- Joined
- Jul 16, 2012
- Messages
- 96
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- 8
Hey guys I'm back. haven't been on in quite some time (focusing on my PPL) but alas my check ride is a month away and I'm looking forward to getting rid of my 150.
Two days ago I was given the opportunity to fly an Extra 300, the phenomenal stunt plane that we’ve all come to know and love. I jumped on it right away without a second thought. As I approached the aircraft I could see the sunlight reflecting off its red metallic flake paint job and you could clearly see this was an aircraft made for serious performance. The big bubble canopy was opened up showing off its soft leather interior to all. I was told to put on a parachute and I obliged. No matter how well built an aircraft is, you never know what might happen. I climbed in and the first thing I noticed was the lack of gauges in the front seat. Just an altimeter and an airspeed indicator are given to the passenger up front, mind you, what else is really needed? I looked around and admired the paint job on the aircraft once again. Reaching for the harness I discovered that there was actually quite a bit of space to move around, but maybe it’s just my small size giving me that privilege. On went the harness, tightened down along the waist until I couldn’t wiggle myself a centimeter. I left the shoulder harness loose as per the advice given to me by the owners’ son. It was a greatly appreciated piece of advice. On went the cloth flying hat that prevented my headset from falling off while pulling negative Gs. That too was tightened down quite snug. At that point the canopy came down and locked into place, it got warmer inside but not unbearably hot as it does in most bubble canopy equipped aircraft, granted, it was a really nice day to fly. The pilot in the back, a good friend of the owner of the airplane, called clear prop and the beautiful AIEO-540 engine roared to life and purred like a finely tuned Ferrari.
As we taxied out the Pilot told me to taxi it out. Thoughts started rushing through my head, “Did he know I’ve never taxied a tail dragger before?” “How much pressure am I supposed to put on the pedals?” “Do I use brakes to S-turn?” “I can’t see a thing!” The first thing I did was almost taxi it right off the taxi way! I had always been told that extras and Pitts' and other aerobatic planes had extremely touchy controls while taxiing so I only imputed very light rudder. The pilot immediately put on the brakes and explained I needed more rudder. At that point I started pushing the pedals quite hard to get the airplane to S-turn. From then on out my S-turns were off center and asymmetrical but it got the job done (keep in mind this was the first time I've taxied a tail dragger).
On takeoff he told me to throttle up and follow his movements on the stick. I was eager to observe his movements and gradually pushed the throttle forward and watched the airspeed climb. He gave a little forward stick to get the tail off and lifted off at about 90. The throttle was all the way in; we were climbing out at 110kts which made the trip to altitude pretty quick. On climb out the pilot gave me the controls and asked me to roll inverted to perform a seat check. I thought to myself "Ok I'll just slowly roll and push to about -2Gs" the second I tapped that stick over we went inverted and right back up level, in all the excitement I forgot I was flying an aircraft that rolls at 400 degrees per second! The pilot asked me to roll inverted again and, a little embarrassed, I rolled inverted the second time around and pushed. (If you are still reading I thank you, it’s so easy to write a lot about such a great experience)
The main maneuver I was most excited to perform was the tumble. That’s the first thing we did, we got up to altitude and leveled out. The pilot talked me through what he was going to do "full left rudder, back to full right rudder and at the peak of the tail swinging around to the right I’ll give it full forward and left stick." He did exactly what he said and a whole mix of sensations and orientations came over me as we pulled -2.5gs and the tail came over top of us. We recovered cleanly and he asked me what I’d like to do next. I didn’t know the names of any maneuvers so he listed a few. I chose the torque roll. We once again leveled out to enter the torque roll. We dove down, pulled inverted, watched the string fly backwards and let the torque of the engine do the rest. Then on to the inverted flat spin. The entrance into the inverted flat spin was a bit interesting though. The pilot dove down to get some speed, pulled vertical and entered a hammer head, as the nose came to the horizon he pushed the stick forward and right and the aircraft did an odd gyration and settled into the spin nicely. We did that one twice as the first attempt ended up in another odd gyration. The second attempts lead us right into a very clean flat spin. It was amazing watching the ground below you and looking out to the wing tips as they spun on the horizon. In the end the tumble didn’t disappoint and ended up being my favorite maneuver of the day. +6/-2.5Gs later we decided to call it quits and head back for the airport, he said I had the controls on the way back so naturally I did a few little barrel rolls and aileron rolls on the way back.
