Kevin Eldridge Bails out of the Super Corsair. Phoenix 500.

[4Firearms]

The fire went out as soon as he went into a dive. He could have saved it. Just dove fast, put the fire out, and landed. Sessshhhh....That's how they do it in the movies!

[AMSeagle]

He is a Legend

[WTFFTW3567]

great balls of fire

[AKcharger]

I can't believe how fast he deployed his chute...as fast as a Martin baker or ACES 2!

[jeskelson123]

I was at this airshow with a "pit pass" I worked as an Engineer at the plant just east of the crash site. Ironically I was taking an EMT class locally and my instructor was first on scene for the pilot. If I remember  correctly he had a broken leg and back. Damned good piloting skills keeping that priceless machine away from population. Kudos to the pilot.

[rhett443]

Glad to see he got out, You can almost feel the sigh of relief from the croud when they see that chute pop. Anyone have pictures of the wreckage?> I have always wanted to see what happens to a plane that nose dives.

[EclecticDiscus]

I was at that race, listening to Eldridge on the radio and watching through binoculars.

The guy was cool as a cucumber, knew he had to get the plane in a safe place to bail out. Just text book. Wonderful job by him and sad to see the Super corsair go in.

Having seen that you can only imagine how this happened several times a day during the war.

[WilhelmVonSchlagen]

We all know stuff happens. It could have been worse, but the pilot had it together. Yes, it's a shame to see a piece of history go down like that, but I feel far worse about all the ones at the bottom of the Pacific with their pilots. At least it was doing what it was built for, and wasn't lost in a museum fire, or rotting on a back lot, or sold for scrap in 1946.

[AlanMartinNala]

What a faulty new piston can make... To me, the most beautiful and elegant air racer ever built, forever lost... It´s sad that time ago they removed from here in YouTube a speech by Kevin himself at a hangar after the crash, narrating first-hand (and with a good degree of sense of humour after all) how he lived this inferno from ONBOARD that flying torch...

[buckachiddy]

at least the petrol went up!

[mrblujet]

Glad he made it out safe.

[micahmx85]

The fact that the pilot was able to steer the plane away from the crowd and get out shows how good of a pilot he really is

[aaronrose83]

if it were meant to be a piece of history it would be in a museum, this plane died doing what it was built to do....fly !!!! they wont last forever

[Polybun]

wooooh holy shit. That poor plane was really burning. Oil cooler fire?

Ace job getting out of it. Gives you a real good look at what flying one in combat was like. Guys survived the war because good bail out techniques were established for every aircraft.

[billyvray]

A damn shame losing a rare piece of history in that Corsair to a racing accident.

[texNoz]

Once you let the fire out, it's time to bail out.

[roterendeinlaatschij]

i can say just one thing : HOLY SHIT

[sanfranciscobay]

Do you think he broke his foot and arm two times? Once when he was exiting the aircraft and twice when he was hitting the ground while under a parachute.

Is there anything written from the pilot about this accident on the internet? I'd like to read the story. Looks like a near death experience.

[jrkepler]

Nice, what a way to incinerate several million dollars. LoL Must be great to be so rich. Hope he worked hard on his fireball. Don't worry, I'm sure they'll just defile some sailor or marines grave in New Guinea or Korea to rebuild another one.

[FiveCentsPlease]

@jrkepler

Do you think the people who are pulling the remaining jungle wrecks apart to sell scrap metal to China and India really care if it's a grave or not? There really is a race against time to save anything that can be preserved from the Pacific jungles before it either rots away or gets stolen for scrap for the booming Asian economies. It's romantic fantasy to think they will remain as untouched monuments.

[mikehanoo33]

I was there with my Dad and family ,that was something you never forget , when that corsair hit the ground and that big fireball shot up , wow , we are a family of pilots and aviation buffs and what not , we were all just happy Kevin got out alive , though pretty badly injured , he would live to fly another day , thank God .

[sanfranciscobay]

Curious if anyone knows what kinds of injuries the pilot suffered and what were the causes of the injuries.

