On 7 Nov 2005 11:56:22 -0800, "Bret Ludwig"
wrote:

The BT-13 is no longer in military training service anywhere and so I
doubt it kills cadets any longer. It probably does kill the odd warbird
owner or two, especially in "bull markets" when incompetents get big
credit lines and buy themselves a toy they can't handle.

I think if you check my comment, you'll see I did not say that it was
still killing cadets. But it is still killing pilots still flying it.
One died just this summer not ten miles from where I'm typing this.

Sudden loss of power on takeoff from a private grass strip bordering
the Connecticut river. The pilot turned out over the river and was
probably attempting to make it back to the field with the engine
sputtering and not producing power. The airplane hit in a corn field
short of the runway, nose down. The airplane burned and both
occupants were killed. The pilot was supposedly a very experienced
warbird pilot who was a member of a BT13 association, from what I
gathered from the news. The passenger I think was his son.

Would he have made it in any other airplane? Don't know. All I'm
saying is the slow speed handling qualities are known to be
treacherous.

My preference is to fly for fun without having to be unduly concerned
about what happens when I get slow. Each to their own, you certainly
don't have to listen to me. I wish you well.

Corky Scott