Forwarded to the group...



From a friend who flies corporate jets for The Limited
Good News for the future of air racing.

Our new crew member, Matt Jackson, is not only a race pilot, aircraft
business owner and aircraft owner (he also takes care of Tom Cruises
P-51)but he is also the VP of the Unlimited Racing Class and head of
the Safety Committee.

We had a long talk about the Reno crash on the way to Mojave today.

Matt believes the cause of the crash was due to The Galloping Ghost
having a CG too close to the aft limit which resulted in pitch
instability. There are instructions on the P-51 regarding no combat
missions with the aft fuel tank full resulting in an aft CG problem.
Instructions specify to empty the aft fuel tank first in flight.

During qualifying Matt watched Galloping Ghost from inside the cockpit
of Furias and could not believe how much trouble Leeward was having in
keeping the Ghost in a stable pattern around the course.

Since Leeward lives in Florida and the Galloping Ghost was modified for
racing in Calif., when Leeward picked up the Ghost for the Reno races
at the last minute, a complete flight test program had not been done
based on available information.

There is a video of the entire last lap of the Ghost before the crash
which Matt showed me. As Leeward was coming around pylon #8 at about
480 mph after passing Rare Bear, he hit turbulence which pitched his
left wing down, Leeward corrected with hard right rudder and aileron.

Just as the aircraft was straightening out, he hit a second mountain of
turbulence which caused the tail to 'dig in' resulting in a 10+ G climb
rendering Leeward unconscious instantly and resulted in the tail wheel
falling out. (broken tail wheel support structure was found on the
course). As the Ghost shot upward the LH elevator trim tab broke loose.
This can be heard on the tape, so the trim tab did not cause the
accident.

Since the Ghost was racing at 480 mph with full right rudder and the
stick full right, this is where everything stayed when Leeward blacked
out.

Cockpit camera film that was salvaged from the wreck shows Leeward
slumped over to the right in the cockpit. As a result, the Ghost
climbed up and to the right, rolled over on her back and then headed
for the box seats. Most in the box seats never saw it coming because it
came in from behind them.

Matt has had long conversations with the NTSB who call the accident a
'fluke'. They are not going to recommend canceling future races. He has
also talked to the insurance companies covering the races for Reno and
they also say they are not going to cancel their coverage of future
races. Now we wait for the FAA to make a decision.

On Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:02:49 -0500, Richard
wrote:


Forwarded to the group...



From a friend who flies corporate jets for The Limited
Good News for the future of air racing.

Our new crew member, Matt Jackson, is not only a race pilot, aircraft
business owner and aircraft owner (he also takes care of Tom Cruises
P-51)but he is also the VP of the Unlimited Racing Class and head of
the Safety Committee.

We had a long talk about the Reno crash on the way to Mojave today.

Matt believes the cause of the crash was due to The Galloping Ghost
having a CG too close to the aft limit which resulted in pitch
instability. There are instructions on the P-51 regarding no combat
missions with the aft fuel tank full resulting in an aft CG problem.
Instructions specify to empty the aft fuel tank first in flight.

During qualifying Matt watched Galloping Ghost from inside the cockpit
of Furias and could not believe how much trouble Leeward was having in
keeping the Ghost in a stable pattern around the course.

Since Leeward lives in Florida and the Galloping Ghost was modified for
racing in Calif., when Leeward picked up the Ghost for the Reno races
at the last minute, a complete flight test program had not been done
based on available information.

There is a video of the entire last lap of the Ghost before the crash
which Matt showed me. As Leeward was coming around pylon #8 at about
480 mph after passing Rare Bear, he hit turbulence which pitched his
left wing down, Leeward corrected with hard right rudder and aileron.


Footage, wish to see.


SW

Just as the aircraft was straightening out, he hit a second mountain of
turbulence which caused the tail to 'dig in' resulting in a 10+ G climb
rendering Leeward unconscious instantly and resulted in the tail wheel
falling out. (broken tail wheel support structure was found on the
course). As the Ghost shot upward the LH elevator trim tab broke loose.
This can be heard on the tape, so the trim tab did not cause the
accident.

Since the Ghost was racing at 480 mph with full right rudder and the
stick full right, this is where everything stayed when Leeward blacked
out.

Cockpit camera film that was salvaged from the wreck shows Leeward
slumped over to the right in the cockpit. As a result, the Ghost
climbed up and to the right, rolled over on her back and then headed
for the box seats. Most in the box seats never saw it coming because it
came in from behind them.

Matt has had long conversations with the NTSB who call the accident a
'fluke'. They are not going to recommend canceling future races. He has
also talked to the insurance companies covering the races for Reno and
they also say they are not going to cancel their coverage of future
races. Now we wait for the FAA to make a decision.

On 10/5/2011 3:02 PM, Richard wrote:

Forwarded to the group...



From a friend who flies corporate jets for The Limited
Good News for the future of air racing.

Our new crew member, Matt Jackson, is not only a race pilot, aircraft
business owner and aircraft owner (he also takes care of Tom Cruises
P-51)but he is also the VP of the Unlimited Racing Class and head of
the Safety Committee.

We had a long talk about the Reno crash on the way to Mojave today.

Matt believes the cause of the crash was due to The Galloping Ghost
having a CG too close to the aft limit which resulted in pitch
instability. There are instructions on the P-51 regarding no combat
missions with the aft fuel tank full resulting in an aft CG problem.
Instructions specify to empty the aft fuel tank first in flight.


I recall watching a program on the Military Channel that interviewed
pilots of WW II airplanes. One of the pilots flew P-51's and he told of
trying to do a maneuver (sp) with the tank behind the pilot full of gas
and almost wrecking the plane. He said then some one told him to empty
that tank first.

During qualifying Matt watched Galloping Ghost from inside the cockpit
of Furias and could not believe how much trouble Leeward was having in
keeping the Ghost in a stable pattern around the course.

Since Leeward lives in Florida and the Galloping Ghost was modified for
racing in Calif., when Leeward picked up the Ghost for the Reno races
at the last minute, a complete flight test program had not been done
based on available information.

There is a video of the entire last lap of the Ghost before the crash
which Matt showed me. As Leeward was coming around pylon #8 at about
480 mph after passing Rare Bear, he hit turbulence which pitched his
left wing down, Leeward corrected with hard right rudder and aileron.

Just as the aircraft was straightening out, he hit a second mountain of
turbulence which caused the tail to 'dig in' resulting in a 10+ G climb
rendering Leeward unconscious instantly and resulted in the tail wheel
falling out. (broken tail wheel support structure was found on the
course). As the Ghost shot upward the LH elevator trim tab broke loose.
This can be heard on the tape, so the trim tab did not cause the
accident.

Since the Ghost was racing at 480 mph with full right rudder and the
stick full right, this is where everything stayed when Leeward blacked
out.

Cockpit camera film that was salvaged from the wreck shows Leeward
slumped over to the right in the cockpit. As a result, the Ghost
climbed up and to the right, rolled over on her back and then headed
for the box seats. Most in the box seats never saw it coming because it
came in from behind them.

Matt has had long conversations with the NTSB who call the accident a
'fluke'. They are not going to recommend canceling future races. He has
also talked to the insurance companies covering the races for Reno and
they also say they are not going to cancel their coverage of future
races. Now we wait for the FAA to make a decision.