[airplaneboy10]

@sanfranciscobay The pilot broke his ankle getting his foot free from the cockpit, and broke his arm hitting the horizontal stabilizer

[molanlabexm15]

Not too many zero pilots ever saw that.



[hammy8676]

I was at this race and saw the crash. I took a picture of the Corsair minutes before the race. I am not sure who is in the pic but they were elbows deep in this plane. It was sad to see it crash.

[yblocker]

man iheard he messed himself upon bailing.

[Stantzs]

fuck, how did he even get out at that speed and elevation. Must have been one hell of a pilot

[TownBranchDandy]

When In Doubt, whip it out. A mans live, is worth more than any Junk Iron, any day of the week.

[sbd45acp]

Fire goes out the moment he exits... FIGURES!

[corebare]

For you who are wondering why the owners of these race planes don't just build new engines, check out this video on Utube: "Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major Cutaway." This rebuilt WWII engine is the type of engine some racers are using now. Most fighters in WWII produced anywhere from 1,200HP (Spitfire) to 2,500HP (Thunderbolt). The R4360 will produce over 3,000HP.

Look at it and take a guess at how much it would cost to totally rebuild it, using all the same metals and alloys.

[Chopin742]

My lord, how much money to replace a super corsair???

[1airplane21]

you cant it is impossible

[FiveCentsPlease]

@Chopin742

This one was converted to F2G from a conventional F4U airframe in the 1980s. Three original F2Gs survive, one airworthy, another under restoration (might fly), and one in a museum.

[Chuckjagermeister]

Well at least the fire went out. LOL. : x

[carlisle9414]

You can't replace the engines? Were they built by aliens that have returned to their own planet? If you can build a replica plane then why not an engine? I know it's not cheap but with todays modern CNC equipment it certainly can be done.

[ssgtakeo]

Ever seen the crankshaft on a 24 Liter V-12? An entire engine would cost millions to make. The only reason they are affordable at all is 1. They were produced during war for a government 2. they were made by the hundreds of thousands so the unit costs were low. Craft producing one today? Completely unfeasible.

[corebare]

@carlisle9414 - You CAN replace engines, but it would cost millions. Even the millionaires who own these planes don't want to pay it, so they buy exhisting engines.

[dorkf1sh]

I sure wish the Pond Racer had succeeded in obsoleting the Warbirds on the race circuit. There are so few left...

[quantumforce123]

reno is amazing but seriously can these guys go on crashing and burning these rare planes to dust!?....humans will come and go..these planes cannot be replaced!...as much as i love watching reno the time must surely come to put an end to ww2 rare aircraft racing!......whats nect?..another corsair?..where does it all end?..when all the planes are destroyed?....ffs.....its pathetic..

[Bigrtftw]

Ever heard of 'replicas' smartass?

[Themadmarine1]

that would br like having a kit car and saying that it was original. and you cant replace the engines "smart ass".

[Bigrtftw]

Engines can be replaced, they can be rebuilt too. What's to stop someone from making a new engine from scratch?

May want to think before you start typing next time. Think about it for a bit, eventually a single sports car crashes, the engine is toast. According to you, engines can't be replaced so what do they do? They don't just quit....they get a new engine. That engine would have to be made.

Same process can be done with classic engines, it just costs more and takes longer.

[Themadmarine1]

it still would not be the same as the original engine. there were different ways that they forged the steal differant meteral that they used. sure you can get a specs. made engine but any one who knows about any kind of mechanical workings will tell you that the engine will not run like the orig. my grand father flew a F-4U in ww2 and could tell that by the sound of the engine its self that it was not the original. so you might think before you type next time.

[juzzi07]

you're right. super Corsair was modified to run the huge R-4360 28 cyl radial...not the P&W R-2800 you speak of.

[winged70bbody2]

I understand from a car point of view what you are trying to say but you said it wrong.

I own a 1970 Superbird.

Very hard to replace asthetically.

But if I replace the exhaust with a set of headers, nice 3 inch all the way back, the car performs better, but sounds WAY different also.

so lets say i took the original exhaust and put it on a shelf.

