Not EU Referendum territory, but this man should not be alive!

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You're right Northy, he shouldn't be alive. The pilot isn't alive in the normal sense. It's a computer game with really good physics simulation and stuff. So there may be a pretty good pilot nonetheless, except he's piloting a computer and not a real aeroplane.

Cobbler, stick to thy last -- this video is obviously a fake...

Guess I wanted to believe it - perhaps clouds the judgement, but I thought it was real. I saw a Spit XIX go in once at an air show. Saw him go over the top of a loop and knew he wouldn't make it the moment he went inverted - screamed out loud. God! I willed him to pull out. Somebody next to me in the crowd said "it's alright - it's a stunt!" as if I was mad but you could see him go into a g-stall and he smacked into the tarmac. The engine was the biggest piece left. I do not like seeing pilots spread themselves over the firmament - seen too many.

It is a Government propaganda film.

An analogy.

Plane = economy. Pilot = McBust.

NOT fake, just amazing aeronautical problem-solving!

Please realize what you saw that pilot do:

He used thrust from the VERY powerful engine of a purpose-built aerobatic plane in conjunction with positive aileron on his port wing (to prevent a corkscrew spin) and positive elevator positions to compensate for the lack of lift from his wings.

Then, when he was low to the ground, he tipped the plane 90 degrees right with negative port aileron while using left rudder to pitch the tail down...and the nose up.

Immediately after that, he used the afore-mentioned powerful engine to provide downward thrust to hold the nose up and his vertical stabilizer with full-right rudder to provide lift for the aft portion of the aircraft as he neared the ground in a right wing stand.

Finally, when he was fifteen feet off the runway, he used fully positive port aileron to spin the aircraft 90 degrees left while cutting power, landing (or I should say plopping!) the aircraft on the ground.

It only "looks fake" if you don't carefully watch...and LISTEN.

This was a feat that required near-perfect coordination and piloting instincts to achieve...and this pilot succeeded so well that he not only survived, he made it look easy enough that some people thought it was a special effect.

I truly cheered aloud as I watched the video.

BTW, if the sudden loss of a wing is part of an act, well...this man is the most daring and confident aerial performer I've ever seen...and his skills are still INCREDIBLE!

Jay - thanks for that. I thought it was real and very plausible. Those aircraft have sufficient thrust to maintain vertical climb and hold the a/c stationary in the sky ... it is a classic stunt at airshows, called "helicoptering". They just hang in the sky so long you get bored watching them.

Thrust to weight ratio is so high that they can maintain altitude through a ninety-degree, wing down level flight, using the aerodynamic lift from the fuselage - you are getting no lift at all from the wings. Thus his final approach looked highly realistic. Seen it done for real, as they come in sideways and twitch straight only at the last minute.

Had an instructor who used to come in to land inverted, rolling upright only at the last moment, with only just sufficient clearance without clipping the wing on the ground. He misjudged it once, and ended up going through the clubhouse roof.

I wasn't there at the time, but he was the toast of the club and it's absolutely for real - he was mad as a hatter, an ex-Battle of Britain Spit pilot. Silly bastard, so the legend went, was hanging upside down in his straps and ordered a drink. I asked him about it and he said that, since he was in the bar, it seemed the right thing to do!

And, if you walk away from it, it's a landing!

Here is the interview with the “pilot” Interview

Here is a video of a similar event Plane loses wing in mid-flight

A well done viral advertising campaign!

But here is the real thing! F-15 flying with one wing

"It is not possible to fly an aeroplane with one wing".

Alright - I am not sure either way ... but I have looked at the video several times. If it is a model, I can't see the join. One thing, though, if you look at the aerilons, you will see that it is full span, as befits a high-performance aerobatic aircraft. You also get greater travel, to give you better control at low speed. Thus, it is theoretically possible.

However, - the debate goes on ...

http://www.avweb.com/blogs/insider/AVwe ... 096-1.html

Ah a realistic computer simulation! I knew something about that was off - the scale, the background - something just did not seem right to me, especially towards the end seconds before the landing. And then the actual landing: I thought it was a remote toy plane until I saw the canopy open. Still the background if nothing else gives it away. Good to know that nobody was hurt.

Thank you
Jay Crawford
Bagua
I am a believer

Looks OK to me. He's a stunt pilot that knows he can fly knife-edge at which point the symmetrically profiled are doing nothing. On losing a wing he gets himself into a configuration where the other wing's weight and lift don't de-stabilize the aircraft. When he thought of the idea of a flick-roll/chop throttle as a crash-minimizer I'm sure not even he expected to end-up on his wheels.

I wonder when what he had pulled off actually registered emotionally.

It is almost certainly computer generated.

The lighting is odd especially on the aeroplane- it is too clean and the shadows are wrong also that camera wobble and focus blur effect is standard fare in most professional CG packages. Classic giveaways and you see it all the time in sci-fi tv programs.

for example: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OVl7Ei6Tb ... re=related

Check out the moments straight after the landing: the camera has mysteriously gone from shaky hand-held to professional tracking shot, running alongide the plane as it comes to a halt.