Female Pilot Taxis a Stearman into R44

[Peter-RB]

The papers today are running a almost full page on a female who it seems is wanting to re-create a previous female record flight to Australia,..

Sadly though she seems to have put this on hold by taxi-ing into a stationary R44 at Goodwood.. shock to her old stearman may mean a new engine , plus sorting out the insurance for the parked R44 totalled Heli by the looks of it, darn good job the 44 was empty.

But hey the good side is the 44 owner can now buy something better..:ok:

[Luther Sebastian]

And why did you say 'female'? If it had been a bloke, would you have said 'male pilot taxies Stearman into R44'?

[sparky91]

Pilot Tracey Curtis-Taylor bidding to emulate Amy Johnson hits a parked helicopter | Daily Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3201498/Woman-pilot-bidding-emulate-Amy-Johnson-hits-parked-helicopter.html)

Not a good year for Phoenix Helicopters. Thats 2 Airframes written off this year.

[Lonewolf_50]

And why did you say 'female'?

For the same reason they reported this woman trying to steal a jet. (http://www.nbcnews.com/video/woman-tries-to-steal-jet-499312707678)

Equal opportunity. Women have every opportunity to screw up in aviation, as do men. Their successes and failures need not be suppressed by reporters. If people are going to make a big deal about the woman pilot in a feel good or success story, and make deal about her gender, then ... what's good for the sun is good for the moon.

I'll be she feels terrible about that accident, as I would were it my mistake.

[evansb]

She is a professional pilot and has plenty of time on the Stearman. Just shows it can happen to any pilot, especially when taxiing a Stearman.

[Thomas coupling]

She was my heroine before this anyway, having watched her documentary flying all that way over hostile territory - but now having publically expressed her feelings about Robbo's she's even more my heroine.
Excellent Tracy :D

[John R81]

We will know that sexism is dead when the newspapers print photos of a male pilot in cocktail attire after an accident.

[Hughesy]

Best thing to happen to a Robbie.

[krypton_john]

One assumes that the Stearman was still perfectly serviceable after slicing the Robbie?

[spencer17]

After breakfast you just have to clean the prop, let it burp and good is.:E

[Cows getting bigger]

Hero? professional? Nope, a pilot who taxis their aircraft into another one at their home base, in a location where it is known that aircraft/helos park, needs to wake up. There could have been a couple of people in the front of that Robbo.

What was the FISO doing?

[Dead on Time]

:ok: :ok:

Give the girl a medal:D ....and invite Vertical Freedom (from his Nepal thread) to pin it to her chest :):)

DoT

[Checklist Charlie]

Perhaps a read of this could open some eyes.

http://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/558368-lady-who-flew-africa.html

CC

[Arnie Madsen]

.

I love the way the prop removed that T-Bar cyclic contraption ... give that girl a raise.

.

[[email protected]]

Read the post by Sam Rutherford on the linked thread from Checklist Charlie - it indicates how 'professional' she is.

[DOUBLE BOGEY]

She's very attractive so who cares! (Or am I being too shallow)

DB

[Vertical Freedom]

Great job saving her own Life :D luckily in that Shearman but from those savage Man eatin' Robbi's :yuk:

;)

[Lonewolf_50]

She's very attractive so who cares! (Or am I being too shallow)

DBNope, you're being a pilot. :cool:

[Peter-RB]

Luther,

Would you really like it if I had written:-
"A Dozy Blonde Bimbo Pilote cuts into Robby 44" or perhap if I described her as a" Lady of a different Gender"...no, that would have been wrong so I described her as we all see her!.. A good looking Blonde girl with good hips and a good pair ..well you know what.

Dont be a pillock, Females are good to be with ..possibly you should try it. instead of becoming one of the Politically correct Pillocks we all bump into in this day and age.

Peter Russell-Blackburn Lancashire

Come and see me,... I am sure my point will win..!:=

[Luther Sebastian]

There are indeed lots of reasons I am a pillock, but this isn't one of them. I'm just saying the fact that she's a she isn't relevant to what happened. And I know females are good to be with, I work in a large team consisting almost entirely of them and look forward to going to work every day!

[SilsoeSid]

We will know that sexism is dead when the newspapers print photos of a male pilot in cocktail attire after an accident.

