Acroduster down near PFN

[CDogg]

http://www.newsherald.com/news/plane_4474___article.html/parachuted_person.html

Kevin was a great friend, pilot, mechanic, father, son, you name it. He leaves behind a wife and a young son and daughter. He will be greatly missed in Panama City, and many other places in the aviation community.

Edit: They were doing inverted flat spins, when something associated with the rudder control cable failed and they lost all rudder control. The passenger was able to bail out in time, but unfortunately, Kevin did not. The plane was found inverted in some trees about 10 miles north of PFN.

 

[Sonny Crockett]

I knew Kevin pretty well. I helped Kevin and his Dad at Sebring a few years back--I wish Kevin would have taught Flat spins in a Factory Pitts or something a little more high performance (just my humble opinion) that Acroduster seemed a little long in the tooth, but we may not know what really happend....either way it sucks--Kevin was a great guy.

 

[mvedepo]

The problem with the Pitts is that it goes aft CG really quick. I don't know much about the Acroduster and I don't know how big of a guy Kevin was but his passenger looked to be decent size. In the Pitts both pilots sit aft of CG and as fuel burns off it actually get worse. Either way its a shame. I have known a few people that have been lost doing inverted flats in bipes. I am thinking an Extra 200 or 300 is the way to go.

 

[moonlight]

The problem with the Pitts is that it goes aft CG really quick. I don't know much about the Acroduster and I don't know how big of a guy Kevin was but his passenger looked to be decent size. In the Pitts both pilots sit aft of CG and as fuel burns off it actually get worse. Either way its a shame. I have known a few people that have been lost doing inverted flats in bipes. I am thinking an Extra 200 or 300 is the way to go.

I believe that's what the investigators concluded happened to Art Scholl in his Pitts while filming for Top Gun, although I think they said it was the camera that caused the aft CG, not fuel. Either way, he was unable to recover from an inverted flat spin, and the end result was, they never did recover the plane or his body.

 

[tonykoenig]

Hmmmm

 

[tdwnds1]

Regardless of the cause...This has been a bad week for aviation accidents in the aerobatics field.

Rest In Peace for the pilots lost and may the families find solace in the fact that all those lost were doing what they loved.