And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
I remember the first time. The Thunderbirds rolled into the ground back in '76 or '77. In a split second all of them hit the ground. I lost any semblance of absolute faith in leaders at that point.
I read a little bit more about this, shortly after the accident. As Wiki says, the lead pilot had a mechanical problem which prevented him from pulling up. Speculation, or maybe the accident investigation, suggests that the lead pilot took his left hand off the throttle, to use both hands on the stick. Problem: the pilot's "push to transmit" button was on the throttle. The other pilots in the formation were focused on maintaining position with the leader - as their training and procedures required, and so they followed him into the dirt. After this accident the demonstration teams changed to "hot mikes", wherein the lead can always transmit without having to key the mike.
When they did that at Midway, the Japanese fleet went to the bottom.
ReplyDeleteI remember the first time. The Thunderbirds rolled into the ground back in '76 or '77. In a split second all of them hit the ground.
ReplyDeleteI lost any semblance of absolute faith in leaders at that point.
Great photo!
ReplyDeleteStart here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_Thunderbirds_Indian_Springs_Diamond_Crash
ReplyDeleteI read a little bit more about this, shortly after the accident. As Wiki says, the lead pilot had a mechanical problem which prevented him from pulling up. Speculation, or maybe the accident investigation, suggests that the lead pilot took his left hand off the throttle, to use both hands on the stick. Problem: the pilot's "push to transmit" button was on the throttle. The other pilots in the formation were focused on maintaining position with the leader - as their training and procedures required, and so they followed him into the dirt. After this accident the demonstration teams changed to "hot mikes", wherein the lead can always transmit without having to key the mike.