Harvard Waterski Pictures

[Dave Homewood]

Great photos, thanks for sharing them here.

Back in the 1980's there was a fantastic BBC documentary called, from memory, 'The Topdressers' about Kiwi and British pilots in a couple of African countries who did long seasons in the middle of nowhere toipdressing (or crop dusting for the US people). They were flying Pawnees or Agwagons, and they too did this - every day after the last load was dropped theu'd skim along the canals on the way home for a bit of light relief. Some AMAZING footage of them doing it in ones and twos. It was illegal even then.

I wonder if those crazy pilots were the inspiration for these crazy pilots.

[Manonthefence]

I have spent some time looking at these photographs, considering what is needed to perform such a stut and the consequences thereof.

They are amazing pictures

This is, however, probably the dumbest thing I have ever seen done with a Warbird.

Margin for error = 0
Margin for sods law = 0
What happens if ANYTHING goes wrong = you die!

But it makes for some amazing photographs.

[ThinkingManNeil]

Those are amazing photo's, but I don't think stunts like that are very clever or helpful to aviation. All it would take is for one of those guys to sneeze and they'd be a stain on the intrument panel, and a perfectly good warbird would likely be destroyed in the process.

And taking passengers along is none too bright either; I wonder if he knew they were going to do this?

Skilled, professional aerobatics is one thing; this was a dangerous stunt with less than no room for error that easily could've ended in tragedy and a blackeye for the warbird movement.

N.

[Eric Friedebach]

[Michel Lemieux]

How about....just a little wave....just even 6 inches ????

Jesus. Beautifull & horrifying at the same time.

[Robbo]

Pure stupidity.

Is this what people have to do to attract sponsors/crowds/funds these days? If so, it's gone beyond the realms of showmanship.

[Jack Cook]

From my limited knowledge of formation flying gaining from a lot of back flying with JCW and Texan Flight I know that the wingman have their complete attention focused on the leader. If he screws up they all die. Remember that Thunderbird crash a few years back? The wreckages were in perfect formation and the wingmen never knew what hit them.

[Chad Veich]

And taking passengers along is none too bright either; I wonder if he knew they were going to do this?

Only one aircraft has a passenger, and he's holding a camera so I'll bet he knew exactly what was about to happen.

[systemofadown1162]

Freaking awsome
As for the danger level every activity caries danger with; as long as they are skilled, know what they are doing and serious about it its fine by me.
And for the stupidity level apparently you guys have never seen Jackass.

[Jack Cook]

And for the stupidity level apparently you guys have never seen Jackass.

I proudly say that you are correct here!

[Eric Friedebach]

I received another batch of the same pics with the following additional information attached:

Pilots Hone Their Skills For Upcoming Airshow Season.
Photography by Frans Dely/Aviationdimension.com

Early morning anglers are treated to the spectacle of four T6 Harvard Aircraft from The Flying Lions Aerobatic Team waterskiing across the Klipdrift Dam near Johannesburg South Africa.

Lead by Scully Levin, with wingmen Arnie Meneghelli, Stewart Lithgow and Ellis Levin, this renowned airshow display team rehearse a sequence for the newly launched "Aviation Action" television program on Supersport.
Arnie Meneghelli from Academy Brushware, owner of the aircraft, had this to say, "What we did today I believe is a world first. It illustrates that South African airshow pilots are amongst the best in the world".

This unusual act, approved by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and supported by Castrol Aviation, was meticulously planned and took place under the watchfull eye of divers and paramedics that were on site.

Klipdrift Dam?

[bdk]

I know plenty of people that have done this with no ill effects. One of them had a photo of same in the local airport cafe, the photo was taken down after a student pilot tried it in a 150 with predictable results.

I also have a friend whose Uncle did the same thing in a Skyraider.

The physics make this far less dangerous than one would think. I also have a video of someone doing this in a river while going under a bridge.

All this being said, I would not do this in any airplane. I've grown too conservative in my old age.

[frankspeaks]

Remember that Thunderbird crash a few years back? The wreckages were in perfect formation and the wingmen never knew what hit them.

Sometimes, memories come back to haunt you when you least expect it.

Pete Peterson cried when he got the letter saying he had been accepted to join the thunderbirds. That was in Korea back in 78 or 79 ( cant remember exactly )
He was the best F4 driver I ever knew.
Last time I saw him was with my wife at the Mcguire airshow while he was the announcer for the team. He helped us decide to get married while still in Korea.

I will never forget that man and the sorrow I still feel over his death.

How can you justify the negative publicity, not to mention the grief and sorrow you will generate when ( not if, but when ) Murphy bites you in the butt ( and having to write that letter to someones wife trying to make her understand that she isnt the only one who lost that friend )

This kind of thing goes way beyond stupid.

[N3Njeff]

Gotta be the coolest pic. Somewhere out there I have seen a pic of a formation of stearmans doing the same thing!!! A conversation of Waterskiing a stearman came up once. A old ww2 pilot told me that its really easy. Brakes are locked and you can actually lift the tail a bit and the surface tension will hold it up.

Cub guys in alaska do the same thing for landing in the rough country, being that the speed to keep the AC on the surface is lower than stall speed so using a nature made runway by setting down on a river and skimming across onto the beach for a stop..............makes it real easy with the tundra tires. But for them its brakes off.

[srpatterson]

Those are amazing photo's, but I don't think stunts like that are very clever or helpful to aviation. All it would take is for one of those guys to sneeze and they'd be a stain on the intrument panel, and a perfectly good warbird would likely be destroyed in the process.

And taking passengers along is none too bright either; I wonder if he knew they were going to do this?

Skilled, professional aerobatics is one thing; this was a dangerous stunt with less than no room for error that easily could've ended in tragedy and a blackeye for the warbird movement.

N.

Well, not exactly correct...

This is one of those tricks that looks far worse than it actually is. It's been done many many times before, using lots of different types of aircraft (Cubs, T-6s, a Skyraider would be cool but the aircraft type really doesn't matter as long as it's convention gear). As for skill, well it's a wheel landing so I guess you have to be able to do one of those. Give yourself a decent run in, arrest your sink rate and skim her on. Once on the water you cannot push the plane in. It's just like being on concrete. There's a great stretch of the Missouri River near Kansas City that's seen this done more than a few times.

Cool that it's a 4 ship, but again not the hardest trick in the book. Basically a 4 ship section landing. Once on the water all you need is rudder and power to maintain position in the flight.

Sorry Neil, a sneeze wouldn't have guaranteed a crash, just like a sneeze during takeoff or landing is not a guaranteed crash. The risks shown here are no greater (and substantially less) than during a normal 4 ship formation flight, and MUCH less than during a 4 ship aerobatic routine.

Just wish I had thought of it first. The four ship element is SH.