy Moth in one paragraph and an SE5a in the next.) Scratch built in England, disassembled and shipped to Colorado and reassembled. http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22048637/decorated-british-pilot-killed-when-replica-plane-he#ixzz2CxxYvVv8
