Thoughts on Oshkosh

There is an overwhelming safety issue concerning tailwheel propeller
warbirds that absolutely has to be addressed AS A SINGLE ISSUE by the FAA
and the EAA before accidents like the one this week can be prevented.
I've seen this issue discussed peripherally in safety meetings at these
shows, and I've seen it addressed peripherally in the warbird community, but
I've never seen the issue of loss of visual cues due to lack of S taxi room
in a high density close in taxi environment dealt with as a MAJOR safety
issue directed at the community it affects.......tailwheel propeller
warbirds!

There is a HUGE problem involved in moving tailwheel warbirds like P51's,
F8F's TBM's, TBF's, Spitfires, Sea Furies...you name it.....in a ground
environment where there is limited room to S taxi these airplanes to clear
the nose while in motion.

I know the issue has been addressed in the pilot safety meetings and by
in-community newsletter, but it's not enough; not by a long shot!! You
simply can't put a P51 or a TBM in a mass of moving aircraft on the ground
in a taxi environment involving dissimilar aircraft in limited taxi space.
This in my opinion is one of the most dangerous ground scenarios you can
possibly imagine.

You taxi these fighters by constantly clearing the nose in front of you as
you yaw the airplane side to side. Your basic visual cue is a small area in
the lower sides of the windshield side panels. This results in a constant
blind area that you are both moving into and alternately checking visually.
This scenario has actually been addressed by the powers that be at Oshkosh,
as the people running this show are warbird oriented to say the least, but
the precautions obviously have not been enough on more than one occasion,
and most likely won't be enough again if something isn't done to improve the
ground safety situation out there.
On the face of it, radio contact and wing walkers should be enough, but
obviously there are flaws in this system. There are areas of transition
where handoffs are being missed, and individual airplanes are being allowed
to make position changes unassisted. It appears that in these areas the
accidents are happening.
NO tailwheel warbird should be allowed ANY ground movement at Oshkosh
without a wing walker.........PERIOD! It's just too dangerous. Pilots of
these airplanes can't see if they can't S taxi, and in many cases, there
just isn't sufficient room for the pilots of these airplanes to clear their
noses. Add to this deplorable situation the fact that the airplane in front
of a P51 or a TBM could be a Pitts, or some other extremely small airplane,
and you have the perfect recipe for a disaster.
FAA.......EAA......and the warbird community.........you people better start
realizing that the tailwheel issue taxiing these airplanes is important
enough an issue at Oshkosh that it gets addressed as one of the single most
important safety issues at this show and is handled in a manner dictated by
its importance and not as a general safety issue.
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship