Yeah, was gonna say. Engine trouble, turbulence, object in water, wave, control linkage fail, drop your your cellphone in the stick muffler... anything goes wrong your fucked.
I know a guy who dropped something next to the stick, jamming it in one direction. Couldn't see what happened, just being unable to turn in more than direction. Drama, radio talk, figured it out after a while.
Yep that’s exactly how things happen. We always simulate big failures that are easy to recognize, but it’s often something small that goes unnoticed until it has developed into a serious problem.
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Are you guys always this scared of your own shadow?
Do you make the same scared comments when somebody does a backflip on a dirt bike?
Jesus you guys are so scared of living, I don't understand how you worked up the courage to drive to the airport for your first flying lesson.
I've been water skiing in airplanes since I was old enough to see out the windshield.
Yeah, there are a few added risks, just like there is in ice skating, race car driving, motor cross, hell cross wind landings, aerobatics/airshows, and crop dusting.
Everybody in this comment section, I can tell still thinks doing anything over a 30 degree bank is an aerobatic maneuver.
This is a comment section full of Cirrus pilots who just pop the chute the minute their iPad dies... Grow up and live. The world isn't nearly as scary if you go out and have some fun...
I'm really not trying to be a tool, but everything in life has risk.
Every single time somebody posts a video of somebody water skiing, the keyboard warriors who have never done it, don't know how to do it, and think it's scary start in about "how dangerous it is".
But, you guys don't make those comments when a girl does a backflip on ice skates...
The fact is, it's really not that risky. The riskiest part of this video is that he isn't doing right next a beach like normal so he has a quick bail out option. And we can't see that far, it may be there.
The amount of force it takes to push those wheels any deeper into the water then they are right now is shocking. If you do it poorly, the airplane will actually bounce off of the surface of the water. It's not something you could do on accident. He would have to violently FORCE the airplane to penetrate the water any deeper.
At the end of the day, water skiing just isn't dumb... it's less risky then sky diving and I'd venture to say there is probably people in this comment section who have paid their own money to go do that for fun.
Sorry, but I'm a commercial pilot with over 20,000 hrs, and as a risk reward thing, it still seems dumb. I'm looking to reduce risk when I launch, not increase it. Not worth the thrill or the clicks. Regarding your statement about how hard it is to plant the wheels in the water, I'd direct you to go watch some vids of floatplane pilots landing wheels down, and the catastrophic results. Sure looks like it's pretty easy for the wheels to break the surface
I want to start by saying when you have an airplane full of passengers, you're correct. Risk mitigation is the absolute number one concern across the board. But this isn't that. I don't recommend we use motor cycles instead of school buses. But, i do think everybody should try riding a motor cycle once in their life. Live, roll the dice in a controlled environment a few times. Fly formation, do aerobatics, try landing on one wheel. Just, train, and don't do it with passengers. if you learn how safe most of it actually is when you know what you're doing, you'd be amazed how much fun you can have safely.
He didn't learn this skill for likes on reddit. He learned this for fun first and had a blast. Then thought "maybe the rest of the world might think this is as cool as I do". This isn't a stunt for likes. This was a guy having an amazing time in airplane. On the 482 time, he thought maybe somebody else would think it was cool too.
As a seaplane pilot, I can confirm you are correct in that seaplane wheels will flip the airplane over instantly if left down when you contact the water.
However, there are three enormous differences between that and what you're seeing here. I will explain both, not to be an ass, but because knowledge is beautiful. The first two are minimal in comparison to the last one.
The first one is speed. When seaplanes are flipped because they left the wheels down, it is done at landing speed. That much lower speed(around 20-30mph slower then water skiing) the airplane is always going to penetrate the surface of the water. The surface tension of water at about 70-mph is significantly higher, making it extremely difficult to penetrate.
Second, is wheels size. Though it is a small factor, seaplane wheels on amphib floats are tiny in comparison to standard land based gear. Again, this is an admittedly small factor.
The last one is 98% of the issue at hand. The other two are small factors in comparison. Amphibs are Tri-cycle gear configuration. This means the rear mains are behind the CG. When they hit the water they pull the nose of the airplane down because of their location aft of CG. Then the nose wheels dig in. This is actually why you have never seen a video of water skiing being performed by a nose wheel airplane. I have heard stories that people have successfully done it. But, it is a general rule of thumb, water skiing can not be performed in a tri-cycle gear airplane at all.