???

get what im saying?

you can't link the exact engine to the exact car or airplane by any kind of numbers, however you can link the dates.

[ssgtakeo]

None of your classic car engines feature 24-33 liters, 12 cylinders, 4 valves per (that's 48 valves) with the exhaust valves filled with sodium for cooling+ a two stage supercharger. It would cost literally tens of millions of dollars to recreate the infrastructure to make new WWII piston engines.

[corebare]

@Bigrtftw - Speaking of thinking before you type.... You're talking about car engines. They were talking about giant airplanes. Vintage WWII aircraft that race. Planes with engines so modified that they can make a P-51, which flew around 440 MPH, now fly just under 600 MPH (while turning left)

They don't build new engines because building an engine that would work as as well an original Rolls Royce Merlin, would take tens of millions of dollars at least.

[FiveCentsPlease]

@Bigrtftw

New engines have been debated for several years now. Replacements may become a necessity in the future, but they are complex machinery. The main problems are 1) lack of demand to justify the enormous costs to make the tooling and manufacturing and 2) huge liability for when your failed engine or part crashes a million-dollar airplane and the lawyers get involved. Technology is improving and new engine parts are coming when needed for now - not entire replacement engines.

[mig15fan]

cant agree more! deep pockets should find some other way kill themselves,something less destructive for aviation heritage.

[AlanMartinNala]

Taking into account how terribly forced the engine mechanics of these planes is, it´s strange that this doesn´t happen more often...

At the end of the video, once Kevin has bailed out, there seems to be another racing plane (maybe a Mustang) behind Kevin´s Corsair. Don´t these planes have onboard cameras? If so, how would´ve seen the (Mustang?) pilot the Corsair before him burning?

[jerrywilkins]

@AlanMartinNala, in response to the Mustang behind Kevin, the P-51, Lady Jo, was piloted by Robbie Patterson and Bob Hoover, they were the safety plane for the races. Race 1, Super Corsair, had a massive engine failure, camera's would have been little use, currently I do not know of any Unlimited racer that has "onboard cameras" for observation, many of them do for review at a later date.

[jdhiner1]

Yes Yes Kevin Eldridge is back flying racers. Steve Hinton use to fly that corsair it was the only super corsair ever on the race circuit.

[testpilot51]

Just wondering if someone could answer my questions?

1. Is this the same Kevin Eldridge as Relentless?

2. Is this the same Super Corsair as Steve Hinton won Reno in ?

Just wondering.

[jerrywilkins]

@testpilot51

1) Two different pilots

2) Yes

[isftish]

real pro and a hero. i believe all ww2 pilots were like this.

[kjp45]

even the Nazi's - and what about the Japanese that strafed unarmed people.

[moto1p1]

@isftish Your comment put a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye!

My my grandfather flew P-47's & P-51's in ww2

[isftish]

@moto1p1 Soldier's Salute to your granddad. Wish I had the chance to talk to these heroes of the greatest generation.

[360Freakoutkid]

fucking hero

[TheFreakyKidz]

if you knew about the plane you would know WHY he bailed out

[gethmord]

the fire was also engulfed the cockpit and the pilot sustained serious injuries.

[NathansBackwoods]

still kinda sucks, why did my comment get two negatives, i did not know the guy was hurt, i was just sad about the plane, i thought the guy was fine when he ejected.

[gethmord]

He was trying to save it. just couldn't contain the fire. Once the magnesium in the plane ignites it's all over, no way to put it out. I'm sad about the plane also. After this one was lost only 3 supercorsairs are left. One in static display in Seattle, one being restored for static display. And race 57 is the only one left flying.

[NathansBackwoods]

Ive seen the one in seattle, there my altime favorite planes.

[Ranzear]

Plus he explained that the controls were out by the time it started to roll to the right.

[gethmord]

I didn't know that he said the controls went out. Fire probably melted the control cables. I was just going by what the NTSB report said.

[Ranzear]

More specifically, it can destroy or at least deform phenolic pulleys and cable guides, even ones behind the firewall. Consider that its a liquid-fueled fire with a 300mph wind blowing it like a torch towards the /rest/ of the plane and the pilot.

