brybusa

Pilot lands F-15 with only one wing - Military - Defense News | Defence Forum | Military Pictures Photos | Weapons

Amazing!

BlkKnight

wow

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

That's nothing! I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back home on just one wing all the time!

Flatcapdriver

Interesting the way he described the spin recovery, which was not only counter intuitive but opposite to the way it should normally be carried out. Applying power...

jonc

"She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid. he's made a lot of special modifications himself."

spectrum48k

Can he do the Kessler Run in under 10 parsnips ?

scoobian

I'm sure I read about that when I worked in Aerospace ...in 1988

jonc

She'll make point five past light speed!

ScoobyDoo555

Impressive video

Dan

SirFozzalot

richiewong

PMSL

Don't think an F15 has ever been shot down in combat, now thats a good record

CrisPDuk

That'll be why it's an excerpt from a History Channel documentary then
Although I suspect this isn't the incident you are thinking of though, wasn't there a training incident involving an American aircraft and pilot back then

Superb piece of flying

billythekid

Try doing that in a Tornado...

Leslie

He must have been getting lift from the top of the air intake and also from the remaining damaged stub which was still attached outside the intake fairing. It is not accurate to say that he had only one wing in fact. It would have been impossible to fly the aircraft with no lift at all from the right side. The bit which was missing was comparatively small in surface area also. I would say that the aircraft gets a great deal of its total lift from the intake area as well. He obviously had to fly pretty fast in relation to normal landing speed to get sufficient lift from that side and a landing from a threshold speed of around 250 knots is impressive to say the least. He was lucky to stop where he did, the hook would not have knocked very much speed off before it came off the fuselage. I would have expected him to be in a spiral dive rather than a recognised spin and that is probably why the power from the reheat helped him to recover. I wonder if he had to explain why he did not clear away from the aircraft which was inverted since neither of them could see each other at the time. That was one of our cardinal rules in practice air to air combat or formation flying

No one likes to make a parachute descent if they think they can land instead, but he was lucky to get away with that one. It is true that the F15 is a very fine aircraft and is very well constructed.

Les

andys

My Brother in law had a fairly nasty expereince landing a brand new F15E at lakenheath a couple of years ago. the front noes wheel did no lock in position when coming into land. Think it was set at 90 degrees to the runway. Plane ended up cart wheeling down the runway. Him and the wizzo got out ok thought. Plane was a bit of a mess to say the least.

Leslie

Nasty situation when the nose wheel remains cocked off from the centre. He did well to get away with it.

Les

Turbohot

I'd second that

astraboy

I remember reading that the F15 gets all the lift it needs to fly from bodylift alone. Apparantly, the wings are there for manoverability and something to attach stores to

Needed or not, that pilot has some brass bollocks on him to even attempt landing that. If that was me, I'd be straight through the canopy and awaiting my tie and tankard from Messrs. Martin and Baker!
astraboy.

CrisPDuk

Here you go Les, I've done a moses and lifted this from Wikipedia

Leslie

Thanks CPD, I was not too far out then

Les

swampster

iTrader: (1)

While I was in the RAF a few years back I remember some talk about a Tornado F3 had the end of it's wing "cheese wired" off by the supporting wires of a radio mast down in the Falklands and managed to land ok apparently.

CrisPDuk

I'd say pretty much bang on Les