Warbird Information Exchange

Just grabbed this in my feed this morning.Pilot ok.Airfield is the American Heritage Museum in Hudson MA.
https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/16l4p7e/crash_of_the_only_flying_nieuport_17_this_morning/?share_id=8wfdczUczS1jxtQfg5SFj&utm_name=ioscss

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If the CO ask,s you to be Tail End Charlie...Just Shoot Him..A Piece of Cake

It was an original restored Nieuport 28.



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He did a great job as it's sinking like a stone. I had a propellor failure in a factory new Maule M-7-235 several years ago while in the pattern and at the worst angle. We were dropping at 1800 feet per minute at best glide. I remember thinking, "We are going to roll this into a ball and will be lucky to live and it not burn. I was at the same angle and strong tailwind. The Maule landing gear can take punishment but you have to be tracking straight. This guy simply didn't have time to align the airplane, track straight before hitting. He was on grass. obviously.

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Maybe I missed something, but was there a problem with the aircraft, and if so, what kind of problem? Or was it a misjudged landing?

Moreover, there's another video on Youtube of that aircraft making a successful landing from that very same approach. This seems to require flying a curved final through a gap in a row trees (!) in order to land on that runway, with no other approaches being possible due to surrounding trees and vegetation. If this is correct, is this a sensible way to operate such a rare aircraft?

I think it was a misjudged (forced) landing due to an engine problem.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/345646

The pilot reported an engine problem on the downwind and was initially planning to put it down off field but then power came back so he continued the approach but again had a loss of power.

It looked to me like he had too much speed/descent rate in that turn, probably because he was trying to put it down in the runway while dealing with power issues.

I'm just amazed he reported no injuries as that vertical speed on impact looked pretty significant.

Hmm, Nieuport 17s (or 28s) had radios? Maybe this was too heavy?

You do know that modern hand held aircraft radios weigh about as much as a cell phone....

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Matt Gunsch, A&P, IA, Warbird maint and restorations
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Given the work put into its restoration this is very disappointing to see. I'm glad the pilot's okay and I hope repairs are possible and relatively cheap and simple.

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Zac in NZ
#avgeek, modelbuilder, photographer, writer. Callsign: "HANDBAG".
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"It's his plane, he spent the money to restore it, he can do with it what he wants. I will never understand what's hard to comprehend about this." - kalamazookid, 20/08/2013
"The more time you spend around warbirds the sooner you learn nothing, is simple." - JohnB, 24/02/22

Very little with airplanes is cheap or simple.

I was just at Old Rhinebeck a couple weeks ago and was talking to a volunteer there about the Albatros that wound up getting pranged. He said that was going to cost about $100k to fix. It looked a whole lot less damaged than this Nieuport.

Such a shame. It was a really pretty airplane.

How long is this grass strip? Is it on the sectional charts as a recognized airstrip? Just wondering if it's really necessary to make that turn and be so close to the ground?

It's counter-intuitive but back when I was learning gliders, we learned about polars. Sometimes best glide isn't the right answer when you are engine out. If he'd had a tad more energy left, he might've been able to flare a bit more.

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
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Not trying to minimize the accident, damage or cost of repairs, but the Nieuport might be easier to repair than the German ship due to design features.


A friend built a very accurate replica of a Sopwith and said it wasn't very difficult or expensive... but he had constructed a homebuilt and restored an award winning antique, so maybe it was easy for him.

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Doubtful.

The pilot survived.....probably made the statement after the accident.

Certainly a possibility.

Though I guess "expensive" is relative, especially when considering materials and skill set needed!