Talk:Slingsby T67 Firefly

Crashes

There seems to be some factor peculiar to the USAF aircraft or their operation that caused the crashes that did not apply to other users. What was different? 15:04, 18 August 2007 (UTC)mikeL

I seem to recall that there were some problems with operating from high altitude bases and the resulting increased UV causing deterioration of the GRP structure.Nigel Ish 15:19, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

Hello Nigel from the Federation of American Scientists web pages :- 'The T-3 fleet was grounded in July 1997, following an inexplicable engine failure in Colorado. Three instructors and three students were killed in crashes since the plane went into service in 1994. Two crashes were the result of pilot error, while a third occurred because of a stall condition from which the pilot was unable to recover.'

It is a pity that the aircraft has got a bad name when we cannot judge if it is deserved. 77.97.161.230 18:21, 18 August 2007 (UTC)mike;

In the 21st century, there have been seven fatalities due to spinning in Britain alone. cagliost (talk) 17:07, 28 June 2022 (UTC)

In popular culture

The four T-3 aircraft make a candid appearance in "Mr. Monk and the Astronaut (2006)" episode of the Monk (TV series). Two are marked RA on their tail fin, one is marked ED and the other's fin is not visible. I did not get which air base this was. The aircraft do not appear to simply be in storage as they are not crowded in the back. The 3/4 people 'working" on one's engine may be actors.

The video shots would have been taken just before the T-3s got shredded.

Nice aircraft, maybe the USAF flight trainers/cargo-pilots could have been retrained for aerobatics. Sad. NevilleDNZ (talk) 04:33, 2 July 2009 (UTC)