De Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou —

This would more accurately be called a "stupid maneuver"

This requires some precise flying by a pilot who understands the Caribou's aerodynamics. Not a stupid maneuver when flown by a professional. I flew the Caribou 1968-1970. It was a delight to fly and could indeed perform some amazing maneuvers.

Lot's of skill needed for those maneuvers.

Look at how compress the shock absorbers are; just imagine how much force that front wheel must be under!

The nose wheel is hardly compressed at all. That's about the standard extension with no load. It's the unusual angle of the airframe to the runway that makes it look as if a lot of load is on the nosewheel, but there's hardly any. The wings are fully supporting the aircraft!

I recall during Apr '64, as a Pathfinder participating in the 11th Air-Assault Test in Fort Benning, GA , I set-up a dirt landing strip and we landed a DC-? in less than 100 yards, had it turn around, taxi back to the touch-down point, and take-off again, within the same landing distance of less than 100 yards. The Caribou was then followed by the OV-1, Mowhawk. We definitely had close-air support platforms, that rivaled what was being provided by the USAF. However, it wasn't long after, when we got to Vietnam in the fall of '65, that politicians took them away from the 1st Cav and US Army. I agree with John Pentecost, when you stay with-in the envelope, an aircraft is a delight to fly!

Now let's see the same maneuver by an A380.

deHavilland of Canada makes great airplanes. I envision that this maneuver was performed during high speed taxiing and the pilot was in complete control. Just looking at the photo it would appear that the airplane is landing but using the proper flap/elevator controls along with the flaperons during taxiing would create the illusion. He was probably taxiing at flying speed and just held the nose wheel on the ground while lifting up the main gear to show the capabilities of the airplane. (and the pilot) GREAT PHOTO

Oh my...