RE: 2 death 4 wounded in model airplane crash
I have always been a Jet Fan. I am going to be building a ShokJet top winger soon. A few friends are avid Jet guys.
Last Year there was a spectacular BVM Ultra Bandit Explosion/crash at Fox Valley Aero Culb in St. Charles Illinois at a popular Jet Rally.
A high speed pass and disintegration of the airframe. No one was hurt.
The video by various spectators has never been seen.
It seems to me there was a concerted effort to NOT allow the tapes to be made public. Conspiracy theories have abounded here, Seems dishonest to me, however, I understand that speculation of the cause was what feared the most. I am not buying that fact.
While this incident is locally famous, I have not read much about it, so if there was a cover up , it worked. Still , locally it is talked about all the time. No one likes thier dirty laundry Monday morning quaterbacked, and a good joib of making the tapes disappear was done.
At the recent FVAC rally we were allowed to sit at the end of the runway less than what seemed a safe distance under our canopy. Approaches by some of the jets had us looking for a safe exit route out of the canopy..... really the only scary scary one was a prop plane that was allowed to fly.
Perceptions are everything though. I know the Safety Officer and told him how we felt, and he duly noted it.
We need to be upfront with ALL failures, no matter the consequences or pride. My Shokjet will be flown only after many checkouts by pilots I will defer to for thier knowledge. This is in the best interests of keeping our hobby as little governemt regulated/banned as possible. If we don't self police, we will lose our hobby.
The FVAC Ultra Bandit Crash and it's non-discussion/disclosure is one example of selective reporting , in my opinion. I would stand to be corrected. It sure makes great fodder for speculation at all of our "crash coffee clatches' at the field.