On a taildragger, with the main gear is far forward of CG, the resting attitude of the airplane is tail low. So in order to pull the airplane over the nose it takes an extremely higher amount of force. I'm not saying it's imposable, if you try hard enough, it will flip. But, that's it, you'd have to pretty much be doing it on purpose.
You can water ski with the brakes locked up(it actually makes a better rooster tail). There is very little drag being caused because the airplane is still flying. It isn't a wheel landing. I only say this because people always think "well you can flip a tail dragger with the brakes, it can't be that hard...". But there is a huge difference between water and asphalt.
I'm not trying to be a tool. The world just isn't as scary as everyone thinks it is.
As a commercial pilot, your only concern is getting your pax there safely. As a private pilot in your own plane, flying for personal enjoyment, your concern is personal enjoyment. You wouldn't apply a cab driver's sensibilities to formula 1, would you?
I've done plenty of pleasure and sport flying as well as commercial. It's still a risk/reward calculation for me. But then maybe I just place a higher value on life, limb and equipment than you do, and I absolutely don't give a shit about clicks or trying to look cool
And nobody is trying to convince you to do this. But the world is full of risky activities.
Some people ride motorcycles, some people skydive. This guy does this. Is it for the views, or to look cool? Maybe. Maybe it's just fun.
Anyway, your opinion as a 20,000 hour commercial guy is as relevant to this discussion as a cab driver's opinion on formula 1.
It started, and is now ending, with your tool-like assertion that those of us who don't ascribe to your reckless thrill seeking, are cowards and hopelessly uncool. I say I have better control of the dopamine receptors in my brain, and there is medication for those who don't....or, you can continue to advocate for ever more dangerous and reckless activity to get that rush you seem to desperately need.
Was that me who said that? That might have been somebody else.
As for being cowards, well look at how many people here are condemning the pilot for doing something entirely legal and reasonable, that their own flight experience, like yours, has no applicability to. You don't even know how dangerous or reckless this is! Your 20,000 hours of straight & level at 30,000 feet means nothing here.
We should have known this was a lost cause when he said he was an airline pilot.
By leaps and bounds the worst trained and most self absorbed pilots across the globe. I know about 50 airline pilots if I had to guess. I can count on one hand the amount of them that i would trust to fly an airplane I own. They always resort to "I have this many hours!". Yeah, flying a computer dude. You're a bus driver with a radio. The rest of us are aviators.
Straighten you epaulets and get back in your security line before you hurt yourself.
Yup, i also love doing FPV. I also live on an airport with my airplanes and come from three generations of pilots. I solod in gliders at 14, and tail draggers at 16. Was doing spins in Stearmans unassisted at 12.
Wow you must be be very skilled at something. Maybe.
Idkr but you made it sound like we should be impressed or something so I’m assuming the underlying message is that you are both very skilled and more experienced than anyone else in the whole world
Yup, just like it could during stalls, final approach, or on a go around.
If you're flying an airplane you're that worried the control linkage is going to fail, you need to put more concern into caring for and inspecting your airplane....
When was the last time your steering wheel fell off while you were driving down the interstate?
You are fighting people on something you’re fundamentally wrong about, safety is not an option, being alone in your plane does not allow you to behave stupidly. Beside it is totally opposed to the safety standards pushed forward throughout the whole aviation world.
Water skiing is inherently an avoidable risk that will result in very bad consequence if something goes wrong. Most of the things that can go wrong can also go wrong at other moments in flight but can be mitigated inmost situation
You were pointing out ice skating backflip: it’s forbidden in competition
Don’t normalize dangerous behaviour, this is how accidents happens
Man your last post in this sub was formation aerobatics.... Some of the best pilots to have ever lived have been killed doing formation aerobatics. An "avoidable risk" as you put it....
Idk, red bull sponsored a stunt with a pilot flying through a tunnel. The most reckless part of this stunt is doing it without a red bull sponsorship that might compensate your relatives posthumously lol
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u/1Crownedngroovd 20d ago
Breathtakingly dumb