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£15k model Vickers Valiant crashes and burns

A 16 foot jet-powered replica of a Vickers Valiant which cost model-maker Simon Steggall £15k, two years' graft, and one wife, crashed and burned on its fourth flight, The Sun reports. Steggal, 45, of Manningtree, Essex, had already lost one missus to his "model planes obsession" when the second divorced him over the V Bomber …

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Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward

Oh, the irony

Shades of the jet-powered model F-14 crash video that is widely available on Youtube. It's ironic that it would be a Vickers Valiant, given that it was withdrawn from service due to fatigue. I quote from Greg Goebel's excellent "Air Vectors":

"Following a series of accidents, inspections showed that the main wing spars of the Valiants in operation were suffering from excessive fatigue. There was hope that the (tanker versions), which didn't generally operate at low level, might be in better condition, but that didn't prove to be the case. Replacing the wing spars was deemed too expensive for an aircraft that was going out of service in 1968 anyway, and had been built as a interim solution to begin with. The Valiant force was grounded, to be removed from service in 1965."

Matt Caldwell

Never good.

Anytime a person's model crashes, it is a loss. I have noticed that many sites seem to emphasize the fact that it was a flight to prove the model's safety. As a modeler myself, I can say that nearly everyone in this takes safety very seriously, especially people who put this much money and time into it. Radio control systems are getting more resistant to interference every season and all sanctioned airfields have a frequency control plan. It is very sad that this guy's plane crashed, though I must admit I enjoy looking at the pictures. Many people I know have engines from the 70's still in great condition and over a thousand flights on balsa airframes. But I hope publicity does not paint the hobby itself in a negative light.

Tim Bates

Continued Irony

Continuing the irony, the guy was demoing it to prove it was safe... How funny that it crashed the one time it mattered.

Pitty still. It looked pretty cool. Would have been amazing to watch.

Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward

Ironic?

>> Continuing the irony, the guy was demoing it to prove it was safe...

>> How funny that it crashed the one time it mattered.

>>

>> Pitty still. It looked pretty cool. Would have been amazing to watch.

Ironic or fortunate?

If it plane was unsafe (as the crash might suggest) it is probably quite fortunate that it crashed before being granted a safety certificate.

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