Warbird Information Exchange

Are there replacement wooden wings available?

Not that I am aware of. There was a company in Romania building new Yak-11s a few years back for a Swiss Company, but not sure if they are still going.
Might be a moot point anyway, would assume the fuse is also twisted, so maybe a parts only air frame now.

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Everything on that airframe will be shocked and twisted.

Overhauled engine, new prop, new wing, rebuilt fuselage. Some pieces on the non-impact side of the airplane will be reusable, with inspection.

Good source of parts.


Mind you, whomever parked that machinery on a grass landing surface might be looking for new parts once the pilot is out of the hospital...

I have never heard the term 'Bingle' before.

Could someone please enlighten me as to what it means, its origin, etc?

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The wire was to to held between the two cherry-pickers, with the bush planes landing between them (assuming that the Friday practice reflected the final plan). They were not (yet) in this configuration at the time of the incident, the arms were folded into a collapsed configuration. I had the impression that the two cherry-pickers were quite close together (not in their position for the precision landing event) but they were basically in line in respect to me so I couldn't really say.

While the grass had been (and was afterwards) used by everything from Tiger Moths to the Mk.IX Spitfire, I can't remember it being used earlier that day (my memory may of course be incomplete) - the incident was at 10:04, shortly after show start. The two Yaks had certainly used the seal for takeoff.

Show programme at https://www.warbirdsoverwanaka.com/2018 ... programme/

So were they supposed to be parallel to the grass strip with the planes landing off to the side of them or were the planes supposed to be flying over or under the wire? Your description is not clear. Still, to put those *ON* or even near the grass strip when not in use doesn't make sense being that if it's a valid landing area, you should keep it clear during the performances in case of an issue.

Australian slang word for a accident or minor collision , we even have a insurance company called "Bingle"

I'm not clear on the relative position of the cherry-pickers (either when set up, or pre-event) and the marked grass strip. I also don't want to give my impressions from ground level on the crowd line. The bush planes were landing under the wire (during practice). The wire wasn't set up at the time of the crash, and I'm sure that it was never the intention for any aircraft other than the bush planes (during their event) to pass under the wire.

Wow, okay. That makes it even more problematic to me.

I'm not normally one of those "safety police" types, but there's a reason that here in the US the guys who do "ribbon cutting" stunts have to use thin plastic, wood, or bamboo poles and lightweight rope to hold them up and string a plastic or paper ribbon between them - the setup will always break before damage is done to the airplane. Using a pair of man lifts to hold up a wire (frangible or not) and creating a major restriction to the available landing area (horizontally) is a major no-no when it comes to safety planning, and I find it amazing that any insurance company or regulatory agency would okay that in the first place.

Unfortunately, I suspect this will be the end to Wanaka's airshows for a while. Unless they can provide a convincing action plan that shows approvals from multiple levels that contingencies were accounted for and this was caused by someone not following the plan (with where the lifts were placed) with insufficient time to recognize the error and correct it prior to the incident, there will be heads rolling at all levels involved and a major re-think of how airshows are approved and conducted within New Zealand.

Seems like there should be an airboss to clear aircraft for landing and ensure safety is maintained? A second set of eyes would have helped immensely had the pilot been advised or reminded of this hazard.

Photos of Fridays practice of the 'Sport Aircraft Display'. Mainly from ground level, which doesn't help with perspective.
www.flickr.com/photos/errolgc/sets/7215 ... 304715881/

Here is an example of simultaneous use of the seal and grass - I think the Tiger Month in the background is the left-most of a vic of three taking off to position for the Classic Aircraft Flypast.

Dominie ZK-AKY and Tigers by Errol Cavit, on Flickr

And this multi-camera edit from the Tiger Moths gives some context too.
https://youtu.be/Ue-Dny8yufg

I'm afraid the pictures don't help the cause any. To me, it seems like a needless obstacle that really doesn't add anything to the competition but does add a safety issue and goes back to my original concern - how did this get past the Insurance and Regulatory inspectors?

They obviously didn't have you there to supervise. LOL !!

C2j

Looking at the vid a few times, from that angle it looks like the plane ran into the parked cherry picker?? Is it possible the pilot did not see it sitting there? Maybe a blind spot?

I must say I'm mildly surprised that I haven't heard of an action by the Occupational Health and Safety agency, but the pilot/owner is suing all vaguely plausible targets for the cost of repairs.
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/wanaka/wa ... organisers