Hurricane down!

[Alanwsg]

On Sunday afternoon, during the second day of the aviation day in Cheb a World War II era Hawker Hurricane Mk. IV crashed into a house during it’s display.

RIP ...
https://www.europeanairshows.co.uk/news/hawker-hurricane-crashes-at-aviation-day-in-cheb

[DaveReidUK]

A TFC restoration.

[treadigraph]

Video at the link below which shows the manoeuvre that preceded the crash - possibly a barrel roll or maybe a wingover, looks like wing rock right at the end? Engine sounds to have been healthy as far as I can tell.

What a sad thing to happen...

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/281539

[9 lives]

The video is useful in showing that the aeroplane was pointed very nearly straight down, after nearly completing something like a off axis loop. As has happened too many times before, the hard pull up at a low altitude did not result in recovery from the dive.

We don't need to see any aeroplane crashed, but much less so an antique of such historical importance! As a wise old friend told me after he saw me do something stupid overhead: "No one ever died flying a normal circuit!".

[sablatnic]

Couple more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsKgBWj42do
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXp9SUKSo9M

[uxb99]

In general terms is the Hurricane an easy, docile aircraft or can it bite you much like the Harvard?

[Hueymeister]

What a waste of a perfectly serviceable airframe.

[biscuit74]

Very sad, both the loss of the pilot and a fine aeroplane. Looking at the first video which 'sablatnic' posted (thank you), there appear to have been several nice passes with wingovers to reposition for another run. The last manoeuvre seemed to me to start upwards as if for a wingover but was then flown to starboard, not port. I wonder if the pilot momentarily lost orientation, started the wingover in the wrong direction for that pass, then looking in realised he would end up behind the presentation and crowd line. If so an attempt to recover the position by tightening the wingover and reef it around just a wee bit too tight might cause wingrock and the loss of control seen.

Horrible to see - and so easy to visualise happening, even in the much simpler machines I fly, but then I have no idea how a Hurricane reacts to overpulling at lowish speed.

[uxb99]

What a waste of a perfectly serviceable airframe.
The biggest threat to historic aircraft is human error. Just one of those things you accept to be able to enjoy seeing them fly. Very sad when it happens of course.

[uxb99]

A TFC restoration.
Saw it in bare metal in the TFC hangar just prior to it's first flight. 1989 iirc?

[GeeRam]

Saw it in bare metal in the TFC hangar just prior to it's first flight. 1989 iirc?

Ten years too early, most likely 1999. I think it's first post restoration flight was 2000.

In 1989 it was still in Doug Arnold's Warbirds of GB storage unit at Biggin Hill, after having been moved from his unit at Blackbushe where it had been since he recovered the derelict remains from a kibbutz in Israel in 1983(?)
TFC acquired it in 1991, and then set about restoring it. It was the only Mk.IV flying and had flown with 6 Sqn, the famous Flying Can-Openers during WW2 IIRC.

[uxb99]

Ten years too early, most likely 1999. I think it's first post restoration flight was 2000.

In 1989 it was still in Doug Arnold's Warbirds of GB storage unit at Biggin Hill, after having been moved from his unit at Blackbushe where it had been since he recovered the derelict remains from a kibbutz in Israel in 1983(?)
TFC acquired it in 1991, and then set about restoring it. It was the only Mk.IV flying and had flown with 6 Sqn, the famous Flying Can-Openers during WW2 IIRC.

Really sad to loose it. I've seen several aircraft enter the TFC hanger as restoration projects. Return to flight and then be lost in accidents. Hopefully something can be rescued and returned to flight.

[9 lives]

Return to flight and then be lost in accidents.

Which will be greatly reduced if pilots stop flying aerobatics in them, and airshow audiences say that they want to see the warbird, but don't want to see it risked doing needless aerobatics. If you want to fly aerobatics, use a modern (replaceable) aerobatic aeroplane.

Hopefully something can be rescued and returned to flight.

If it were bellied in (such as a gear failure), probably. If, as in this case, it is dived in from inverted, and fatal, little if anything will be reusable - just a waste, which makes pilots look dangerous. I stopped going to airshows years ago, watching one fatal crash in front of me was enough.

[Thud105]

You'd be surprised how much is reusable - but all they really need is the data plate. I bet they rebuild it.

[GeeRam]

You'd be surprised how much is reusable - but all they really need is the data plate. I bet they rebuild it.

