Jim Leroy went in today...

...Spun in down at Dayton.

Now all the masters of disaster have gone to the great airshow in the sky...

Blue skies forever...

On Jul 28, 6:44 pm, "Blueskies" wrote:
..Spun in down at Dayton.

Now all the masters of disaster have gone to the great airshow in the sky...

Blue skies forever...

Big bummer.

Doug Semler wrote:
On Jul 28, 6:44 pm, "Blueskies" wrote:
..Spun in down at Dayton.

Now all the masters of disaster have gone to the great airshow in the sky...

Blue skies forever...

Big bummer.

The only time I saw him was in Salinas a year and a half ago. I had
never heard of him before and was thinking "This guy is balls to the
wall and beyond insane." After seeing more videos of him, he became my
favorite acro pilot.

Anyone hear what happened?

Gerald

On Jul 28, 7:39 pm, "Gerald S." wrote:
Doug Semler wrote:
On Jul 28, 6:44 pm, "Blueskies" wrote:
..Spun in down at Dayton.

Now all the masters of disaster have gone to the great airshow in the sky...

Blue skies forever...

Big bummer.

The only time I saw him was in Salinas a year and a half ago. I had
never heard of him before and was thinking "This guy is balls to the
wall and beyond insane." After seeing more videos of him, he became my
favorite acro pilot.

Anyone hear what happened?

Gerald

The story I saw makes it sound like he basically ran out of altitude
during a pullout and pancaked to the ground...

http://www.journal-news.com/hp/conte...7crashweb.html
has some "user" comments with (potentially) eyewitness acounts.

I saw Jim LeRoy fly at OSH two years ago, and spoke with him briefly. Also
sent him some photos, and he responded with a gracious and personal message.
From an acro pilot perspective, he was one of the most precise in terms of
his flying ability, and this includes even the big headliners at OSH.

Viperdoc wrote:
I saw Jim LeRoy fly at OSH two years ago, and spoke with him briefly. Also
sent him some photos, and he responded with a gracious and personal message.
From an acro pilot perspective, he was one of the most precise in terms of
his flying ability, and this includes even the big headliners at OSH.




Aviation is an activity where you can't make the same mistake - once.


Richard

"Doug Semler" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Jul 28, 7:39 pm, "Gerald S." wrote:
Doug Semler wrote:
On Jul 28, 6:44 pm, "Blueskies" wrote:
..Spun in down at Dayton.

Now all the masters of disaster have gone to the great airshow in the
sky...

Blue skies forever...

Big bummer.

The only time I saw him was in Salinas a year and a half ago. I had
never heard of him before and was thinking "This guy is balls to the
wall and beyond insane." After seeing more videos of him, he became my
favorite acro pilot.

Anyone hear what happened?

Gerald

The story I saw makes it sound like he basically ran out of altitude
during a pullout and pancaked to the ground...

Which is why I wish they would institute a 200' (or whatever) minimum
altitude for airshow performers. First, I don't like seeing airplanes
*that* close to the ground. It makes me uneasy (which I realize is part of
the draw - but I still don't like it). Second, in many shows, the sight
lines are terrible for low, low, acts anyway.

A higher minimum altitude, with corresponding higher entry altitudes, would
have saved quite a few great pilots over the years.

KB

In article ,
"Kyle Boatright" wrote:

"Doug Semler" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Jul 28, 7:39 pm, "Gerald S." wrote:
Doug Semler wrote:
On Jul 28, 6:44 pm, "Blueskies" wrote:
..Spun in down at Dayton.

Now all the masters of disaster have gone to the great airshow in the
sky...

Blue skies forever...

Big bummer.

The only time I saw him was in Salinas a year and a half ago. I had
never heard of him before and was thinking "This guy is balls to the
wall and beyond insane." After seeing more videos of him, he became my
favorite acro pilot.

Anyone hear what happened?

Gerald

The story I saw makes it sound like he basically ran out of altitude
during a pullout and pancaked to the ground...

Which is why I wish they would institute a 200' (or whatever) minimum
altitude for airshow performers. First, I don't like seeing airplanes
*that* close to the ground. It makes me uneasy (which I realize is part of
the draw - but I still don't like it). Second, in many shows, the sight
lines are terrible for low, low, acts anyway.

A higher minimum altitude, with corresponding higher entry altitudes, would
have saved quite a few great pilots over the years.

KB

We used to have a similar rule for performers at Watsonville. Too low
and the audience can't see it -- and the danger increases exponentially
the lower it is.

"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
. ..

"Doug Semler" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Jul 28, 7:39 pm, "Gerald S." wrote:
Doug Semler wrote:
On Jul 28, 6:44 pm, "Blueskies" wrote:
..Spun in down at Dayton.

Now all the masters of disaster have gone to the great airshow in the
sky...

Blue skies forever...

Big bummer.

The only time I saw him was in Salinas a year and a half ago. I had
never heard of him before and was thinking "This guy is balls to the
wall and beyond insane." After seeing more videos of him, he became my
favorite acro pilot.

Anyone hear what happened?

Gerald

The story I saw makes it sound like he basically ran out of altitude
during a pullout and pancaked to the ground...

Which is why I wish they would institute a 200' (or whatever) minimum
altitude for airshow performers. First, I don't like seeing airplanes
*that* close to the ground. It makes me uneasy (which I realize is part
of the draw - but I still don't like it). Second, in many shows, the sight
lines are terrible for low, low, acts anyway.

A higher minimum altitude, with corresponding higher entry altitudes,
would have saved quite a few great pilots over the years.

KB

Agreed!

I've seen a couple of fatal air show crashes. It spoiled it for me so I
just don't go any more. I like pilots and airplanes too much to risk seeing
them crash.

Bill Daniels

The story I saw makes it sound like he basically ran out of altitude
during a pullout and pancaked to the ground...

Which is why I wish they would institute a 200' (or whatever) minimum
altitude for airshow performers. First, I don't like seeing airplanes
*that* close to the ground. It makes me uneasy (which I realize is part
of the draw - but I still don't like it). Second, in many shows, the
sight
lines are terrible for low, low, acts anyway.

A higher minimum altitude, with corresponding higher entry altitudes,
would have saved quite a few great pilots over the years.

KB

Agreed!

I've seen a couple of fatal air show crashes. It spoiled it for me so I
just don't go any more. I like pilots and airplanes too much to risk
seeing
them crash.

Bill Daniels


Fortunately, there was never an accident of any type at any of the air shows
which I attended.

However, I did quit flagging road races for that reason.

Peter