[turbo]

here is a pic of a tigermoth which crashed last fall at 7b6 [ skylark ct ] on takeoff. there was a loss of power, the pilot kept the plane flying as slow as possible and landed in the tops of the trees which were 60' tall. it came to rest 45' up with both people ok. they were finally roped down and the plane lifted out by helicopter. great piloting. they are repairing the tigermoth and bought a stearman to keep flying.

 

[rbibb]

Lest anyone think that: "well that is a slow, fabric covered biplane so that is what saved them" the fact you are reading these words are proof the same holds for an RV.

I was turning final, was a little low, and lost engine power. In the few frantic seconds attempting a restart I realized there simply was NO PLACE TO LAND, save the trees. I slowed it as much as I dared telling myself out loud to "DON'T STALL, DON'T STALL" and settled in the tops of some pine trees. The trees we maybe 6-10 inch in diameter 30-40 feet tall. They broke and bent and the plane ended up pointed straight down about 8 feet off the ground. I walked away with hardly a scratch.

Hardest thing was getting out of the plane in its final attitude without breaking my neck.

Of course the RV-4 was a mess but its flying again. Not a whole lot of it is origianal but enough to identify its ancestry if you know where to look.

Funny thing I remember thinking just before impact: "This is going to hurt".

Other than a banged knee it really didn't; not that I'd suggest trying it to see.

 

[GAHco]

WoW!

Lest anyone think that: "well that is a slow, fabric covered biplane so that is what saved them" the fact you are reading these words are proof the same holds for an RV.

I was turning final, was a little low, and lost engine power. In the few frantic seconds attempting a restart I realized there simply was NO PLACE TO LAND, save the trees. I slowed it as much as I dared telling myself out loud to "DON'T STALL, DON'T STALL" and settled in the tops of some pine trees. The trees we maybe 6-10 inch in diameter 30-40 feet tall. They broke and bent and the plane ended up pointed straight down about 8 feet off the ground. I walked away with hardly a scratch.

Hardest thing was getting out of the plane in its final attitude without breaking my neck.

Of course the RV-4 was a mess but its flying again. Not a whole lot of it is origianal but enough to identify its ancestry if you know where to look.

Funny thing I remember thinking just before impact: "This is going to hurt".

Other than a banged knee it really didn't; not that I'd suggest trying it to see.

Nothing beats being Blessed, and it sure helped by being smart too!
I am glad these pilots are alive to tell the story.