I wonder if Leeward had blacked out. Looks like he may have slumped out of sight in this photo.
Fox News quoted: The 65-year-old "Galloping Ghost" underwent years of overhauls that took a full 10 feet off its wingspan. The ailerons - the back edges of the main wings used to control balance - were also cut from about 60 inches to 32 inches.
Pilot Jimmy Leeward had said the changes made the P-51 Mustang faster and more maneuverable, but in the months before Friday's crash even he wasn't certain exactly how it would perform.
"I know it'll do the speed," he said in a podcast uploaded to YouTube in June. "The systems aren't proven yet. We think they're going to be OK."In the podcast, Leeward called some of the changes "extremely radical," compared some to systems on the space shuttle and explained that he had increased the plane's speed capabilities to be more like those of a modern fighter jet.
Look closely at the photo. The elevator trim tab is missing.
Investigators don't yet know what caused the plane to pitch sharply into the crowd at the National Championship Air Races in Reno, killing nine people, including Leeward, and injuring dozens.
They have focused on the "elevator trim tab" - a piece of the tail that helps the aircraft maintain lift and appeared to break off before the crash.Very good eyes Ric, would think that not only would it be a pretty scarey proposition to hop into a plane and do those speeds without even knowing how and if it will maneuver, it is also foolhardy and completely wreckless. I have been to a plane race and thought then that you have to be a bit of lunatic to compete in that sport. I am not a pilot and did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express so maybe I am off the mark, but wouldn't someone that is going to do something so dangerous, after such heavy mods, do extensive testing PRIOR to the race so as to know what to expect or will the loss of the trim tab throw a plane so out of whack that it would be unsaveable anyhow?
LTM,
Don