L-29 close call at air show

[Pali]

Happens again and again, this time lucky outcome:

[Momoe]

Pass me my brown trousers Hoskins!

[treadigraph]

Seven years ago that one, thought it looked familiar! Very lucky indeed...!

[Genghis the Engineer]

Strikes me that he was behind the aeroplane from the moment there was air under the tyres: entering an aerobatic manoeuvre without remembering to raise the gear, and then a steep dive with inadequate height to pull out, and taking the aeroplane fairly heavily into pre-stall wing rock close to the ground as a result probably should have called it a day in the first 10 seconds of the flight.

Lucky? Very given his apparent determination to break the aeroplane.

G

[dead_pan]

Are we sure this isn't an RC model?? Performance looks a bit sporty for an actual L29 with the gear down

[Pilot DAR]

If it's a model, it sure has realistic sound! I suspect that sporty performance came at the cost of a margin of safety....

[rjtjrt]

Looks like a model to me.

[rnzoli]

This toy definietely exists in full size with same color scheme and registration mark. The event happened back in 2005, during an airshow in Sliac, Slovakia.

[Concours77]

Was that a “launch” or a low pass? If a takeoff, the runway must have been four miles long, awful lot of velocity for a TO. Maybe that is what makes the a/c look “sporty”?

[Jetscream 32]

I'm with Genghis, forgot to get gear up and then it all goes wrong as none of the limited performance that he was expecting was there..... very much a "close enough" continue with the manoeuvre - it almost bit him / her!

[IcePaq]

Saved by ground effect?

[givdrvr]

Not an RC model..here is the another vid of the OM-JET taxiing out
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You Tube

[Runaway Gun]

Was the pilot making this routine up as he went along? Pull up off the deck (gear down), bit of a roll, then a half roll and pull through. There was never going to be enough air...

[flash8]

The huge problem is the barrier to entry is so low.

Around 2007 I was going to buy a 1/10 share in an L-29 (dirt cheap) in the UK, monthly costs were in the hundreds, can't recall the per hour but it was entirely manageable. Back then they only required a PPL with something like 200TT SEP... very low requirements and a few hours or so conversion on type.

In the end I decided I simply didn't think I'd have the aptitude (and this was with a CPL/IR and 737 time) and wouldn't actually be moving back to the UK, didn't want to end up in a smokey hole also, and gave it a miss. But it always struck me as scary how little was required.

I'd hate to think the same for the L-39 which would probably be a serious handful on par with the Hawk.

[Dan Winterland]

Unsafe routine with too many threats. Lots of wing rock in the pull out, he was at max alpha and very lucky to survive this.