I found this video clip of a Eurofighter Typhoon doing a display at an air show in England. The pilot misjudged his recovery from a dive, and missed plowing into the ground by the narrowest of margins. Only the enormous excess power available from his engines kept him in the air.
A close call indeed! I understand that the tower ordered the pilot to land after seeing that, probably fearing that the pilot wasn't capable of handling his plane so near the ragged edge of its performance. After watching the video, I'm not surprised!
Peter
The typhoon was obsolete before the first one rolled out. They don't have vectored thrust and do not preform with either the newer Russian Su's and Migs or the F-22. They're also not all that stealthy.
ReplyDeleteIs it possible he had practiced that and was relying on ground effect in the last 20 feet or so to "catch" him?
ReplyDeleteJudging by his sink rate just before he recovered, I'd say no. I couldn't see putting that in there deliberately, it doesn't look very graceful and is an unnecessary risk of a very expensive airplane.
ReplyDeleteJim
It is, however, a good reminder of why there's no such thing as "Too much power" for a fighter.
ReplyDeleteConcur with LL, also that was a screw up if you watch it about 40-41 seconds in, he is FULL UP defection on the canards. While the Blues routinely are that low, it is always preplanned, with plenty of delta V in excess.
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