exMudmover
27th Jul 2021, 17:18
The Stupid Things some people do in the air
This wondrous tale is by a Fg Off CW Scott of 32 Sqn in 1926, flying the new Gloster Grebe fighter. Scott was apparently the ‘Senior Flying Officer’ of the Sqn, clearly a position of some eminence, although he did not appear to take the associated responsibilities too seriously…
For some unknown reason , one day I started to dive to the aerodrome surface, and at very high speed tried to touch one wheel then the other, flying a few inches above the ground. I was successful on the first few occasions, then obviously what had to happen did happen. I hit one wheel so hard that the whole undercarriage crumpled up, and, to my amazement, I saw the starboard wheel appear through the top of my bottom mainplane. To add to my consternation, I saw the fire tender and the ambulance rush out towards the centre of the aerodrome to a spot where they thought I might crash. The impact of that last bounce had sent me well up into the air again, and, although I was flying, I had no undercarriage on which to make a successful landing. I came down and crashed as near the ambulance as possible. It was impossible , of course, to land correctly, and I turned my machine over at a fairly high speed on the aerodrome, and after crawling out found myself under arrest.
(Story contained in Flypast magazine of May/Jun 1981)
Presumably the Boss had been watching.
This wondrous tale is by a Fg Off CW Scott of 32 Sqn in 1926, flying the new Gloster Grebe fighter. Scott was apparently the ‘Senior Flying Officer’ of the Sqn, clearly a position of some eminence, although he did not appear to take the associated responsibilities too seriously…
For some unknown reason , one day I started to dive to the aerodrome surface, and at very high speed tried to touch one wheel then the other, flying a few inches above the ground. I was successful on the first few occasions, then obviously what had to happen did happen. I hit one wheel so hard that the whole undercarriage crumpled up, and, to my amazement, I saw the starboard wheel appear through the top of my bottom mainplane. To add to my consternation, I saw the fire tender and the ambulance rush out towards the centre of the aerodrome to a spot where they thought I might crash. The impact of that last bounce had sent me well up into the air again, and, although I was flying, I had no undercarriage on which to make a successful landing. I came down and crashed as near the ambulance as possible. It was impossible , of course, to land correctly, and I turned my machine over at a fairly high speed on the aerodrome, and after crawling out found myself under arrest.
(Story contained in Flypast magazine of May/Jun 1981)
Presumably the Boss had been watching.