Though it appears to 'go out', its likely just been snuffed externally by the airstream of plummeting towards the ground.

[hudson501]

That figures!  Just after he bails out, the fire goes out!

[fsxlgf]

cant agree more

[jballzzz]

The best landings in the world are the ones you walk away from...good job Mr. Eldrige...

JD Saldivar/Sgt

82D Abn Div

82-87

[MarsFKA]

And a great landing is where you can still use the aircraft afterwards. He came up a little short, there, but a happy ending, all the same.

[gofastER]

eh it can still fly. Just a little glue, tape, and elbow grease ;)

[phonix032]

i was in tears as the corsair started its death dive....an the crash....sniffle sniffle

im glad that no one got hurt an i giv the pilot props for sticking in it for that long and for risking his skin to save ppl....and he did. RIP CORSAIR

[transdrole]

That's how to do it. No big pieces to pick up.

[iloverush123]

And to the person who said the pilot was clueless, IT'S ON FIRE! Yes it is a sad loss, but there was nothing that could be done. If he had kept it in the air, It would probably have exploded before he did anything. So, he couldn't have saved it. he is not clueless, and by pointing it into the ground,away from the crowd, he probably saved a lot of people. So, are you clueless?

[kingair81r]

He definatley was not clueless. I was there when it happened. Bob Hoover (perhaps the greatest stick and rudder pilot ever) was flying chase in the bd 10 and told him to bail out three times before he did.

[iloverush123]

There goes another corsair.

[gopherbar]

man i can hear his heart beaing from here!

[Stingray4]

I too was in the crowd that day watching the race. Still even probbily have the video footage from the air show with the wreck. So glad the pilot made it out alive. But Poor GM Proving grounds. They recieved a air plane that they couldn't even salvage. :D

[r32adt3db]

Didn't the red Super Corsair crash at Reno some years later? Or is this the same plane?

[williamsmith707]

Thanks for posting this! I watched this happen from the crowd and always meant to search for some footage of it on here.

if memory serves, this was about 1993 in Phoenix, right?

[kingair81r]

That crash is one thing that killed the phoenix 500 races future

[kingair81r]

One of the master connecting rods on one bank of cylinders broke

[corbystarlet]

what a awesome crash

[Airshowfan2]

crashes are not awesome. They can sometimes be fatal to many.

[corbystarlet]

i know, if this one was fatal i wouldn't say it was awesome

[kblackav8or]

Spectacular might be a better word. Awesome denotes that the described event is somehow good.

[RudeRaptor]

Good job keeping it away fron the crowd !!

[bronco8585]

Man! What a pilot...

[Rogue1031]

man, what a loss, glad he's fine though. As someone else said, gave me chills... excellent job though of keeping it away from the crowd!!

[klesmer]

Watching that sent chill's down my spine.

[lapuasocom]

I am an ex- Marine Fa/18 pilot.I understand the historical aspect of this plane. However its just a plane. it can be replaced. maybe next time with a reproduction.good pilots like Kevin cannot. As for what I can see in the video when he was entering the turn the engine blew proberly the head gasket or a bearing and then the engine discintergrated. there was'nt very much he could do to save the aircraft Kevin piloted the aircraft away from spectators

once again good job Kevin

[skink5150]

You keep telling folks you are a former F/A-18 pilot . By your lack of command of the English language , I seriously doubt it .

[embpic]

I have hung out with Kevin back in the 80's when he was one of the Chino boys. He is a smooth character (and a hell of a pilot). When he bailed out of the Corsair he hit the horizontal stab and broke his back. It healed and he got back into racing. And for those of you saying 'What a waste of a classic warbird', that plane was so modified it wasn't much of a Corsair anymore.

[blewett76]

Yeah, that makes it seem a bit better, that people modify these things and turn them into racing air craft, they aren't a classic war bird. It's just now people have to stop, World War II is going to be a century ago before we realize it, we have to make an effort to keep these warbirds, and we are, but not much in flyable condition.

