Heat 3A from a Voodoo perspective.

[flyingjibus]

Re: Heat 3A from a Voodoo perspective.

great stuff. Pretty cool when he passes Merlins Magic (I think). Gives you a great look at the relative speeds.

[Mluvara]

Re: Heat 3A from a Voodoo perspective.

That is a fantastic video Jason.. Thanks!

Did anyone else notice that in some situations the front of the canopy seems to open a tiny bit across the top? Maybe it's the way light is hitting it tho??

The canopy still has some issues. Let's just say it is a 'dynamic' system.

Michael

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Heat 3A from a Voodoo perspective.

The canopy still has some issues. Let's just say it is a 'dynamic' system.

Michael

LOL.... at least it's not lifting at the rear as in year's past... what I saw in the vid, may well be just the way the light hits it but it sure looked like about 1/4 inch gap at the top where the sliding canopy meets the fixed front portion.. maybe a good breath of fresh air for Will at that point is a good thing...

[bruce lockwood]

Re: Heat 3A from a Voodoo perspective.

Will, nice job of setting up for the emergency. Gives me an adrenalin rush just to go along for the ride, Ha Ha!

Only those that have been in that position can appreciate what its like to "thread the needle" so to speak... in getting her down safe and sound. Its not just the flying and careful management of the aircraft's energy that's important...... its putting the "adrenaline rush" aside while clearly thinking through all your options that counts.

"Maydaying Out" with and engine acting up.... temps/pressures going out of limits is one thing. You see/feel it coming and start weighing options. Maybe your talking to the crew-chief, he's seeing a telemetry system reading that he doesn't like and tells you to "bring it in". Whatever the reason, you have a few seconds to get your mind around things and get into the "landing mode". But when she just "lets go" with a bang or boom.....oils itself down.... starts on fire or just stops running altogether, the adrenaline rush hits you like a shot.

As an instructor at PRS, I often told students that the "rush" equated to consuming 5 shots of Starbucks finest, and then sitting down to watch the movie "Jaws". At the precise instant you see the deadman's ghostly head appearing out of the murky shadows of his sunken boat, someone sneaks up and pops a large paper bag right behind your head. Turning around you see its the Grim Reaper. Showing no emotion and with deliberate and calculated coolness your task is to look him in the eye and tell him to leave the theater if he is going to be so rude....... then turn around and focus 100% on the task at hand. Judge the wind speed.... the altitude you have gained, the condition of your "new glider"..... "Will it fly or shall I jump" and then select a runway you can safely make. There is zero time for a checklist, Race Control is in your ear giving you winds, traffic and runway options at the same instant your crew chief is talking. "Race 4, oil pressure 20 and dropping, temp, 125 C and rising...OH OH!!! watch for the racer just rolling to a stop on 26, you need to use another runway if you can."

Now, if you have weighed all these options....correctly calculated wind speed and glide angle, got the gear and flaps out at the precise time, then..... and only then are you rewarded with this overwhelming sense of relief as you and your racer finally roll to a safe stop.

You never enjoy Maydays, but you do start to expect them......and that makes it easier. Like Scary Movies, after awhile you can predict where the director will put the scary part in...... so your prepared. Pilots do take a certain pride in making emergency landings look easy...... everyone is watching, your actions are on center stage for all the world to see...... for now...... forever, just watch U-TUBE.

Jason, I thoroughly enjoy your camera angles, editing and quality. Its really great to be along for the ride. Now that the Mike Brown racers is on the back burner, you should show the audience here what sort of RPM/Manifold pressure they were running. I'll try to post some of Dago Red's videos showing the instrument panel during a Gold Race, pretty impressive. Not the quality of your work, but impressive just the same.

Cheers,
Bruce

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Heat 3A from a Voodoo perspective.

Bruce, you are an excellent pilot and one hell of a writer! Thanks for your contributions here!

[Mluvara]

Re: Heat 3A from a Voodoo perspective.

LOL.... at least it's not lifting at the rear as in year's past... what I saw in the vid, may well be just the way the light hits it but it sure looked like about 1/4 inch gap at the top where the sliding canopy meets the fixed front portion.. maybe a good breath of fresh air for Will at that point is a good thing...

The whole canopy system is in need of a good once over on Voodoo and it appears that it was still shifting in many directions this year, even though changes were made in the offseason.

Now that the Mike Brown racers is on the back burner, you should show the audience here what sort of RPM/Manifold pressure they were running.

Tempting nonetheless, but not sure it is time to release the numbers yet. I can say with great confidence that it was likely less than what the Bear used to run for a given speed. To satisfy the appetites though, attached is a snippet from the valley of speed in 2008 that I had previously posted.

Michael

[Dialtapper]

Re: Heat 3A from a Voodoo perspective.

[QUOTE=Mluvara;


I can say with great confidence that it was likely less than what the Bear used to run for a given speed.

Michael[/QUOTE]

Ha! Now that's funny, I don't care who you are.