ORIGINAL: sskianpour
Out of curiosity, why would the P-47 pilot Mike ''just hold his position''? If I am in the air and someone gets too chummy and close, I tell my spotter to call a loop, or my spotter suggests it, and I break off my pattern by either banking out left or right, or pulling up and out depending on where the other guy is.
There was obviously a decision by the P-47 pilot to ''just hold his position'' and that is laid at nobody else's feet but his. Very sorry for the loss. Mid-air's are unfortunately part of the hobby and unless the other pilot was flying against the pattern or breaking flight rules outlined at the morning pilot's meetings, then there's not much here to discuss.
Again, sorry for the loss, it's a shame for both pilots.
Shaz
I agree completely. He admits to recognizing the situation and not responding proactively. At that point, this midair became a collaboration. The atitude that , "I'm not changing my course, I expect you to change your course" was passive and ineffective. If you have the opportunity to avoid an accident, but choose not to, (for any reason), then don't call foul on the other guy. Both pilots need to recognise thier mistakes and learn from them.