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(Video) Boeing 717 Stall during test flight
Amazing video of a recovery after an unusual attitude during a stall test. (vimeo.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
There is a brief background about this flight here: https://avgeekery.com/time-boeing-717-went-inverted-testing/
Button hole check!
NWA was supposed to be the launch customer for the MD95, but after flirting with bankruptcy in 1990 as a result of the hostile leveraged buy out orchestrated by Al Chechi and Gary Wilson we had to cancel the order for well over a hundred of the model. As an aside, since we weren't going to get new aircraft of that size, the decision was made to totally redesign the interiors and hush kit our DC-9 30s, 40s, and 50s. The FAA ruled that the aircraft had to be recertified after the extensive mods which required that each aircraft undergo an extensive flight test as it came out of one the 3 refurbishment centers. The company selected a small and highly experienced group of captains to do the flight tests. I had the good fortune to fly with one of the captains, Tony Gray, and he told me some interesting stories. The airplanes had to be flown into a full accelerated stall which took a good deal of altitude to recover from. On 2 occasions the aircraft went into a fully developed spin so the pilots decided to do no more of these stalls until they talked to the McDonald Douglas test pilots. They were told that in order to avoid future spins they needed to use a type of sensitive instrument that ensured that the acft was totally coordinated going into the stall entry. The company got hold of a couple of these units, and they did not get into any more spins. Tony said that due to the wing sweep and T tail it was most definitely not a gentle nose drop type of stall, but more akin to a fighter jet departure.
This is training. Real training.
Doing a little research on this, it appears that this is a McD test pilot crew in the 1998-1999 time frame. Boeing had owned McD by the time they rolled out the first MD95/717, but remember that McD was still a subsidiary at that point with its existing lines of authority and organization. So these are McD guys in the cockpit, apparently ex-Navy Vietnam fighter pilot Randy Wyatt in the right seat, who went on to be a Boeing test pilot, including on the 747LCF, and Gary "Bear" Smith in the left seat. Bear was a Blue Angel and still active in the Naval Reserves, and was a McD test pilot. He died in 2005 in his Super Decathalon while giving advanced flight instruction to an instrument-rated private pilot near Oroville; apparently the student was at the controls.
It appears that this was Developmental or Certification stall testing on the aircraft, specifically the aggravated/accelerated entry points where the speed is changed at more than 1 knot per second. According to a guy that did the same tests on the MD90, having the aircraft depart like that during the accelerated entry points wasn't unusual.
It appears that this was Developmental or Certification stall testing on the aircraft, specifically the aggravated/accelerated entry points where the speed is changed at more than 1 knot per second. According to a guy that did the same tests on the MD90, having the aircraft depart like that during the accelerated entry points wasn't unusual.
Normally I never comment bad or good when flying technique ends in tragedy. This didn't but certainly could have. Notice that the FP rolled the wings level when inverted? The only thing that kept the roll going was momentum induced from the stall. It also looks more like a demo flight than a 'test' flight. Test pilots do not pat themselves on the back until they are on the ground. This was a stall demo that went wrong as the flying pilot did not have the skills to control the aircraft and effectively recover. The pilot flying is likely a management pilot for an airline with an MD or Boeing pilot by his side. The real award goes to the factory pilot in the right seat for not screaming "WTF" at the other guy. He saved the sale by not doing that but probably should have taken the controls.
Well, this is totally wrong. Take a look at my post above as to what they were doing, why, and who they were. The aircraft was intentionally fully cross-controlled (look at the yoke) and decelerating faster than a normal stall test.
I would fly in the right seat with Bear flying any day (if he were still around). Also, when criticizing the recovery technique, consider that it's a t-tailed aircraft with tabs.
I would fly in the right seat with Bear flying any day (if he were still around). Also, when criticizing the recovery technique, consider that it's a t-tailed aircraft with tabs.
Source William, source. The video is essentially unsourced and the bulk of the legitimate ATP's commenting on this thread have been in agreement that even in our meer non test pilot roles, what we saw said "that ain't right". If they really were test pilots doin what you said, it's no wonder it took so long to get out. And it ain't like they were in uncharted waters in an airframe that was first certified in 1965.