Hawker Restorations would have to supply the tube material, and I think they are now down to having only enough for a couple more full builds from info I saw posted elsewhere, and these builds may well be already allocated, so I suspect that it won't get 'recreated'. G-HURR which fatally dived into the ground from a similar height at Shoreham in 2007 was never re-built from the wrecked parts of that.

[hans brinker]

You'd be surprised how much is reusable - but all they really need is the data plate. I bet they rebuild it.

I still have my great grand father's axe. My grandfather replaced the blade, and my dad replaced the handle. At what point does doing that make sense? There should at least be half of the original material for it to keep the original number.

[DType]

Our RR apprentice year group was asked what defined an engine, the accepted answer was the serial number plate (about the only answer I ever got right!)

[pax britanica]

My son lives in Czechia told me about this on Sunday as it was a major new item there. The Czechs are extremely proud of their Battle of Britain pilots and the contribution they made. Equally they like to make it clear that they were not Polish although they tended to be lumped together with their more numerous neighbours .

They have a several airshows in the country - a couple are especially interesting because many of their heritage types are from the eastern bloc alongside modern military kit and relative rarities. In fact his local airfield just held a European AN2 meet with quite a gathering of these extraordinarily practical and versatile aircraft which appear to take off at about 30mph (illusory of course) have a party trick of flying backwards due to their amazing slow flying capability, and remain very popular skydiving aircraft

[WB627]

Hawker Restorations would have to supply the tube material, and I think they are now down to having only enough for a couple more full builds from info I saw posted elsewhere, and these builds may well be already allocated, so I suspect that it won't get 'recreated'. G-HURR which fatally dived into the ground from a similar height at Shoreham in 2007 was never re-built from the wrecked parts of that.

Tragic for the pilot, his family and his friends.

I understand there is a bit of a shortage of main spars and they are unlikely to make any more due to the alloy used no longer being produced.

[Mogwi]

Turn towards the crowdline with low energy, G stall, goodnight. Very sad to see.

Mog

[uxb99]

I understand there is a bit of a shortage of main spars and they are unlikely to make any more due to the alloy used no longer being produced.

Does that make the Hurricane a lot harder to restore than the Spitfire?

[GeeRam]

Does that make the Hurricane a lot harder to restore than the Spitfire?

Yes, very much so.

While the stress skin all metal construction of the Spitfire meant that in 1939/40 it was slower to build, and harder to BDR in the field as it was new tech of the day, compared to the more traditional construction of the Hurricane, today the opposite is true, and Hurricane restoration is very labour time consuming, so much more expensive to restore, as that technology had largely disappeared when Hawker Restorations started up their Hurricane 'production line' 30+ years ago.

[treadigraph]

uxb99 , there's a little bit about it here...

https://hawkerrestorations.co.uk/

[uxb99]

Yes, very much so.

While the stress skin all metal construction of the Spitfire meant that in 1939/40 it was slower to build, and harder to BDR in the field as it was new tech of the day, compared to the more traditional construction of the Hurricane, today the opposite is true, and Hurricane restoration is very labour time consuming, so much more expensive to restore, as that technology had largely disappeared when Hawker Restorations started up their Hurricane 'production line' 30+ years ago.

Interesting. I had always assumed the reverse was true.

[megan]

An article "Series Construction of the Hurricane I: A Review of the Methods of Hawker Aircraft Ltd." is available for purchase here for £27.00.

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/eb030440/full/htm

Spar boom detail, Hurricane top, Spitfire lower.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1320x2000/spar_6acfc0ddc2eb3b35f17241df3a3464a584a0fc88.png

[Pilot DAR]

Just to be clear, each of the forgoing depictions is one of two elements of the respective spars, understanding that each whole spar has a web between the upper and lower spar caps, which is what is depicted. Both are difficult to reproduce these days. I had occasion many years back to support the rebuild design approval of another English WW2 type. I reminded myself that the aircraft manufacturers of WW2 worked with what they had, and, were making aircraft for material effective, agile, short lived fighting service, rather than longevity, nor major rebuild ease. Military aircraft, particularly wartime designs, do not have to abide by today's commercial efficiencies!

[megan]

Just to be clear, each of the forgoing depictions is one of two elements of the respective spars, understanding that each whole spar has a web between the upper and lower spar capsAs DAR says, the pic shows the complete Spitfire spar assembly, how the spar booms/caps are nested, and then when attached to the vertical web.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1320x2000/spit_58d8e464b1da1b016a58686cd58593955900d53a.png