Big Crash at Reno

[ClippedCub]

Does anyone here actually know where the elevators separated/sheared on Voodoo?

From what I understand, the torque tube sheared the retaining fasteners, whether at the pictured housing or internal to the elevator. They assumed the tab actuator rod failed from fatigue.

Could shearing of torque tube rivets be an initiating event for what we saw happening on GG?

Could be a likely event considering the single tab configuration, though the opposite elevator attachment would have been the side that failed. In the Voodoo case, after departure of the tab, the elevator would become more overbalanced.

Found some g vs aging data, turns out we're pretty wimpy when we're young.

Relaxed +GZ tolerance in healthy men: effect of age.
[My paper] D H Hull, R A Wolthuis, K K Gillingham, J H Triebwasser

Fifty-three healthy US Air Force aircrewmen, 26-55 yr old, volunteered for a centrifuge study designed to determine the effect of age on relaxed +GZ tolerance. Each was subjected to G forces of gradual and rapid onset, with G tolerance determined by standardized contraction of peripheral visual fields. Of the subject characteristics studied, only age was positively correlated with rapid-onset G tolerance; both age and weight were positively correlated with gradual-onset G tolerance. A combination of age and weight gave a stronger positive correlation with G tolerance (rapid- and gradual-onset) than did either characteristic alone. No significant negative correlations were observed. We conclude that aging may offer some protection from G stress; there is no evidence that aging leads to a decrement in G tolerance.

G-induced loss of consciousness: case-control study of 78 G-Locs in the F-15, F-16, and A-10.
[My paper] Nereyda L Sevilla, John W Gardner

Department of Preventive Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA. [email protected]
INTRODUCTION: This study determined the trends of reported G-induced loss of consciousness (G-LOC) mishaps from 1980--1999, and determined potential risk factors in pilot characteristics; specifically, 30/60/ 90-h and sortie history, total flight hours, total hours in the aircraft, age, height, weight, and BMI. METHODS: Using aircraft malfunction mishaps to reflect a cross-section of USAF pilots, potential risk factors were determined using a case-control method; cases were all G-LOC mishaps and controls were aircraft malfunction mishaps. The data consisted of 2002 mishap pilots in the history of the F-16, F-15, F-15E, and A-10 from 1980-1999. RESULTS: During this time, G-LOCs represented only 2.5% of all mishaps. The mean engagement number for G-LOC mishaps was three at an average of 8 Gs. A poor anti-G straining maneuver was cited in 72% of the mishaps, fatigue and G-suit malfunction in 19%, low G-tolerance at 14%, and 37% were student pilots. Within pilot characteristics, only two factors were found to be statistically significant: the time in the aircraft and pilot age. In the F-16, there was a 3.5 times greater chance of experiencing a G-LOC mishap if the pilot had less than 600 h in the aircraft [3.5 (1.7-7.2, 95%CI)], and a 9.5 times greater chance in the F-15 [9.5 (2.2-41.9, 95%CI)]. There was a 4.5 times greater chance of experiencing a G-LOC mishap if under the age of 30 in the F-16 [4.5 (2.3-8.5, 95% CI)] and a 3 times greater chance in the F-15 [2.8 (1.2-6.8, 95% CI)]. DISCUSSION: Though it is difficult to predict who will experience G-LOC, emphasis on prevention must be concentrated in training and in pilots new to the aircraft.