R.I.P. - Sherman Smoot and "Czech Mate"

[mkd1966]

Sorry if this has already been posted  and I missed it - but last friday 9/2 while on a test flight preparing for the upcoming Reno Air Races starting next week - Sherm Smoot lost the engine right on takeoff on the highly modified Yak-11 with a P & W R2800 and cut down Skyraider prop and unfortunately both were lost... Czech Mate hadn't raced since 2016 and they've been doing a lot of prep work to get her ready and many thought that this would be the year that "The Giant Slayer" would take the unlimited gold... Thoughts and prayers for the family and friends... Blue Skies Mr. Sherm...

[Out2gtcha]

Damn......that sucks. She was a giant killer too.

Blue skies Sherman

[LSP_K2]

Can't say I ever heard of him. A shame though, regardless.

[Chad Veich]

I have heard from a reliable source that Sherm radioed shortly after take off that he was losing oil pressure.  Apparently he got the Yak turned around and headed back to the airport but they figure the engine seized up shortly thereafter.  Once that big Skyraider prop quits turning the drag is tremendous and the airplane probably stalled almost immediately.  At pattern altitude there would have been precious little anybody could have done to stop the inevitable.  Just speculation at this time and we will have to wait for the official report but my guess is that these assumptions will be pretty accurate.

[Pete Fleischmann]

While I agree that a stopped prop is a tremendous amount of drag, an aerodynamic stall is the result of exceeding the critical angle of attack. 
 

My fellow warbird pilots (who also race at Reno) tell me it was engine failure and what appeared to be an attempt to stretch the glide to make the field…which resulted in a stall.

 

Hearsay of course- As always, I’ll wait for the official report.

 

cheers

Pete

 

 

Edited September 15, 2022 by Pete Fleischmann