Here is sebastiano Silvestri with his three metre Katana.

AMA's not going to cover him if he has a "mishap"...

Looks like a transition into or out of a hover.......

Wow, I think he's had to much eposure to us Americans.

Why would'nt the AMA cover him? The Katana is further away than it looks and there is no one else near him so it doesn't look dangerous to me , especially considering how good he is.He isn't trying to catch it(!)so what's the problem visioneer_one?

Is it just me or are the shadows different? The plane seems to cast a shadow towards the right but the shadow of the man is straight away. Photoshop?

I certainly agree that Sebastiano is an awesome pilot--no doubt one of the best in the world. But what, Luke 3D, would happen if an elevator servo were to lock hard over? Or what if a linkage broke? Or (and this actually happened at this year's TOC) what if he shed a prop blade in flight?

True, Sebastiano has near perfect control of this plane--as long as nothing breaks or changes. But you have to ask yourself what would happen if something did break, don't you? I think that is what this all boils down to. Why do people wear safetly glasses at work? Just in case something really strange happens and you get poked in the eye. It really shouldn't happen--but it might.

Anyway, I love this picture. I wish I could do that. And I probably would if I could because it is so cool. But sooner or later, we're going to be reading about something like this turning into a disaster.

Ken

If that's a knife edge it is the highest alpha Knife edge I've ever seen! Those shadows all look right to me and I do Photoshop manipulation on the side.

The pic looks real to me. I'd guess that the plane is probably within 3 to 5 feet of the pilot. It does look more like he's moving in or out of a hover than a real knife edge pass. I don't know the rules the AMA has, but it's too close for me. He looks like he's leaning back a bit. Maybe it got too close for him too!

He's actually coming out of a hover.

Now thats a sweet pic!

Well, maybe he's at home in Italy. AMA coverage OR RULES do not reach that far (THANK HEAVENS)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mark

Good One! I laughed.

man i have to agree with the above post (what if) thnigs break mysteriously all the time. i fly 3d myself and i can hover that close but don't mainly for saftey. i dont know why they have to hovewr so close to themselfs or spectators , the hover looks justa as cool 30 feet away , just my .02cents worth
Chad

I dont think pictures tell the whole story though... to me i dont think hes doing a knife edge... i believe he, like wayne said, is transitioning into a hover

Yea, looks like a correction of some sort. Maybe he went from hovering in front of him to the left of him, those guys can really control their aircraft.

-Kelly

He sent me alot of pictures when I was e-mailing him, and I really think that he is the next QS in freestyle. Lets face it, apart from balls the size of Japan, you´d want to be pretty good to do that!
Oh, and god I love the Katana!

It's just so much easier close up!

There's not much I can't do with a hover when it's within ten feet of me - if you've practiced it, you know what I mean.

i guess iam just scared . i don't like an airplane that close to me

what if this, what if that. what if the parachute does'nt open, what if the tire comes out in the middle of the curve,

If you were at the TOC on thursday and saw what Seba did in the 20 mph wind you would understand even better the talent this man has.

Bravo Seba!!!

JD

thats why you wear a seat belt , most guys that crash in nascar live to tell because of saftey .
Chad

I'll say it, I'm chicken. No way I'd hover that close. Of course that's this season. Next year I might not be so chicken. I tend to get real worked up about facing my fears. Especially when it looks as cool as that. Oh well, it's probably gonna cost me a few planes, but by next December I'll be there. My club's safety officer would confront me about that, if it were at the flight line. If I were the only pilot flying, I'd walk out on the runway, and I think he'd be OK with it. I'll practice now, "ON THE FIELD!!!!!" Yeah, that's loud enough. See, I already got that part down!

So if your a "good" pilot you do do whatever you want....yepeeee

i know.. what if his tailwheel fell off... disaster !!!!!!