3D With Full Scale P3 Orion
 

P3 Orion Flat Spin 7-G Pullout Under 200 Feet
No wonder they use these things as hurricane hunters!
Whidbey Island Naval Air Station

Last Tuesday, 22 Jul 2008, a P-3 Orion from VP-1 was flying an approach to NAS Whidbey Island with the #1 engine in a simulated failure mode. At 160 KIAS, the #2 engine started to surge, so they had to chop power to it. As all this was happening, they were still decelerating, so by the time they added power to #3 and #4, they were at 122 knots, and in the dry terms of investigators, "departed controlled flight". The P-3 did FIVE rotations in a flat spin, dropping 5500 feet, finally recovering between 50 and 200 feet AGL (above ground level), pulling a whopping 7 positive G's on the airframe after sustaining 2.4 negative G's in the spin. The rolling pullout burst 45 rivets on one wing, physically RIPPED the main spar, and bent the entire airframe... the crew could see INSIDE the fuel tanks of the wing. Source is from DC. talking with investigators in Whidbey.

Subject: P-3 Incident BUNO 161331
Here's the preliminary info I have:
At Whidbey, BN 161331 was doing a FCF and shut down #1 engine, with #1
off, #2 engine exhibited vibrations and was shutdown. With two engines
off on the same side the aircraft stalled and was recovered at 100 feet.
7 G's were reported to pull it out of the stall. The aircraft landed
safely.

I knew there was a reason I hated doing FCF's.

RE: 3D With Full Scale P3 Orion
 

Like to hear more from other reports,sounds like a (very) close call.Glad it ended with just a heck of a story to tell.
But it has nothing to do with 3D,just unexpected,unusual manouvers and high G's ;)

RE: 3D With Full Scale P3 Orion
 

Tough old bird. Thats one of the later birds, they went up to 163 something.

I had over 2000 hours in them.

RE: 3D With Full Scale P3 Orion
 

The P3 Orian was developed as a sub hunter, and now carries the lion-share of heavy retardant drop applications on wildfires.

RE: 3D With Full Scale P3 Orion
 

I would've liked to be an underwear salesman after that thing got to the terminal! :D

RE: 3D With Full Scale P3 Orion
 

Wouldnt have been fun thats for sure.

All the hours I had, I only had a few in flight emergencies and nothing remotely that I would call a "close shave"