Well, I guess that would be just around January 2013 then!

Ref Sams post, I concur with crab http://www.pprune.org/9012078-post17.html

[newfieboy]

Born in Blighty, grew up in Canada, very attractive. She's an aviator and Robbie killer. Oh and goes by Miss so I presume single, what's not to like!!

[Nubian]

I wonder how much of a hero this half-truth pilot would have been if there was anyone in the R-44 doing their checklist???

Taxi into a ........ ANYTHING would only be understandable if you had some sort of malfunction! What was wrong with the Stearman??
Set to fly half way around the world, you bloody well should know how to taxi your machine.

And Luther,

And why did you say 'female'?

Maybe cause the papers uses ''woman pilot'', and not just ''the pilot'' in their story.

Fits in with the Russian idiot in the R-22 story!!

[JammedStab]

The forward vis from a Stearman is near zero. Extreme caution is required when taxiing this aircraft type. Especially in congested areas, you need to taxi relatively slow and S-turn. If there is a distraction at hand such as receiving a transponder code, stop, enter the code and then proceed.

Prior to proceeding, consider adding some power with one brake applied to pivot a bit allowing you to see what was ahead of you prior to pivoting, in order to be sure that the area ahead of you is clear. Then you can pivot back and proceed forward.

This lady is nowhere near the first Stearman pilot to taxi into something(I know one who has), and is likely not the last.

[22clipper]

Nice job on the centre console, what a video that close encounter would have made! Can't wait to read VFs comment.

[DOUBLE BOGEY]

Nubian, you need to look inward and ask yourself about mistakes you have made.

I am sure she did not do it deliberatley it is therefore accidental. In proffessional aviation we endeavour to understand how accidents occur.

Simply critising the pilot without any other information besides the final outcome evidenced by the pictures is one dimensional, un scientific and is the response of a mouth breather with a Neanderthal brain cavity.

I continue to defend Ms Tracey because she is pretty! This is also a one dimensional mouth breathing Neanderthal response but a lot more fun and a policy that may ultimately get me more sex which was of course the fundamental evolutionary aim of bein a Neanderthal.

Nubian, your harsh uncompromising view will not lead you to get more sex which is good as your kind are less likely to reproduce which is Fundementally Darwinian!

Come on........she is very attractive..............

[DirtyProp]

She's very attractive ....

DB
Uhm, no.
Not for me, at least.

Judging from the pics looks like she approached the R-44 head-on, most likely because of the bad visibility from the cockpit.
Thank goodness nobody was on board.

[Hughes500]

johni
Now why would you say she needs to find another hobby ?
I suppose you are one of those great people who have never f...ed up. If this is how she chooses to spend her money you are in no position to criticise. After all her money is now keeping others in aviation in jobs repairing the mess.

[Rotorbee]

... by a male pilot. Therefore embarrassing things can, have and will be done by both sexes. Were are not only equally intelligent, but equally stupid, too.
And as pilots, I believe we are all guilty of some quite stupid actions, even though most of us are lucky, because it ended well. Otherwise we all could have made it in to the news.

It isn't a P-51 though. It's a P-3605.
https://youtu.be/hHvceGF0BqE

:}
... and for gods sake, stop the Robbie bashing. It is getting old.

[Whirlybird]

She happens to belong to a minority as far as pilots are concerned, so it gets mentioned. The word "pilot" would have been qualified had any of the following been appropriate: teenage pilot, geriatric pilot, inexperienced pilot, world champion pilot, royal pilot...and so on. (They wouldn't dare say "black pilot" or similar these days.) They'd only say "pilot" by itself if it was one of you boring, white, middle-of-the road, middle-aged lot. It's a shame, but that's the way journalism works. :{

[Nubian]

DB,

I continue to defend Ms Tracey because she is pretty! This is also a one dimensional mouth breathing Neanderthal response but a lot more fun and a policy that may ultimately get me more sex which was of course the fundamental evolutionary aim of bein a Neanderthal.

Keep it up! You seem to need some urgently, good luck!:ok:

[whoknows idont]

How about using a periscope for taxiing?

http://i.imgur.com/6Dirhhn.jpg

[JammedStab]

Looking at the picture of this incident, the thought that comes to mind is....

it is probably not a bad idea to be somewhat aware of the tailwheel aircraft taxiing around you and if there ever appears to be one approaching your position, be on alert to confirm their intentions and if there is even the slightest hint that they may not be aware of you, be prepared to get the heck out of the way.

