Bad summer for airshows. Make it stop.

[psachseJr]

I may be deluded but I think more highly of people than that they come in hopes of seeing someone get hurt or killed. I think there's a fascination with watching someone demonstrate skill and "nerve", for lack of a better word, when the stakes are very high. The masses don't have a clue about the skill their witnessing but they know it must be great because they've never seen an airplane do that before. So air show flying should be all about the perception of danger and there should be much less of the real danger stuff.

I agree. They come to see people do it without getting hurt or killed. However, I think real risk is important. Otherwise you lose all of the smart people (like the one's NASCAR is loosing now that the major difference between a Chevy and a Toyota is the decal on the front). By "smart", I mean knowledgable and not casual fans. Let's not dumb it down.

 

[Fearless Tower]

I don't think it's quite fair to compare the C-17 issue to Bud Holland. Bud Holland had an issue and OFTEN pushed the B-52 much farther than he should. Crews refused to fly with him.

Actually the Elmendorf crash was alot closer to Bud Holland than you think.

Both crashes involved pilots who had a history of pushing their airplanes to the edge in an effort to put on a good show for the crowd.

Both crashes involved pilots who had a little too much confidence in themselves and their airplanes.

That fact that the performance history of the Elmendorf pilot was known well before the crash and left unchecked by AF leadership is an indication that the lessons learned from the B-52 were not really learned.