WIth these exceptionally rare warbirds, there is special kind of get-there-itis, which downprioritizes controlled yet survivable crash landings, in favor of trying to achieve normal landings beyond reasonable risk taking.
We recently had a DC-3-like vintage aircraft flying back to base from an airshow with about 60% of the rudder fabric missing (it tore off shortly after takeoff).
No passengers, short flight home, but a few of us were wondering, that with so little rudder control, an engine failure could have been lethal, unless they land it en-route on a reasonably flat field.
Last edited by Pilot DAR; 24th Dec 2020 at 12:08.
Reason: typo