Some Stearman History concerning Lloyd Stearman himself.....

"The tour was a two-week-long competition in which pilots flew from city to city throughout the Midwest. By the time it arrived in Wichita, on Aug. 13, 1926, Beech was so far ahead of the competition in the judging that only a serious breakdown could cost him victory - and his Stearman-designed Travel Air showed no signs of breaking down. Heralded by daily banner headlines in the Wichita Daily Eagle, the arrival of the Reliability Tour in Wichita should have been Stearman's finest hour. Yet the hour of Stearman's triumph became instead the hour of his life's greatest tragedy.

With Beech having won the Wichita leg of the Reliability Tour, Stearman took up a Travel Air and was performing stunts for the thousands of spectators, a practice that was common at each stop. When Stearman brought his plane down, he taxied along a roadway that served as a runway. Unknown to Stearman, one of Wichita's wealthiest and most prominent citizens, George Theis Jr., 64-year-old president of the Arkansas Valley Interurban Co., had parked his car on the runway to watch the flying. Theis' wife and two children saw Stearman's taxiing aircraft and moved out of the way. But Theis didn't see it, and Stearman's attention was focused elsewhere. When Stearman felt the left side of his aircraft hit something, he shut down his engine and noticed that his left wing had hit Theis' parked car. But the propeller had hit Theis, killing him instantly. His wife collapsed in shock. Stearman, too, was overcome, according to the next day's newspaper account: "When told he had killed a man, he collapsed and had to be lifted from the plane."

[Dennis Kenyon]

Hi guys ... don't be too hard on the lovely lady cos the professional male isn't exempt from the odd taxying accident.

'Twas circa 1980 ish when I parked the company Enstrom 28A at White Waltham waiting to pick up the MD of RMC. Leisure Sport for those who remember. As I waited, a well-sponsored Pitts screamed across the airfield to launch into as thrilling a display as I had seen for many a year. The man at the helm being a highly regarded and well known-aerobatic team pilot.

As the guy landed, I thought I might get the chance to shake his hand but having turned off the active, the neat biplane was taxying quite rapidly in my direction. I wasn't concerned until at fifty yards I decided it might be better to vacate the helicopter. Said Pitts continued straight & level with nil look out turns and smacked squarely into the nose of my machine which offered little stopping power having the forward cabin made entirely of GRP. And yes .... the insurance paid out. Good old Brentnall Beard (Richards Longstaffe) for the COFs on here. Safe flying to all. Dennis Kenyon.

[SilsoeSid]

Small Plane, Helicopter Collide at Van Nuys Airport; FAA Confirms No One Injured | KTLA (http://ktla.com/2015/04/16/small-plane-helicopter-collide-at-van-nuys-airport/)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CCwAABRUkAAEDob.jpg

... and of course;

hHvceGF0BqE

[JEM60]

Attractive? This lady?. Some people should have gone to Spec-Savers.:)

[DOUBLE BOGEY]

She's tall, slim, big eyes, wide mouth, good figure. And can handle a joystick! Ummmmmm......pretty in my eyes! Went to specsavers cos Doc says my eyes have started to suck. Got two pairs. She's still pretty with them on or off!

Tracey, if you are reading PM me. Could be the start of something beautiful!

[Coconutty]

Marks out of 10 ?


.... I'd give her one ! ;)

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d129/coconut11/Coconutty.jpg

[B Sousa]

Lucky her, I never got a chance to even get in a Steerman, let alone ball one up.

[Heli-phile]

This "bird strike" could have been far worse. Imagine the waste if she had taxied into a descent helicopter!

[B Sousa]

Ha ha..........Now that was good

[flydive1]

This "bird strike" could have been far worse. Imagine the waste if she had taxied into a descent helicopter!

Is that worse than a climb helicopter?;)

[Danny42C]

Pilot looks jolly good for 51 !

Stearman looks jolly good for 71 !

