Items of [possible] interest

[Peter Beaty <beatyp@engg.email.dupont.com>]

DARWIN WOULD APPRECIATE THIS: At AVweb we have a rule against using
humor in news items involving death or serious injury, but every rule is
made to be broken.  On May 17, the pilot of a C-337 Super Skymaster --
Cessna's push-me, pull-you twin -- was fatally injured when he
intentionally attempted a single-engine takeoff using the front engine
at Montgomery, N.Y.  The wreckage was found a short time later with the
landing gear extended and rear propeller unfeathered, a configuration
delivering minimum thrust and maximum drag, and a solid-gold prescription
for disaster.  The POH and common sense both suggest this is not a very
bright idea, and so the gene pool cleanses itself.

RV-8 PROTOTYPE CRASHES: The prototype Vans RV-8 experimental reportedly
crashed last Sunday during a demonstration flight near Ripley,
California.  According to a preliminary FAA report, an in-flight
structural failure occurred, killing both aboard.  Early information
indicates a factory rep and a prospective purchaser were aboard for a
demonstration flight.  There are reports of approximately 1,000 RV-8
kits in various stages of construction.

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