Warbird Information Exchange

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed on this site are the responsibility of the poster and do not reflect the views of the management.
It is currently Fri Apr 10, 2026 3:13 pm

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Classic Wings Magazine WWII Naval Aviation Research Pacific Luftwaffe Resource Center
When Hollywood Ruled The Skies - Volumes 1 through 4 by Bruce Oriss


Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 36 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3  Next
Author Message
PostPosted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 6:16 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Fri May 12, 2006 7:28 pm
Posts: 288
Location: Out of my mind...
Bob Eastgate's Mustang VH-BOB, A68-104, made a wheels up landing today at RAAF Base Point Cook today. Both pilot, John Dorward, and passenger unhurt.
Bob has owned this aeroplane since 1970. There is a great article in the latest Flightpath magazine about Bob and his Mustang.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008 ... 208924.htm
:(


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 7:16 am 
Offline
3000+ Post Club
3000+ Post Club

Joined: Thu Dec 21, 2006 8:32 am
Posts: 4343
Location: Battle Creek, MI
Ooch..that'll ruin your day! Glad everybody's OK. I just saw this on one of the modeling forums..apparently the pilot set the plane down in the grass, so the damage isn't too bad. Supposedly, he offered his passenger the first ride once toe plane is fixed.

SN


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:58 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2004 3:22 am
Posts: 422
Location: Melbourne
Damm, that's a shame. Hope the damage isn't too bad :idea:


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Mustang Wheels Up
PostPosted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 6:13 pm 
Offline

Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2007 12:15 am
Posts: 113
Location: Australia
Ouch indeed. The Mustang has suffered the classic damage resulting from a belly landing as can be seen in the attached picture. John Dorwood did a great job of getting the aircraft down. If you go to www.heraldsun.com.au you view the video of what was a masterful belly landing

[img][img]http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z208/kgaff_2007/mustang.jpg[/img][/img]


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 6:46 pm 
Offline
1000+ Posts!
1000+ Posts!
User avatar

Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2008 5:04 am
Posts: 1179
Location: Merchantville, NJ
Looks like she should fly again- she touched down gently enough, looks like the radiator section didn't break her back, as was common during the war... If only he'd switched off a couple seconds earlier, and saved the engine from a teardown! Might have saved 3/4 of the prop, too... Of course, I'm Monday Morning Crew Chiefing here... ;)

Robbie


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 6:58 pm 
Offline
1000+ Posts!
1000+ Posts!
User avatar

Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2007 3:22 pm
Posts: 1776
Location: Seattle
Light plane? Does that mean they'd consider a 172 an Ultralight?

_________________
-Al Sauer
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spookythecat


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:50 pm 
Offline
1000+ Posts!
1000+ Posts!

Joined: Sun Dec 31, 2006 5:11 pm
Posts: 1111
Location: Outer Space
Here's the wheels up landing from Youtube. I couldn't get the Australian link to work.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=s7i_ZEedHjU


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 11:16 pm 
Offline
Been here a long time
Been here a long time

Joined: Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am
Posts: 11332
Thankfully the fire department was on hand to spray highly corrosive foam onto an aircraft that wasn't on fire...

:?


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 12:52 am 
Offline

Joined: Sun May 02, 2004 12:24 pm
Posts: 226
Location: Darwin,Australia
BDK,thats exactly what I thought too,trigger happy!!!Have seen the same thing happen where I work,you almost have to stand between them and the aircraft to prevent it,the video of the landing looked impressive,glad he cleared the edge of the tarmac though.hopefully not too long before its back in the air,cheers,Pete

_________________
Give me a Centaurus over a Merlin any day


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 6:56 am 
Offline

Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2006 5:06 pm
Posts: 48
Fear not Mustang fans, VH-BOB only had foam sprayed underneath it after its controlled arrival in the hands of John Dorward. The aircraft was soon retrieved back to its hangar area where it was given a thorough wash down.

While the aircraft has sustained damage as you would expect I am sure that Bob Eastgate, Robbie Eastgate and their team of helpers will be working to have "BOB" back in the air where it belongs as soon as possible. They have received many offers of help already.

FITD


Last edited by FITD on Sun Apr 06, 2008 12:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 8:49 am 
Offline
Co-MVP - 2006
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2005 10:39 am
Posts: 4468
Location: Midland, TX Yee-haw.
bdk wrote:
Thankfully the fire department was on hand to spray highly corrosive foam onto an aircraft that wasn't on fire...

:?


Brandon, I don't know about "Down Under," but the foam used by most of the airport fire departments I've come in contact with (Midland, Memphis, etc.), simply use soapy water. I know the B-29/B-24 Squadron has a kick-butt hand held fire extinguisher system that shoots out nothing more than a soap and water solution. I reckon if anyone's interested in more info on that, I could start another thread about it.

Anyway, that sucks about the Mustang...but nice to know nobody was hurt.

Gary


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 8:49 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2005 10:19 am
Posts: 429
Location: new York
I wonder why the choice of grass? In light plane gear ups, like a Mooney for example, they always recommend langing on pavement vs grass to minimize the damage. Obviously the landing speed is lower (this landing seemed hot to me - just my perception maybe?)and the -51 has the radiator to contend with. A lot of times the most damage comes when the recovery crew tries to rush to re-open a runway, so maybe that's why the choice was made? Just wondering from those who know if grass is SOP with gear TU.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:08 am 
Offline
3000+ Post Club
3000+ Post Club

Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2005 7:26 pm
Posts: 4974
Location: PA
The passenger seemed quite happy about the crash! :shock: :lol: :!:

_________________
Shop the Airplane Bunker At
www.warbirdbunker.com


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:55 am 
Offline
1000+ Posts!
1000+ Posts!
User avatar

Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2008 5:04 am
Posts: 1179
Location: Merchantville, NJ
skybolt2003 wrote:
I wonder why the choice of grass? In light plane gear ups, like a Mooney for example, they always recommend langing on pavement vs grass to minimize the damage. Obviously the landing speed is lower (this landing seemed hot to me - just my perception maybe?)and the -51 has the radiator to contend with. A lot of times the most damage comes when the recovery crew tries to rush to re-open a runway, so maybe that's why the choice was made? Just wondering from those who know if grass is SOP with gear TU.


Gotta remember relative landing speeds- A Mooney lands at what- 60 to 80 kts, and a Mustang stalls at a little over 100... The proper landing speed for a Mustang belly landing(IAW AAF-Man 51-127-5, Pg. 80) is 120-130mph. The same manual recommends a hard surface landing, but I imagine the grass section was sufficiently hard, as the belly did not dig in. He should have cut switches just before impact- and it appears he did. Only thing I did not notice him do was to jettison the canopy(or bombs and wing tanks...lol...) Reviewing his procedure against the manual, it was a "textbook belly landing".

Robbie


Last edited by Robbie Roberts on Sun Apr 06, 2008 12:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: I wonder why..
PostPosted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 11:34 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 3:21 pm
Posts: 962
Location: my home planet is EARTH!
he didnt lift up the floor board and pull the cable with his on board channel lock pliers?

_________________
EVERYTHING that CAN fly should be ALLOWED to FLY!
IWO JIMA'S best narative..."GOD ISN'T HERE"
http://www.amazon.com/God-Isnt-Here-Ame ... 0976154706


P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.

S: Took hammer away from midget.


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 36 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3  Next

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot], Google Adsense [Bot] and 258 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group