In 1976 Dave Perrin, of Rothmans fame, used to start his solo display with a roll on takeoff. It was amazing to see the a/c lift off, and, seemingly, before he was half a wing span in the air he was starting the roll. It was scary; and then the inverted flight at 20' into a -ve push up to vertical. All in a Pitts S2A. 40 years ago; it was considered exceptionally skillful, but not outrageous, because we all trusted he knew what he was doing and wanted to continue to do it for many more years. Mr. Tucker does even more exceptional. I guess, as Dirty Clint Harry said; " a man's got to know his limitations". Rather than, "do you feel lucky; well do you?" Luck shouldn't be in the plan; it is skill & judgement. When there is a crack in either of those luck may be the saving grace, but as often as not you will feel the painful bite of very sharp teeth in you backside.
Is it the case that very capable aero-pilots visually assess airshow routines, regularly, to approve the capability of various pilots? I know that this will not stop the odd 'push the envelope for a little extra' by some guys on a one-off basis. In my days with air shows it was common to see the same guys on tour with their set routine. It was all well practised, thought out and performed many times per season. Is there any 'recurrency' requirement for todays airshow pilots?
Last edited by RAT 5; 31st Aug 2015 at 20:30.