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MG Midget and Sprite General - RAF Tornado F3 Nose Landing (NMC)

Thought some might have an interest in this clip.

http://www.military.com/video/military-aircraft-operations/crash-landings/raf-tornado-f-3-nose-landing/830922922001/

Regards,

Larry C.
Larry C '69 Midget

That pilot knows his business.
Martin Washington

Very nicely done! Note how he deflected the elevators full up to unload the nose. And he even kept it on the runway.

Thanks!

-:G:-
Gryf Ketcherside

I remember a few years ago seeing a RAF Typhoon do that, it put on fire works display too! lol
Steve H K-ser

And presumably he couldn't use the wheel brakes (at least not to full effect) because of the torque reaction which would force the nose harder into the tarmac
Guy

Also a clip here on the Harrier farewell.

http://www.military.com/video/aircraft/jet-fighters/raf-harrier-jump-jet-farewell/763887734001/

L.C.
Larry C '69 Midget

Guy, they would use the wheel brakes a lot! The pilot has to use the old theory of differential braking to steer it as the nose wheel steering aint that good retracted! :)

Larry, I was at the Harrier final farewell too, my job was on the line for a while as a result!

Steve
Steve H K-ser

Tornados have thrust reverser buckets which they use for braking until they reach quite slow speeds.

I thought it was interesting that so many people turned out to watch.
Daniel Thirteen-Twelve

Early in my varied career, it was my privilege to provide technical illustrations, cartoons, and assorted artwork for AV-8A maintenance training filmstrips for the USMC, and later for AV-8B classroom projectables and handouts. In the process, I learned reams about these great airplanes and how they worked... even sat on the side of TAV-8B rear cockpit once, sketching details of various panels and switchgear.

I could also browse through the final assembly facilities at (then) McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis and see the things coming together - also see various subassemblies such as the carbon fibre wings, forward fuselage, etc.

Those were great times, and I miss them. Nothing prepares you for the sight of a Harrier slowing down and hovering. Jet aircraft just aren't supposed to do that!

-:G:-
Gryf Ketcherside

On preplanned emergency recoveries such as these, it is customary for all the aircrew to come out and watch. That way you do not get nobbled for running the Board of Inquiry. The worst that happens is that have to give evidence on what you saw.

That's the theory anyway. We all turned out in 1972 to watch a Lightning Mk2A land at Gutursloh in Germany with a main leg failure. Because we had all watched, one of us had to do the Board and I drew the short straw.

By the way, with the help of the Tornado test pilots in 1980 to 1982, I wrote the emergency handling procedures for the Tornado GR1 and ADV (as it was then). Good to see they worked.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Hey Steve

The lads here don't like your kind! (well some of them anyway LOL)so watch it!!

I like you though so lets pretend you posted under my name! LOL
Bob Turbo Midget England

Thanks for the welcome Bob! I got sent across from the MGA forum by an ex Frogeye owner.

Never driven one of these modern Midgets. Mine were the square rigger type - PA 4-seater and a TC. I am sure these later ones are fun to drive though, good power to weight ratio - but not as good as the Lightning!

Steve
Steve Gyles

You can't beat the EF Typhoon, I flew one an Mach 1.04 this morning over the North sea!

Steve
Steve H K-ser

Steve,

I can only imagine Mach 1.04 might be like. My only experience, not being a pilot, was a ride in an old T-33 (T-Bird) trainer while stationed (GFAFB) North Dakota (1969). I was lucky enough to earn the ride on a bogey flight for our squadron's F-101 Voodoo's where (375 kts) at (what seemed like) tree top level felt very fast indeed to that young airman!

At that time I worked as a weapons system specialist equipping our F-101 fighters with a training device that we loaded on the same (AIM-9) missle racks. This would deploy, but not leave the rack when fired taking a Polaroid picture of the intended "locked on" target. T-33's were deployed to run bogey flights.

Pay was deplorable, experience has lasted a life time.

Regards,

Larry C.
Larry C '69 Midget

Steve, I don't know why some people expect antagonism

I am glad to read your remarks, expertise as always welcome

So are you

(A refugee from the MGA boards huh, one of my very very favourite classic cars of all time belongs to a guy in your trade. A "so dark green it's almost black" MGA Coupe that I have had the pleasure of thrashing round a few times at a RAF Charity track day. What a beautiful car, a true pleasure to drive)

If you fancy a thrash in my Midget some day, you'd be very welcome.
Bill 1

An astounding display of skill! And here I thought that our USAF pilots were good! How many flight hours do the RAF pilots have to have before they let them climb into the cockpit of a Tornado?
Stephen Strange

Bill

Thanks for the welcome and offer. Bob and I always exchange a good deal of banter, so it's all in fun.

Stephen S. I am a bit out of touch in the number of training hours before stepping into an operational aircraft. In my days back in the 60s I did 30 hours primary flying in a Chipmunk (piston); 140 hours basic jet training (Jet Provost); 60 hours advanced training (Gnat); 60 hours weapons training (Hunter); then onto the operational Lightning for 60 hours conversion flying before arriving on my fist squadron. It then took about 6 months to be declared operation - about another 120 hours. Time-wise, from joining the RAF to becoming operational was anything up to 3 and a half years. So, in answer to your question, something in the order of 300 flying hours before getting into an operational cockpit at the conversion unit as the aircraft captain and student navigator in the back. It usually followed about 2 weeks ground school on the aircraft systems; 5 simulator sorties; a couple of sorties with an instructor pilot; and a sortie with an instructor navigator(Weapons System Officer).

I ended up with just over a thousand hours on the Lightning (air defence); just under a thousand on the Hunter (instructional); about 750 hours on the Phantom FG1 (air defence); and a similar amount on the Tornado GR1 (mud moving).

Steve

Steve
Steve Gyles

Hi Steve G.,

I may have already told you this can't remember my father was CO of the RN Hunter squadron based at Brawdy in the early 60's about 63/64 I think, they did they did the same for the FAA before the guys went on to Seavixens,Scimiters etc,etc he wrote the training manual for the Hunter for the FAA which was also adopted by the RAF at that time as the RAF had only just intoduced the hunter into the training program, i think, and you will correct me if I am wrong, in between the JP and front line fighters, at Valley I think,he remembers the RAF lost quite a few hunters in this role going into the barriers at the end of the runways due to brake problems the FAA had the same problems but had hooks and arrester wires which did less damage the aircraft


Gordon
g c pugh

Hi Steve G follow this link if you are interested you will see his name mentioned in there CDW Pugh when 759 won the Boyd trophy


http://www.fradu-hunters.co.uk/hunter7xx/759nas.html

GOrdon
g c pugh

Gordon

I am not aware of any RAF Hunters ever having hooks, that was the preserve of the Navy.

There were some Hunters at Valley to supplement the Gnat in the late 60s. At the time we were having a lot of trouble with the Gnat. My course was one of the few up to then not to lose an aircraft or suffer a fatality. The aircraft had a very narrow undercarriage and was a handful in crosswinds for us students. I ended up on the grass on one occasion following a double tyre blowout. Its flying control system was also temperamental if you suffered a hydraulic failure. Ask any ex Gnat pilot about a hydraulic failure and he will immediately say STUPRE (speed, trim, unlock, power off, raise the guard, exhaust) - not bad memory for 44 years ago! If you got that emergency drill wrong it was almost certain you would have to eject or likely crash.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Hi Steve, you are correct only Navy Hunters had hooks, he gave me a couple of rides in a T8 when I was in the ATC lol


Gordon
g c pugh

This thread was discussed between 30/03/2011 and 03/04/2011

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