[Binarykode]

I guess this plane was in bad shape and that is why they chose to mod it this is a quote from the war bird press "You really couldn't call it an airplane. The elements, time had taken a toll on the airframe. The amount of work just to get the aircraft flyable would be huge, and the Chino Gang had the idea to go racing again. Reno 1982 wasn't too far away; so time was of the essence." w w w dot warbirdaeropress/articles/bail­_out dot  h t m l

[youcantleaveDave]

Man he had it..all he had to do was dive the plane just like that...piece of cake wtf

[apatheticempathy]

Purists, relax. That plane was -SO -alterered it was a far cry from an original ww2 / Korea type F4U.

Tis, still a damn shame.

Pilot had no choice on this one, he tried, but she flamed up on him.

True, any loss of ANY avaition history is a loss for the future.

[mrskyking737]

Had it not been for racing, that aircraft might not have even lasted that long. It wouldn't have been worth the time and money to anyone, without having earned a living. It was designed to fly.  Lighten up.

[Yamieguy64]

Yikes! Glad he got out but I hate to see a piece of history like that destroyed. It's nice to see them flying but perhaps under less extreme stress!

[mollyisagooddog]

Well done metalmelvin from another aviation freak. 5 stars for this.Check mine out.

[djdecember]

sad

[Tata996]

An irreplacable WW2 historical plane gone forever. What's wrong with people like this? Too much testosterone, stupidity, or both? Fucking jackass, if none of the above.

[MoonUnitAlpha]

NO Tata, YOU are the jackass!

[Tata996]

Are you that stupid phuck that destroyed a piece of history?

[AIRdomination]

Do you actually fly? Do you even know what could have caused the crash? If it was even in the pilots control?

You have no respect for people, especially pilots.

[1littlelee]

@AIRdomination the super corsiar is an extremely difficult and powerfull aircraft

[lapuasocom]

Kevin is a really nice guy...and a very good pilot.....me thinks you not very intelligent!!

[JessicaSweet71]

Maybe a good pilot but lacks common sense and a true appreciation and respect for priceless pieces of history. You both are clueless.

[lapuasocom]

Are you a pilot?

Me I am a ex Marine F/a18 Pilot, I don't think that I am clueless and Kevin is'nt either

good job kevin

[Tata996]

I don't think Jessica implied that Pilots in general are clueless. Just this guy.

[123whatev]

My dear Jessica, this pilot was not, read NOT, clueless or lacking in common sense. If he had stayed IN the aircraft and tried to land it, then I would have called him clueless and lacking in common sense. It is a piece of metal, yes a priceless piece of history, but still a piece of metal. And in any case, it likely wouldn't have made it back to a runway in one piece, even if he had tried (its on fire!). So, if anyone is clueless, it is you Jessica, for saying such stupid and selfish comments.

[rustyATV]

I wonder how much "common sense and appreciation" you'd have when 120 octane is burning under your butt at a couple thousand degrees.

[COLUMBINE1818]

Smart pilot for turning away.

[mytmousemalibu]

The master con-rod broke huh? Ouch! Talk about instant and complete engine destruction! Prolly knocked the crankcase apart and pushed oil and fuel out all over causing the fire! Lucky it kept going and babied it away from the spectators, amazing and lucky! Bet that was burning the aluminum! Oil fires are the worst!

[planethaven]

Good camera work matey.

[kenns9]

2 things: he turned the Corsair that way to alow himself to 'fall' out of the aircraft...it is how ur taught to bail from a Cosair. Pull the canopy, unstrap, roll, fall out. Also, i was there in 79 when Hinton went in. heck of a day.

[mrfun07]

I was there in 79 when hinton crashed. It was the last lap of the race, and his engine gave out coming to the finish line. Never understood why he didn't go for the runway, and elected to crash hard off the end of runway 26. No more Red Baron... And he suffered massive injuries.

[shaymcquaid]

I was there. It was a trip.

Patty Wagstaff and Sean Tucker did an impromtu aerobatic "one-up manship" routine while emergency services tended to the pilot and fire. I'll never forget that day.

