# Is this stunt for real? (landing plane with one wing) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 30, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-stunt-for-real-landing-plane-with-one-wing/470251 "2008-10-30T14:56:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-stunt-for-real-landing-plane-with-one-wing/470251/21 "2008-11-01T22:11:03Z")
When the wing comes off it’s obviously a toy airplane as is the landing. There is no mass to the object at all when it bounces. The F15 landing is impressive but the fuselage is acting as a lifting body and the ability to control it required a faster speed to land (250 mph approach speed). He obviously knew from flying it that it required that speed to maintain control. Still impressive. As to whether a stunt plane could hang on the prop like it showed in the video, the answer is no. The only stunt plane with a greater power to rate ratio was the Oracle Turbo Raven which was destroyed in a crash. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-stunt-for-real-landing-plane-with-one-wing/470251/22 "2008-11-02T00:00:17Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > As to whether a stunt plane could hang on the prop like it showed in the video, the answer is no. The only stunt plane with a greater power to rate ratio was the Oracle Turbo Raven which was destroyed in a crash. Which part are you talking about? The bit before it lands doesn’t require a 1:1 power to weight ratio because the fuselage is being used as a lifting surface. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-stunt-for-real-landing-plane-with-one-wing/470251/23 "2008-11-02T00:11:24Z")
[quote=“1920s Style “Death Ray”, post:22, topic:470251”] Which part are you talking about? The bit before it lands doesn’t require a 1:1 power to weight ratio because the fuselage is being used as a lifting surface. [/QUOTE] when the plane pulls up and starts to hang in the middle of the video. I attend a lot of aerobatic shows as well as RC events. You can add the prop shut down at the end to the list of obvious RC model examples. None of the video looks real to me at all. You can’t duplicate the mass of an airplain with a model when quick moves are made. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-stunt-for-real-landing-plane-with-one-wing/470251/24 "2008-11-02T00:18:40Z")
[Another example](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOBB_-gZFNo) of flying an RC with one wing. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-stunt-for-real-landing-plane-with-one-wing/470251/25 "2008-11-02T01:39:53Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > when the plane pulls up and starts to hang in the middle of the video. I attend a lot of aerobatic shows as well as RC events. I don’t see anywhere that it’s hanging on its prop other than doing the knife edge just prior to landing. The other give away is that it loses its wing doing a low stress manoeuvre. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-stunt-for-real-landing-plane-with-one-wing/470251/26 "2008-11-02T05:08:57Z")
> [@EpicNonsense](#): > > This was obviously made just to mess with people. They did really good on the graphics… No, trust me, I do stuff like this for a living and that video is awful, I new it was fake on the first second just by looking at the smoke. It seems that they used “Additive” on the smoke layer of the composition to make it brighter, but they totally blew it. It gets worse after that. Specially bad is the bounce on landing and the horrible motion blur of the propeller. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-stunt-for-real-landing-plane-with-one-wing/470251/27 "2008-11-02T05:29:59Z")
[quote=“1920s Style “Death Ray”, post:25, topic:470251”] I don’t see anywhere that it’s hanging on its prop other than doing the knife edge just prior to landing. The other give away is that it loses its wing doing a low stress manoeuvre. [/QUOTE] Before the knife edge the plane pulls up and starts to hang on the prop. And OMG I didn’t even look at the “smoke”. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-stunt-for-real-landing-plane-with-one-wing/470251/28 "2008-11-02T05:35:27Z")
I’m pretty sure that’s just an optical illusion caused by the camera angle, and no frame of reference, it’s not pulling up it’s already flying a knife edge and is turning towards the camera. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-stunt-for-real-landing-plane-with-one-wing/470251/29 "2008-11-02T06:02:08Z")
I know nothing about airplanes but I’d bet fifty bucks that it’s fake based on the voices on the ground. There’s absolutely no reaction when the wing just snaps off? “Run!” at the end? It sounds like a C-grade horror movie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-stunt-for-real-landing-plane-with-one-wing/470251.md?page=1)