Riding on a Spitfire tail (historical)

[Hengelo]

Amazing WWII story about a mechanic who got caught sitting on a Spitfire tail during takeoff. Looks like it's paywalled but "reader" will show the whole thing to you.

A Flight Mechanic Sat on the Tail of a Fighter Plane—And Accidentally Took the Ride of Her Life

When faced with doom, sometimes the best thing you can do is hang on and stay calm.

www.popularmechanics.com

 

[Salty]

Behind a paywall

 

[Piperonca]

Behind a paywall

Use Firefox, worked for me. Hell of a tale (har har)!

 

[Dana]

Try this link:

https://archive.is/2TuIB

 

[pmanton]

Hard to buy the tale. The CG would be way too far back to get the tail up.

 

[Piperonca]

Hard to buy the tale. The CG would be way too far back to get the tail up.

Not if Ms. Horton was diminutive enough, one might assume...authenticated if you like: RAF Association article

 

[Dana]

Hard to buy the tale. The CG would be way too far back to get the tail up.

A Spitfire is a good but larger and heavier than a modern GA aircraft, so her weight would be proportionally less significant. And the pilot did report difficulty controlling the aircraft.