[mig15fan]

Glad to see the pilot save his live, sad to see another old warior to end that silly clowny stuff.Some other planes could be used for that. Warbirds must fly, but not in such risky conditions.Even more thre´s some german industry that is building brand new FW-190, why not to use that instead of being burning relics?

[kjp45]

now I know where the MiG 15 got its name

[FatPumPumLovah]

He could have brought it in...

[jordan8705]

He would have been one crispy critter by the time he got down...

[AlanMartinNala]

Don´t these machines have an onboard camera? If so, wouldn´t it have been hair-raising to record the images as seen from INSIDE before the plane crashed? But how far was he from the runway when the plane started to burn, just to try an emergency landing? Anyway, Eldridge really has cold ("frozen"?) blood. My most sincere congratulations for having stood so much time in that flying torch just to make sure that it would crash as far as possible from the crowd.

[sengir29]

I agree with you on that woody a full 100% on that took real courage on his part to make sure no other people were hurt

[woodymmbbrr]

Wow that could have exploded at any time and he still stayed in to make sure it didn't crash into the crowd. That is courage and good flying skill

[ebrithilWildman]

My Grandfather flew the whistling death in WWII against the Japs. To the two morons trash talking, the fuel is in a big ass tank(rubber tank back then) under the pilots ass! This pilot fought his ass off to keep that bird alive, but being as good a pilot as he proved to be, he new sure death when he saw it. Damn shame to lose the bird, "Damn stupid to lose your life." He did the right thing. Keep flying and keep safe brother. To the morons... Keep quite, you seem smarter that way.

[a10warthog61]

tank was in the nose and he destroyed a awesome plane. he could have bellied it and saved the corsair

[ebrithilWildman]

That nose is full of engine, not fuel. I still have my grandfathers manuals and flight logs from 1943-45 and on throughout Korea when he trained pilots to fly this and other birds. He was more than familiar with the "bent wing bird" considering that he spent a total of three years fighting two wars from the cockpit of the F4U-1A, F4U-4, and the "Corncob" Corsair and another two training others to do the same. I hate to see this happen but a pilots life matters more than the bird. Damn shame.

[1airplane21]

umm no there is a fuel tank in the front of the plane

[ebrithilWildman]

yes right between him and the engine. i'm not saying its under his seat if that is the misunderstanding. I agree that we need to stop racing the originals cause there are so few. But my point is you got fire dancing all over your fuel and no telling if you get that belly landing down in time. Do you really blame Kevin for choosing life over a landing that at best would result in scrapping the aircraft anyways. GOOD Pilot, sad day for us Bent-wing bird fans. And Kevin got fucked up in the bail

[kingair81r]

One of the master connecting rods of one bank of cylinders broke. That crash is what doomed the races at willie. The plane crashed on the GM proving grounds and after that they refused to let them fly over there grounds.

[irish89055]

was it Japs or bad P&W 4360?

[Craigc540]

I was there that day check out my YGTST TV spot on youtube.

[glnelson1956]

That is a great piece of flying by a very gutsy pilot. This guy PROVED he has "the Right Stuff".

A man who can't see courage when it is clearly demonstrated in front of him, will never know courage when it is his time to display it.

[aflyboy4u]

i was there and i thought that maybe he could have landed if he immediately declared an emergency, but after watching the video of the continuous burn with a fuel tank right there, i'm glad that he bailed.

[cerberus192]

Who ever the FUCK you two think you air you have no idea what it took to flew that corsair or what its like to sit in the cockpit and burn. Thank god Kevin got out.

[wheeler295]

Ok there Captian Douche Bag! lol

[kjp45]

what a pansy. I would have landed the thing -but only after winning the damn race! Think afterburner - not raging inferno. Then I would slap a bunch of chicks on the ass and orally donate my cud of skoal to one lucky lass as a souvenir (thank you Joe Dirt) before continuing my day as the manliest man in the universe.

[BRC450]

Sure......( moron )

[agcatdriver]

Why dont you go back to class you little fuckng dumbass.