Did 60 hours on them in '41 on the "Arnold Scheme" (Class of 42C) - with no ASI in the cockpit - instructor in front had one, of course ! I'd never flown before (nor had my classmates), so we felt no pain - what you've never had, you never miss. It was a wonderful idea, for we learned to fly "by the seat of our pants".

What have they done with this one ? The original 220hp Continental has been replaced by a Wasp Junior (?) with a 2-speed prop (lifted out of an old BT-13 ?). Should go like ###t off a shovel now. It was a tough old bird.

All the old open cockpit tail draggers had this visibilty problem. You had a good look round before climbing in, and then zig-zagged along when you got moving, poking your head out like an old steam loco driver. Accidents of this kind have happened before, and they'll happen again.

Happy days over the Everglades,

Danny42C

[JBL99]

Flydive1 - brilliant!:D

[nigelh]

God , I'm so glad I chose rotor rather than fixed wing all those many years ago ........ I must have a look and see what they are saying on their side ! Time on my hands sitting in the fog ....

[JammedStab]

Pilot looks jolly good for 51 !

Stearman looks jolly good for 71 !

Did 60 hours on them in '41 on the "Arnold Scheme" (Class of 42C) - with no ASI in the cockpit - instructor in front had one, of course ! I'd never flown before (nor had my classmates), so we felt no pain - what you've never had, you never miss. It was a wonderful idea, for we learned to fly "by the seat of our pants".

What have they done with this one ? The original 220hp Continental has been replaced by a Wasp Junior (?) with a 2-speed prop (lifted out of an old BT-13 ?). Should go like ###t off a shovel now. It was a tough old bird.

All the old open cockpit tail draggers had this visibilty problem. You had a good look round before climbing in, and then zig-zagged along when you got moving, poking your head out like an old steam loco driver. Accidents of this kind have happened before, and they'll happen again.

Happy days over the Everglades,

Danny42C

Thanks for the story Danny.

Concerning forward visibility in the cockpit. It could be a problem in flight as well. On final approach, if there is a person in the front seat, their head is blocking your view of the runway and the occasional sideslip is required to allow you to see it and maintain alignment. I suppose once you are on short final with a reasonably wide runway, the edges come into view and then peripheral vision takes over.

[Cazalet33]

Yeah, but can she park it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?t=59&v=lrqaw7lB76c

[Uplinker]

The forward vis must be atrocious. How were they ever certified?

Saw six Stearmans flying a display at an airshow in Canada in about 2002. They flew so slowly it was comical, and the airshow commentator, a rugged, grizly old aviator type said "Stearmans fly at the speed of smell" !!

[ericferret]

At least no one was in the helicopter.

"Plus ca change"

"On the 19th. September 1936 Flying Officer Peter Stanley Salter who was the Assistant Adjutant and Chief Flying Instructor of No. 611 Squadron collided in his Hawker Hart No. K3044 with the Percival Mew Gull G-AEKL piloted by Mr. Tom Campbell Black whilst taxiing on aerodrome after landing resulting in the death from his injuries of Mr. Tom Campbell Black as he was waiting to take off. Mr Tom Campbell Black who was best known for winning the air race held in 1934 from England to Australia, co-piloting the DH Comet Racer G-ACSS Grosvenor House.
Percival Mew Gull G-AEKL had just been named Miss Liverpool in a ceremony when the accident occurred. This aircraft was to have been used in an air race from England to South Africa that had been announced in 1936. The aircraft was sponsored by Mr. John Mores of Littlewoods. K3044 was written off but G-AEKL was repaired only to be destroyed in an air raid at Lympne on the 3rd. July 1940. Status, Pilot, Flying Officer, Peter Stanley Salter, OK. Status, Civilian, Tom Campbell Black, Killed."

[Sir Niall Dementia]

And Tom Campbell-Black was reputed to haunt the old Speke Aerodrome ever after.

On a nightstop at the Airport Marriott a few years ago a lady was complaining about a disturbed night. After she left I asked the receptionist if Captain Black had been misbehaving. The receptionist was shocked that I knew of him and I was informed that they never mentioned him, but that the lady's room had been in the old tower part of the building where CXaptain Black got up to a lot of his high-jinks.

http://hauntedliverpool.********.co.uk/2008/03/captain-blacks-phantom-at-old-airport.html

My grandfather and T C-B were good friends. Back in the 60's I was at Speke with the old man when the subject of T C-B came up with ATC, some of them hated night shifts because of the ghost.

