TEST FLIGHTS
This page was last updated on
03/27/2008
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Test flying new aircraft is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.
Here are some videos that show just how dangerous it can be, as well as some
government-staged test crashes: |
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720 Crash Test -- Low
resolution footage of the airliner that was deliberately crashed by the FAA
in order to assess crash survivability. |
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| 747 Explosion
-- A test to see what a bomb really does to an airliner. |
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Airbus A-380
-- The new king of the super-jumbos on its amazing first flight. |
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Airbus
Autoland Crash -- The very first fully
automated aircraft flies into the trees...
Many viewers have
contacted us regarding this video, claiming that it is actually NOT an "autoland
crash" -- despite the narration on the video. Click
here to read an explanation for this unusual
crash.
Click here to read
several more explanations for this crash. |
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C-130 SuperSTOL
Test Gone Bad -- An example of what not to do when trying to stop
short! |
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Caribou Catastrophe An experimental Caribou, on a test-flight in Manitoba, Canada, crashes on
take-off with newly equipped Pratt & Whitney turboprop engines -- and the
control locks still in place. It was to have been the
final test flight before the turboprop conversion was approved for
commercial use. Click
here to view a safety report about this accident. |
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F-22 Raptor Crash Test flying can be hard on a guy... |
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F-35 Lightning II First Flight This video
shows Lockheed Martin's awesome new F-35 Lightning II on it's maiden flight,
from takeoff to touchdown. |
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F-100 Crash
See the infamous -- and fatal -- Sabre Dance.
This video has generated intense interest. Click
here to read some VERY informed
commentary about this famous mishap. |
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F-100 Crash II
Another video, taken from a completely different angle, of the infamous
Sabre Dance crash.
Additional info from
Barry Smith:
"Great Website. In regard to the two clips of the
Sabre Dance, clip II is not really much of a different angle, but rather the
same clip flipped over or reversed or another clip that is flipped or
reversed. In clip I, the right wing touches the ground first. In the second
clip, it is the left wing. It can be one or the other, but not both."
(How is it possible that none of us ever
noticed this before? <G> - Jay) |
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New 3/27/08
F-111B Sea
Trials Contributed by Gary Schreffler of GRS
Navair Videos: "This extremely rare video clip is from a 16mm film of
the F-111B doing carrier trials aboard the USS Coral Sea (CVA-43) on July
24, 1968. The F-111B was to be a Naval variant of the F-111 Aardvark
used by the Air Force, but was rejected by the Navy. However, since
funding had already been approved for the carrier trials, they were
conducted.
"This film footage is of the only F-111B ever to
touch a carrier, and it did it on one day only. You can go to
www.cv41.org/GRS and check out
some of my other film projects." |
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Falcon 20
Over a Layer This is a nice video of flight of a highly
modified Falcon 20 doing meteorological measurements of the boundary
layer off the coast of northern Norway. |
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Hard Landing! Ever seen an airliner land so hard that the tail breaks off? You
have now! (This
was an early DC-9/MD-80 certification test. After this demonstration
they beefed up the tail section -- for obvious reasons!)
View a copy of the official NTSB report on this
accident by clicking
here. |
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Harrier Test Mishap As the intro says, being a test pilot is not easy. |
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Jet
Fighter Being Towed As part of Project Eclipse, this USAF
F-106 jet fighter is being towed aloft at the end of a cable by a cargo
plane. The idea was to explore this method of launching a space
vehicle more inexpensively. See
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/history/pastprojects/Eclipse/index.html
for details. See also
http://www.f-106deltadart.com/eclipse.htm |
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Jet Fighter
Being Towed II This is another video of the USAF F-106 jet fighter
being towed aloft at the end of a cable by a cargo plane. |
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Jet versus Wall The wall wins. For anyone worried about
what a jet could do to a nuclear power plant's containment dome, this test
footage is required viewing. |
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Jet Versus Wall 2 A nice, clear,
slow-motion version of the F-4 crashing into a wall. |
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Jet
Versus Wall 3 A long view of this same, famous crash of an
F-4 Phantom disintegrating against a simulated nuclear power plant
containment dome. |
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No
Night Flying Video of NASA's all-electric, solar-powered
aircraft in flight. |
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Rolling the Boeing
707 Prototype Tex Johnston's famous unauthorized roll of Boeing's
famous jet-liner -- and an interview with Tex himself! (This is a gigantic
download, so be patient!) |
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Russian Moon Rocket
Extremely rare video of a failed launch attempt of the Russian N1 Moon
Rocket. (It's in .ram format -- you'll likely need Realplayer to view
it.) |
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Saab Crash A failure in the "fly-by-wire" control system in a JAS39 Gripen results
in pilot-induced oscillation, followed by a really, REALLY bad landing.
Amazingly the pilot walked away with bruises and a broken arm.. |
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Scott
Crossfield in the X-15 Created by Crashman as a tribute to
the late, great Scotty Crossfield, enjoy this early '60s video of one of the
greatest pilots, ever, flying one of the greatest planes in history. |
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Space
Shuttle Atlantis Landing While not exactly
"test-flying" (after 25 years), it's still amazing to watch this
"HUD's-eye-view" of Atlantis "flying the pattern" before coming in for a
screaming, dead-stick landing at Edwards Air Force Base. |
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Space Shuttle on a B-747 An air-to-air video
shot of NASA's Space Shuttle being air lifted by a Boeing 747.
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Stall Testing the Raptor Whoa! This bird is NASTY in the stall. Tighten up your
straps and hold on! (Video used with permission from the good folks at
www.Military.com ) |
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V-22 Osprey
Test Flight Crash News footage of an early V-22 tilt-rotor
aircraft test flight that ends in catastrophe. |
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