Scary Video of Jets Clipping Wings at Ft Lauderdale Air Show

MSN.com: 2 fighter jets clip wings during Fort Lauderdale Air Show in Florida

Or was it 3?

Looks like the only contact was that the jet on the left of the formation touched its right wingtip to the elevator of the one in front.

I still can't tell but you are probably right.

Here is a Youtube video that can be viewed at .25 speed.

GameboyRMH said:

Looks like the only contact was that the jet on the left of the formation touched its right wingtip to the elevator of the one in front.

Spitfire pilots: "That's how we took down enemy craft"

(Flipping a V2 rocket over with your wing would disorient its navigation system and it'd crash.  But first you had to flip it with your wing...)

- Pedantic Warning -

OK... technically not a fighter.  Those are L-39 Albatrosses.  A Czechoslovakian built trainer, that have become rather popular in the civilian market.  They, used to be, raced at Reno and Tom Cruise may own one (he is shown flying one in one of the Maverick promo videos).

The jet crash at Reno 2 years ago was an L-29, an earlier (and rather different looking) plane by the same manufacturer.

Pretty scary incident shown.  They got a bit lucky.  Not sure why the inside guy drifted in, but it almost looks like he hit some wake turbulence (you can see him bobble a bit before the contact), but you would think that would at least affect the lead plane also.  It's possible he was just over correcting after drifting a bit.  His job at that point is to only look at the lead aircraft and keep separation BTW, which is what the other two planes are also doing.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

 

Spitfire pilots: "That's how we took down enemy craft"

(Flipping a V2 rocket over with your wing would disorient its navigation system and it'd crash.  But first you had to flip it with your wing...)

I hate to be the "ackshually!" guy but V1, not V2.  

jmabarone said:

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

 

Spitfire pilots: "That's how we took down enemy craft"

(Flipping a V2 rocket over with your wing would disorient its navigation system and it'd crash.  But first you had to flip it with your wing...)

I hate to be the "ackshually!" guy but V1, not V2.  

Also, IIRC rather than touching (and potentially damaging the Spitfire) they would place the wing close enough so that the vortices coming off the wingtip would disturb the V1's stability (autopilot/guidance systems were not very sophisticated in those days)

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

From what I remember, what told the V1 when to dive was a mechanism on a long threaded rod driven through some gears by a propeller outside the V1, and when the mechanism reached the end of the rod it would lock the elevator into a dive position. Distance was set by the starting position of the mechanism. They were aimed by pointing the launcher carefully at what you wanted to hit over the horizon, and a mechanical auto-leveling & heading hold system tried to make them fly straightish.