There was a good article about T C-B's ghost in Pilot about 20 years ago if anyone can find it.

SND

[Self loading bear]

Niall,

There seems to be nothing nothing wrong with you concerning dementia.
I do have some worries about your and some other's superstition.:O

SLB

[Stanwell]

The aforementioned lady in the Stearman has embarked on a jaunt to re-create Amy Johnson's 1930 flight from England to Australia.

I understand a NOTAM has been issued to all Robbie operators. :E

[Hot and Hi]

I understand a NOTAM has been issued to all Robbie operators.
That would then be a NOTAR.

[Sir Niall Dementia]

Self Loading Bear;

My office is an old night fighter ready room. On an early start/late finish the icy fingers do sometimes crawl down your back..............................:\

SND

[Wander00]

Years ago I worked in the part of County Hall Northampton that had in former times been the gaol. A mate worked in what had been the condemned cell, which still had outside steps to the courtyard where the gallows had stood. My mate was NEVER the last out of the office!

[Cyber Bob]

Continually being told:

xxxxxxx = 6 inches hasn't probably helped

[AndyT8]

Here is the accident report. https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/aaib-investigation-to-boeing-b75n1-stearman-n56200

[punkalouver]

As mentioned in the report, getting a marshaller can prevent an accident like this. No marshaller available, then at minimum, inspect the planned taxi route prior to taxiing on it and minimize the time between inspection and actally taxiing along the route.

Summary:The aircraft was parked outside a hangar, in an area where construction works were ongoing and temporary buildings had been erected in preparation for an event. The pilot boarded the aircraft and started the engine, before beginning to taxi. After moving off the aircraft turned through 90° to go between buildings towards the runway. The width of the area between the buildings was insufficient to allow the turns necessary for the pilot of a Stearman to see the area ahead. The pilot saw one helicopter parked ahead on the left, and another on the right, but could not see directly forward, and the propeller and nose of N56200 contacted the front of a Robinson R44 helicopter which had been parked between the other two.

The pilot of N56200 immediately realised that there had been a collision, and shut down the aircraft, she and her passenger vacating it without difficulty. The helicopter was not occupied, and no injuries resulted, but its cockpit was destroyed. The collision could have been avoided if the pilot of N56200 had ensured that the area into which it taxied was clear of obstructions, either by observation, or the use of wing-walkers or marshallers.

[Smalahove]

Dead horse beating is alive and well here, Sheesh.

[Checklist Charlie]

Dead horse beating is alive and well here, Sheesh.
Suggesting physical violence and referring to her as a horse is not very gentlemanly.

CC

[jimjim1]

The forward vis must be atrocious. How were they ever certified?


I know nothing of the certification requirements in this regard however many aircraft were made with similar characteristics. Even the svelte Chipmunk has exactly zero visibility straight ahead and constant weaving when taxiing is required to 'clear' the area. The exquisitely arranged brakes make that a lot of fun:}

That big round engine on the Stearman must make things a lot worse.

[rottenjohn]

I guess if she promotes herself as a female in her endeavours that will happen. Can’t have it both ways

[helispeediii]

Dennis if you think of the insurance cost!!! Think of ours at biggin hill when our 206 was at parked at duxford when a very nice pilot taxied into it in a ww2 spitfire, no one hurt except abit of pride , the 206 was a write off but that was cheap compared to the repairs to the spitfire, happy days best to all helispeediii

[212man]

Three years old news?

[Gemini Twin]

No it shouldn't happen to any pilot taxying ab Stearman!

[meleagertoo]

I can't say I ever had concerns taxying a Stearman. You weave to view the area ahead and never proceed into an area you haven't just viewed. If there is a dead area you haven't been able to check you simply don't go there, you stop and get someone else to marshall you. Else ylu're gonna hit something.
as eny fule no

I suspect the interest in this event is more connected with the endless shenanigans and shameless self-promotion of the woman involved - there's a strong element of 'she had it coming' about it, despite this occurring before the worst of her deceits.

[Self loading bear]

Shouldn’t this whole thread be in the History and nostalgia section?
The lassie is 57
The Stearman is 74
and the R44 is now history too.