My Saturday

[bennylaird]

The kids all put in for a present for Dad, so I spent 30 mins of aerobatics over Bendigo in this.

As much fun as you can have with your pants on, would recommend it to anyone. Unless you get airsick lol.

[Greg Q]

Hey Benny!

Nice gift. I'll bet you had a blast. Years ago I had regular goes in a Pitts special. Every year the first flight was the same: I would lose a pair of Ray-Bans while chucking over the side. Plus, the airflow around the turtledeck was weird-you'd get stuff in your hair and the back of your neck.

Greg

(whose avatar is parked in Greenland)

[bennylaird]

Ahh a Pitts, that would be special. so far I've managed aeros in:

Blanik gliders
CT4, Platic Parrot
Macci. Fanta Can
Tger Moth
Nanchang CJ6

And spirited flying in:
Cessna 150, 172, 182.
Cherokee
Carribou
Hercules
HS748
Iroquois
Fokker F28, the Calibration aircraft for nav aids,
RAAF 707's

[Greg Q]

Hi Benny...

Pitts, C-150 Aerobat, chardonnay aeros in a special Beech Bonanza, and unintentionally in a DC-3 during stall training, and in the Convair (my avatar), again doing stall training, this time with an engine failing right as the recovery started, below Vmc. Yeeeeeee Haaaaaa!Scared the cr*p out of me:eek:

[bennylaird]

So did you get to clean out the mess?

I hope to start on my private license soon, just need the kids to move out and pay their own bills

Here's the Tiger I went up on down at Torquay, no controls in the back seat though. As I live just 4km from Point Cook I'll have to go up in theirs, and maybe the Mustang........................

[Iain]

Best I ever managed was a quick trip to Mildura and back (non stop) in a Mirage, still remember the kick in the bum when the afterburners ignited, and they were slow by todays standards.
Apart from that the usual wing flapping Caribou and Hercy Birds.
Father used to have a Tiger Moth but never got a buzz out of it but been up in a few antiques like the Auster, Majester and one a bit bigger than the tiger moth, called an Arch Deacon or something like that.

[bennylaird]

Never got to the top of the list for a seat in a Mirage, would have loved it.

They used to hand out a Mach 1 certificate after your flight. Used to love watching them in Malaysia as our radar site was on the airfield.

[Iain]

That flight was very very very unofficial, like a lot of things we did

[Greg Q]

I like jets. The only thing better is Merlin power. Or R-2800. I got shoehorned into the back of a P-51 at an airshow in Pennsylvania years ago-my neck is still sore.

Then again, as you can see judged against what I was flying, I am a big boy:

[bennylaird]

Four Merlins would be amazing, the Battle of Britain fight has a Lanc but how would you manage a trip in that?

Also the Connie that is getting around in Quaintarse colours, just watching the smoke as she runs up is fun. Might see if they want a passenger???

[Greg Q]

Same as all of these things: follow the money. I have to say that doing airshows in WWII aeroplanes is a lot of work, and a lot of fun. What gets really tiresome is dealing with the egos of the people who own/manage/empire build around these planes.

Being a demonstration pilot is a self-less proposition, too. Done to perfection, the pilot is invisible and the machine shown in its best light, and returned safely. Still, there are many days that when I wish I still had ten .50 cals :eek:

[bennylaird]

All I get to do these days is to make sure a Seasparrow has the best chance of bringing and aircraft down. As no aircraft would need to come within range I guess it just becomes an incoming missile to target?


Bye the way just how well does a Gooney recover from a stall???

[Greg Q]

Hi Benny...

The Douglass Racer is good in a stall...recovers well, and usually straight ahead. Where the problem lies is when an over-zealous know-nothing Department of Transport inspector decides to show you a REAL DC-3 stall!.

He reefed that thing so nose high it was unbelievable-accelerated stall all the way, while pulling 2- 2.5 G's. A wing dropped, and he let it wind up into a spin. Problem was he and I together took a long time to get the rudder straight because of that huge balance horn-it was aerodynamically locked. As I recall we recovered at 700 ft, and it took proctologist and a winch to get the seat cushion out of my butt.:eek:

Greg

[Termite]

For a brown pants ride try Artilery spotting in a Bell, the ones with a clear cab all round you, including underneath.

[bennylaird]

LOL so what goes through your mind as the altimeter winds down? lol.

Remember the 707 at East Sale? Also an over zealous attempt to put the aircraft in danger, but they will never do it again.