Cargo Jet makes a 360 at 100’
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Rockytop, Tennessee, USA
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His was the best in my opinion.
It was reposted by AfricanSkies again in 2007 in the thread I linked above.
The original PPRuNe 'Herky Story' thread is here:
Welcome to Baghdad--Herky Story
Had he done that in a Western airline with a load of passengers onboard at a European city he would have been locked up and rightly so. We don't know his background, training and experience but it is likely to have involved an airforce and combat approaches. The weather was clear, any accident would have been in the sea rather than a built up area and I'm sure the other crew members knew what they signed up for. We need to measure what he did with a different yardstick than the one used for a first world airline.
UNITA rebels in Angola were supplied by flights from South Africa which operated low level at night in turbine DC3s risking CFIT, ground fire and air attack which was much higher risk than a 360' turn on a clear day.
UNITA rebels in Angola were supplied by flights from South Africa which operated low level at night in turbine DC3s risking CFIT, ground fire and air attack which was much higher risk than a 360' turn on a clear day.
Flying in Africa was always a bit on the edge but we had some fun too. I learnt to spin in a 9000 hour Tomahawk right over the Muizenberg sewerage works, the geometry of which made it easy to count the turns. One Sunday morning as slf on an SAA 727, the captain asked us if we’d like “a scenic”. Sure! So he flew the entire sector- Port Elizabeth to Cape Town - over the beaches at 2000 ft. Yes, those were fun days and South African pilots are as good as you’ll get.
Having around 11 years sitting in the LHS of the 72 I enjoyed watching a well executed manoeuvre in that clip. We all have basic flying skills but his are honed well above the average obviously.
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I did not like doing the spiral in the Herc, is too slow coming down and those anxious moments seemed awfully long to me.Flying in Africa and knowing the area, I (and others) preferred the low-level approach. It was always comforting to have the small noise foot print of the Herc; confirmed by observing the reaction, or not, of the animals as you fly over them.
Good old bad days, those were.
Good old bad days, those were.
All us ex MPA pilots can identify with that sort of orbit, good skills, Aunty Betty only let us do it at 200ft for training though.....manual flying with 2 engines shut down to save fuel.....happy days😊
Wonderful flying skills, I wonder why he elected to do that manoeuvre that way.
Some here seem to comment that not having passengers on board has a bearing on his decision making. It might, but why should it?
Some here seem to comment that not having passengers on board has a bearing on his decision making. It might, but why should it?
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Bottom line: No rules were broken and he had fun. All he did was a 360 on final. Would it be appropriate everywhere? Obviously not, but anyone unsure of their own ability to fly a level turn should maybe ask for some retraining!
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I wonder why he elected to do that manoeuvre that way.
Can I suggest it is probably much easier to do a 360 at 100ft than it would be at say 500 or 1000ft.
At 500ft it would not be difficult to set up a high rate of descent (or climb).
At 100ft, and you’ll notice this in the video, you can maintain a ’constant distance’ from the water... because it is so close!
At 500ft it would not be difficult to set up a high rate of descent (or climb).
At 100ft, and you’ll notice this in the video, you can maintain a ’constant distance’ from the water... because it is so close!
Beardy, I think you will find that has already been explained several times in previous posts from those who know the area. I would also reiterate what a poster said which was that nothing in that video suggests that the entire orbit was made at 100ft. There is a large gap in the video and he may well have been at 200ft for most of that turn for all we know.
Quite a few plusses/minuses about the relative merits of such a manoeuvre. Suffice it to say that those of us who learned to fly in the sixties/seventies are not the least surprised by the skill and awareness of a guy I would love to have flown with.
It is not surprising either that the ex-Navy, Truckie and Coastal Command contingent seem to find this a normal day in the office. We were trained to manoeuvre at low level, over the sea too, and be aware of the missile/small arms threat. In the past, I can remember coming back from one sortie on a dubious day, with salt spray all over the windshield. No sweat.
All this has changed since the reduction of ex-military retirees into the airline business. We are now expected to fly in aircraft that have little direct law control and flown by crews who will fly, well or otherwise, mainly to pay off their phenomenal training costs. Sound experience appears to be at a premium. All they really know is how to punch in the flight data, autopilot in at a 1000 and cruise for hours at 37000 feet glued to the screen, to finally Cat II it at the other end in gin clear conditions.
It will change again in the future when people think and realise that flying a proper aircraft like a 727 or a DC9 had such good manual handling characteristics to teach us our business.
It is not surprising either that the ex-Navy, Truckie and Coastal Command contingent seem to find this a normal day in the office. We were trained to manoeuvre at low level, over the sea too, and be aware of the missile/small arms threat. In the past, I can remember coming back from one sortie on a dubious day, with salt spray all over the windshield. No sweat.
All this has changed since the reduction of ex-military retirees into the airline business. We are now expected to fly in aircraft that have little direct law control and flown by crews who will fly, well or otherwise, mainly to pay off their phenomenal training costs. Sound experience appears to be at a premium. All they really know is how to punch in the flight data, autopilot in at a 1000 and cruise for hours at 37000 feet glued to the screen, to finally Cat II it at the other end in gin clear conditions.
It will change again in the future when people think and realise that flying a proper aircraft like a 727 or a DC9 had such good manual handling characteristics to teach us our business.
