mikegarrison

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/loca...5_webf1522.html

There are some pilots on this board. Have you guys ever completely lost track of your spatial situation? How common is it to have this happen but catch it before you impact on something?

drstrangelove

What they mean is he lost track of his altitude. Barring a technical malfunction in the altimeter sounds like he got wrapped up in the fight and lost track of his separation from the water. Water is a very poor surface to judge distance from, not enough texture.

Yippee

I've never lost track of the spatial situation, but I don't do aerobatics which is probably what was going on in this combat training situation. Drstrangelove could very well be right and possibly he and the report are really agreeing but using different words. If they were in and out of clouds relying on instruments part of the time to maneuver it would sure be possible to lose orientation in a quick maneuver. Once you do you could hit the water if you are going the wrong way (down) at hundreds of miles an hour. Jets are very unforgiving because the radius of a turn is directly related to the speed of the aircraft. If you double your speed the radius goes up fourfold. They need a lot of room and if you don't plan enough you can't get more.
Many times the real reason for an accident is not clear. This same accident could be caused by a G induced loss of consciousness, stall, vertigo, or just plain deciding to ignore the hard deck (agreed minimum altitude for manuevering so there is room to pull up.)

madkimchi

can i just please ride a shot gun on fighter jet? that's one thing i really wanna experience in my life.

mikegarrison

Talk to Russ.

drstrangelove

Go to

http://www.aircombatusa.com/

They are usually here in the NW during August, sorry you just missed them. It will give you a very good appreciation for what a fighter pilot experiences in a dogfight. The sensations will dwarf anything you feel on the ground, even an F1 car, and these are just prop planes.

If you got the bucks and nothing but a jet will do:

http://www.incredible-adventures.com/capetown2.html

drstrangelove

After re-reading the report I am going to revise my statement. It would appear to me that he had a technical problem. The report says he made a "controlled decent into the water". A true CFIT accident. He was speaking to his wingman seconds prior to impact and probably not manuvering. I have never met a pilot who hasn't at one point or another lost their SA but it's pretty tough to do flying straight and level looking through a HUD. I would guess there was a problem with the airdata system or he was completely distracted with something else. I like to think he was a better pilot than the average and wouldn't ignore all the cues of a high rate of decent, pressurization changes, pitch attitude display etc... but maybe he just ****ed up.

mikegarrison

Russian military also lets people buy rides. It helps pay to keep their planes flying. Or at least, they used to. Not sure if they still do.

I'm pretty sure they still do, though. Heck, if you have enough money they let you buy trips up to the space station.

RT

do they Dog Fight at the Space Station ...... 007 style?

mikegarrison

Only if you have metal teeth.