[kellyhound]

Thom Richard found himself in a harrowing incident during the National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nevada, while piloting his stunt jet, Hot Stuff. As the final heat was about to commence, his aircraft encountered difficulties during takeoff. Unbeknownst to the other racers in the vicinity, Thom's plane was in trouble.

Two planes successfully lifted off on either side of Hot Stuff, but a moment of sheer terror unfolded when Thom spotted a frantic flagman desperately waving his hands to alert him to an oncoming third aircraft.

In a candid Facebook post recounting the incident, Thom admitted that all he could do was brace himself and hope for the best as the approaching plane hurtled toward him. Unfortunately, the collision became inevitable, and the impact of the collision was jarring.

The impact not only struck the stationary aircraft but also took out the raised canopy, injuring Thom's hand in the process. In the midst of the chaos, he instinctively tried to shield his head while his hands trembled with fear.

Recalling the moment, Thom remarked, "It impacted my right hand holding up the canopy, at well over sixty miles an hour. The impact spun me around nearly 180º, like a teacup ride."

Despite the intense pain and the certainty that his hand was "busted," Thom's immediate concern was to ensure that he hadn't sustained any head, neck, or back injuries. The gravity of the situation was palpable.

Dazed and shaken by the crash, Thom required assistance from two firefighters and the flagman to exit the cockpit. His injured hand was promptly stabilized with a splint. Remarkably, he was determined to get back into the race, and he made his way to the pit for the remainder of the competition.

Reflecting on the close call, Thom considered himself fortunate. He acknowledged that just a few feet to the left could have resulted in a far grimmer outcome. Surviving the incident with a busted hand, in his words, was "a small price to pay."

Hot Stuff, unfortunately, sustained significant damage and would likely require several months of assessment before its future usability could be determined. Fortunately, the other pilot involved in the collision emerged unscathed from the ordeal.

Second video:

During the 2016 National Championship Air Races on Sunday, September 18, a dramatic incident unfolded at the start of the international Formula One Gold race as two aircraft collided in a heart-stopping moment.

One of the aircraft involved in this incident was Endeavor, piloted by none other than myself. Thankfully, the collision resulted in injuries limited to the hand of the other pilot, sparing us from a more catastrophic outcome.

Positioned in the middle of the third row, I anticipated the race's commencement. In a video capturing the sequence of events, the flagman with a red flag left the runway and moved off to the right. Off-camera to the right, the starter for the row prepared to signal the start of the race. With a forceful downward motion, the starter vigorously waved the flag, signifying the race's beginning, prompting the third row to accelerate down the runway.

As I raised the tail of my aircraft, the aircraft in the second row suddenly came into view, halted on the runway ahead of me. In a split-second decision, I attempted to lift my aircraft into the air while executing a sharp banking maneuver to the right.

Just a moment later, my left wing struck the top of the vertical fin of the aircraft stopped on the runway in front of me. The impact caused my left landing gear to collide with his right wing, resulting in the detachment of my left wheel assembly from my gear leg and driving my left gear leg through my left wing.

Simultaneously, my right gear leg sheared off an outer section of his right wing, and my left wing shattered his raised canopy, injuring the other pilot's right hand. My propeller left three distinct gashes in his right wing, several feet to the right of the cockpit.

With swift thinking, I managed to land immediately in front of the stationary aircraft and executed a ground loop to the left to minimize further damage and ensure the safety of all involved.

[William May]

Look up "Hot Stuff - Octavian Cantilli" for some really beautiful pictures of the aircraft. It is an aircraft designed for F1 racing. They have a minimum weight of 500 lbs, they all have to use the same engine, (A Continental O-200, which is the engine used in the Cessna 150), a fixed pitch propeller, and fixed landing gear. This aircraft has a gull wing, and is really gorgeous. In fact, this is one of the nicest racing airplanes I have ever seen. Take a look.....

[FunkPumpkin]

Lucky devil. Very cool vid. Thanks, KH!

[koipin]

Lucky dude. Fuck fingers. They grow back.
He could have lost his melon.

[durt]

That was lucky!

[Hunted]

2 lucky people right there.

[Rocknut]

I paused the video just as the wing went over his head, maybe 8-10 inches clearance. Lucky guy there!

[Soar]

Cool vid, KH.

[uloveme]

Originally Posted by William May ↗

Look up "Hot Stuff - Octavian Cantilli" for some really beautiful pictures of the aircraft. It is an aircraft designed for F1 racing. They have a minimum weight of 500 lbs, they all have to use the same engine, (A Continental O-200, which is the engine used in the Cessna 150), a fixed pitch propeller, and fixed landing gear. This aircraft has a gull wing, and is really gorgeous. In fact, this is one of the nicest racing airplanes I have ever seen. Take a look.....

Holy shit I was unaware anybody else here was into Aviation

I must admit I had no idea they weren't allowed to use a variable pitch propeller. Very cool, I fly myself and my grandfather and father both have pilot license. I'm working on our main airplane which is a Aero Commander Darter. We completely stripped it apart, took off the wings and hauled it to my grandfathers house to be painted and repaired and overall upgraded. My grandfather also purchased an Experimental via a kit and we put it together, it's only a single seat plane so I won't be flying in it ever (I have seizures so that put an end to my recreational flying career real quick a few years ago). God I love the United States, not many people own an airplane in most other country's due to one reason or another. I read that in the U.K. it cost like $35 dollars just to land, even if you are merely practicing touch-n-go's they charge you every single time. At least they do at the Airport I was reading about. Also the licenses you have to own and the fee's you have to pay to even have the ability to own an airplane is ridiculous. Anyway glad to see someone else here like's this stuff.

[William May]

Thanks, I think there are quite a bunch here that are interested in aviation. Kellyhound, for instance, always finds really good aviation stuff.
The Darter is a really cool aircraft. Are there many spare parts out there? I don't think it has been in production since 1969, so it's a real collectors item. Just because you can't fly alone doesn't mean you can't fly. And if you are really interested, you can still get your A&P and work on aircraft. If you are careful and meticulous, it is a lot of fun. Yes, light aviation nearly anywhere but in the U.S. is very hard and very expensive. It's too bad......