Snort in the F-86 at TICO outrunning the pyro......

[P51Mstg]

For those who wonder in photo 2 those are the pyro charges going off. I think Ed Shipley knows what happens when they go off too soon.......


Mark H

Last edited by P51Mstg on Sat Mar 14, 2009 6:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

[brucev]

some days i think he pushes it just a little too far, but what do i know?

[groundbound]

WOW, now that takes b*lls of steel to pull off. Talented or nuts, take your pick, but it is impressive.

[ktst97]

WOW !!

And I had thought one of the RCAF pilots from the base at Marville, France buzzed Etain AB, France "way low" (back in 1963). Now I know that the Canuck wasn't even buzzing us

[T-6G Pilot]

I'm sorry, would the crowd have been less amazed at 50 or 100 more feet at least? I truly wish him the best and hope he always is safe but I can't help but think that someday we'll read some bad news.

[brucev]

I'm sorry, would the crowd have been less amazed at 50 or 100 more feet at least? I truly wish him the best and hope he always is safe but I can't help but think that someday we'll read some bad news.

i completely agree, not just based on this photo set but on having seen him first hand. No doubt he is one of the very best ever but...

[Dave Homewood]

Though you've taken some very impressive photos, that pilot is far too low and should be grounded for such dangerous flying. It's unnessesary and tempting fate if the aircraft encounters a downdraft or sudden power loss. It does not matter who the pilot is, who owns the aircraft, how experienced he or she might be, this is just plain stupid flying.

Don't they have any minimum height restrictions for safe low flypasts in the airshow briefing?

[kingofthezing]

Having seen Snort numerous times over the years and having known him as a good friend, I can assure that his flying is completely safe and that I would get in the cockpit with him any day.

Snort is among a handful of airshow pilots to have a Level 1 Surface card, which allows him to fly aerobatics right down to the surface. His (and almost everyone else who flies aerobatics of any kind in airshows) performances are practiced over and over and are regularly seen by ACEs (Aerobatic Competency Evaluators) in order to gain approval for that card and for the fact that the performance is above all, SAFE.

Now, about that pyro. I'm willing to bet that while it seems like Snort is close to the pyro, he may just be flying over the runway and at a safe distance away from the pyro - at least that's the way it appears in the pictures.

[lmritger]

I was fortunate enough to see Snort do a Tomcat demo at the Daytona Beach airshow back in 1997... and for a brief moment, I thought I was going to witness the death of a Tomcat and it's crew. Snort came in left to right and racked that big-a55 Tomcat over on it's right wing, and I swear to you, the wingtip of the extended wing could not have been more than 10 feet off the ground. To date, that is still the scariest thing I've seen at an airshow... yes, he absolutely knows what he's doing, but that was REALLY cutting it razor thin.

I hope to God he never has a medical issue during one of these passes. Snort, if you're reading this, I love ya man, you are one of the best in the biz, but is it REALLY necessary to get THAT low?

Lynn

[DocThrock]

Now, about that pyro. I'm willing to bet that while it seems like Snort is close to the pyro, he may just be flying over the runway and at a safe distance away from the pyro - at least that's the way it appears in the pictures.

I'd bet on that too.

Funny, he doesn't seem all THAT low to me either. Guess I'm just all about the LOW passes and hard pulls. Go Snort GO!

[kingofthezing]

Ed Shipley basically states what I said before and explains further about airshow flying in a post on ASB:

http://www.airshowbuzz.com/forums/index ... ost&p=5289

[Dave Homewood]

I've never heard of this Snort fellow before, but whether he has a piece of paper certifying him to low level displays or not, that will never prevent an accident when his luck runs out, and from these photos he is pushing his luck very thin.

The pyros have nothing to do with this issue. Dragging your wingtip along the ground might be skilful for all the times you can manage to pull it off but it is plain stupid because one variable goes wrong and you're dead. He'll only learn his lesson the hard way I guess.

[mlenoch]

Snort has been doing this type of flying for the past 35 years or so.
(not an endorsement, mind you.)
VL

[JDK]

Snort has been doing this type of flying for the past 35 years or so.
(not an endorsement, mind you.)
VL

Having just lost two highly experienced airshow aerobatic pilots in Australia this year due to 'collision with terrain', during aerobatics (in practice, rather than in front of a crowd, thank God) I have to say the (apparent) removal of any margin of error shown in the photo doesn't make me feel particularity comfortable. I can't see what would be wrong with being a bit higher (including people in the crowd being able to see more than a wingtip) and we can all see what would be wrong with being a little lower.

Ray Hanna 'won' the low flying bet by dying in his bed after a half-century plus of low flying, and may be another one of the exceptional pilots - some getting low level waivers or similar. Of course some less talented pilots might try to copy the more talented. There have been many airshow display pilots who were very good but one thing and no margin has removed them.

Ed's post lifted from ASB that Steven mentions:

As far as the flying low thing?. I have a surface card and I?m allowed to do it. However, it does not give you the right to be stupid. I have a responsibility to myself, my family, the crowd, and my fellow performers and promoters to be safe. Most of the things you see are really an optical illusion. Speed, curve of the ground, and obstacles, make things seem lower than they really are. But there is no doubt it is close? so I try to be as thoughtful and careful as I can. I am always making adjustments for safety of flight. Trust me? ALL I ever do when I fly air shows is think about not getting hurt or hurting others.

On the same note? all those people who say I?m nuts then hop into their cars and drive down the hi-way doing multiple 3 foot opposing passes with trucks driven by people they?ve never met before. I guess one man?s crazy is another mans sane.

Shipley

Lots of good sense there, and as ever in life it's about risk management - is the risk taken worth it for the benefit gained? Here, unless there's some very funny optics, it's lower than is worth it, IMHO.

I like the saying 'the superior pilot is the one who uses his superior judgement to avoid using his superior skill' - again it's the pilot (and the evaluator's) call on that, not ours.

Of course I'm not a pilot, I don't know Snort, I wasn't there, and normally I'd keep my trap shut - but I'm sick of writing obits for not-quite-as-safe-as-everyone-thought pilots. What I want for Christmas is a safe 2009.

Nice pic!

[richkolasa]

I've never heard of this Snort fellow before, but whether he has a piece of paper certifying him to low level displays or not, that will never prevent an accident when his luck runs out, and from these photos he is pushing his luck very thin.

The pyros have nothing to do with this issue. Dragging your wingtip along the ground might be skilful for all the times you can manage to pull it off but it is plain stupid because one variable goes wrong and you're dead. He'll only learn his lesson the hard way I guess.

Ever heard of Bob Hoover?



By the way, I know Dale, and his accomplishments are at the top of aviation's lists. All-time high-time Tomcat pilot, "Top Cat" many years, F-14 demo pilot for about 10 years, he was CAG during Desert Storm, and his abilities are amazing. He is also a very mellow, thoughtful, amazing person who has no "death wish". His late Dad was a test pilot on the Tomcat program. It's in his blood. There is no better.
His P-51 demo at Willow Run, Michigan in I think 2004 is legend.







I'm honored to have Dale use my photos for his screen-savers.

Rich