[ebrithilWildman]

Dear kjp45, You are a fucking moron! However, should you ever have the chance to die in a crash, you really should take it. Then we would all be rid of your ignorant ass. The fact that you even mentioned "Joe Dirt", just screams your IQ. Kevin did the only thing any pilot could do, other than die. After burner on a F4U, your fucking stupid! I hate the fact that my defending this country in the military keeps you safe. Please go get hit by a bus. Thank you for your time, have a nice day.

[kjp45]

Dear Captain Twat, thank you for pointing out the fact that I'm a fucking moron - it's been a while since someone's done that. Secondly, I'm guessing you're an American based on your militaristic self righteousness yet feel free to hate the fact that you defend my country even though I am an AUSTRIAN living in AUSTRIA - didn't know that was in your job description. Shows your I.Q. Please run over a road side bomb. Gruesse aus Oesterreich und ich will deine mutter im arsch zu ficken!

[ebrithilWildman]

I guess you also assume that I can't speak Deutsch? Leave my mother out of this you fucking Austrian fagot. If you are trying to refer to America as some evil force of brutes, then perhaps it is you who need to do some studying. What was that thing that happened back in 1914... Oh yeah WWI, leading role, punk ass Austrians, and then there was Hitler, and the Third Reich. Once again, Austrians You've no place to talk, your country along with Germany, have caused as much suffering as any other.

[kjp45]

I suppose you are right and I would like to say I am sorry for making rude comments. It is at best childish behavior and the result of being under severe pressure I suppose. There is no excuse for me to take out my frustrations on you - I am deeply sorry. The fact that you a memeber of a military, regardless of which country it serves, shows dedication and bravery most don't possess. Can we just agree that vintage aircraft like Corsairs are cool and let that be that?

[ebrithilWildman]

Sounds good to me. I absolutely agree that the Cosairs, especially the corn cob corsairs are outstanding aircraft. Believe you me, I understand pressure and stress. Combat has a way of making you understand both, "water under the bridge" as far as I am concerned. Sorry for any offense I may have given, good luck with whatever has you under so much stress.

[jerrywilkins]

kip45, I am a member of the Super Corsair Race Team, I was there March 19th, 1994, I was on the Race trailer with the crew when Kev called a may-day. Chase plane was Rob Patterson and Bob Hoover in Race 81.Typically I do not respond to this type of forum. You do not have a clue to what happened and/or what you would have done in this sitution.

Kevin is an excellent pilot and close friend, we are thankful he is still with us today. Friends have lost their lives in the fastest sport in the world

[hellsacomin7]

Typically you don't respond but you decided to make an account just to post this one comment? I don't think so.

[a10warthog61]

he destroyed a wonderfull corsair, he should have landed it

[agcatdriver]

No time. Kevin would more than likely have burned to death before he couldhave gotten on the ground. HE didnt destroy anything... bailing when he did saved his life, and staying with the bird until he was sure it was away from the crowd possibly saved spectators lives as well. No matter how rare a plane is, sometimes the bird doesnt matter.

[Polybun]

I doubt it was very wonderfull after a fire like that. From the attitude of the air craft during bail out, it really looks like the controls were fairly useless, by the time he decided to get the hell out. The other issue, round engines = big damn fires. When they go wrong, they tend to roast up the pilots faster than anything.

[wheeler295]

By the way, the title is wrong, that was at the phoenix 500

[metalmelvin]

you sure? because i know the mountains, or hills in the back.

[wheeler295]

Dude, I was there, read the pylon in the begining, Phoenix 500. Held in, Phoenix Arizona.

[metalmelvin]

hahaha, idd Your right. Hilarious. Thanks for sharing. I will change it. Take care

[wheeler295]

No problem, yeah I was with my dad looking at the other planes in the pits when he grabbed my head and made me look up. lol then patty wagstaff and another stunt plane pilot, cant remember his name, did stunts after he crashed to take our attention off it. lol

Later

[wheeler295]

I was there!!!!!! I was like 7 or 8 but I watched it happen.

[may1940]

Good he got out! Shame 'bout the Corsair though. Watch the miraculously quick chute opening. But then, there was not much time for hestitation..