On landing we came in at a pretty fast speed, I can’t recall the exact number as we were looking for a Cessna on downwind, but it was somewhere high in the yellow arc. We found the Cessna and decided to go ahead; in one big downwind-base-and final we arced our way onto the runway touching down, once again, at about 90. I didn’t want it to end; I didn’t want to get out of the airplane. I desperately wanted to jam that throttle forward and pull back on the stick but I knew all good things must come to an end.
It was at that time that I realized I was hooked. I never wanted to give up aerobatic flying and, on a lesser point, never really wanted to fly a 150 again but I knew I must. That day I discovered that aerobatic flying was the pinnacle of aviation. It’s what I always dreamed about as a small child and what I will continue to dream about for years to come. As I try to convey the sensations of flying to a non-pilot I find it extremely difficult as there is nothing on this planet that feels the same. After the Extra experience I have tried to explain the sensation of 6Gs or any number of negative Gs. I have tried to describe the feeling of being upside down spinning in an aircraft as it plummets towards the earth. People just don’t understand it. I will always try to describe it to others simply for the fact that I remind myself of the feelings and joy it brought me, and hopefully, one day… Someone will understand the sensation I feel. The sensation we feel.
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The pilot (also my mentor in my aviation career) suggested I started looking into purchasing a Pitts S1 after I get my PPL (next month
) Actually originally he suggested my family sells our house and buys an extra but my parents weren't to fond of that idea. So now I'm kind of looking for an S1.
I know I wont be able to afford one on my own unless I sell my car as well as my 150 share but I've seen some pretty cheap S1's out there that I could set up a partnership for. What can one expect to pay for an early pitts with an 0-290 or so? I'm only 120 lbs (yes, yes I know I need to eat more but being light gives me an advantage in my 150 haha) so I feel like an 0-290 wouldn't be TOO bad for performance but ideally Id like an 0-320 or 0-360.
Anyways I would get proper pitts training from my mentor in his pitts S2E and eventually Id like to compete in some IAC competitions. Also what the GPH on a S1 with the 0-290 or 0-320? I need 100 hours to go to ATP and Id really like to make the majority of those in the Pitts.
Id appreciate anyone's thoughts on the subject, positive thoughts are desired but I know everyone has their own opinions about a 17 year old looking into a pitts. (Which by the way I'm not the kind of 17 year old who goes out and drinks until 3 AM. Im the one who hangs out at the airport more than my house and drive my car which is a 87 Porsche 944 at the speed limit rather than 100+)
Thank you all for reading this and understanding the sensations while helping in my desire to educate myself on an aircraft we all love.
The Extra Experience
Two days ago I was given the opportunity to fly an Extra 300, the phenomenal stunt plane that we’ve all come to know and love. I jumped on it right away without a second thought. As I approached the aircraft I could see the sunlight reflecting off its red metallic flake paint job and you could clearly see this was an aircraft made for serious performance. The big bubble canopy was opened up showing off its soft leather interior to all. I was told to put on a parachute and I obliged. No matter how well built an aircraft is, you never know what might happen. I climbed in and the first thing I noticed was the lack of gauges in the front seat. Just an altimeter and an airspeed indicator are given to the passenger up front, mind you, what else is really needed? I looked around and admired the paint job on the aircraft once again. Reaching for the harness I discovered that there was actually quite a bit of space to move around, but maybe it’s just my small size giving me that privilege. On went the harness, tightened down along the waist until I couldn’t wiggle myself a centimeter. I left the shoulder harness loose as per the advice given to me by the owners’ son. It was a greatly appreciated piece of advice. On went the cloth flying hat that prevented my headset from falling off while pulling negative Gs. That too was tightened down quite snug. At that point the canopy came down and locked into place, it got warmer inside but not unbearably hot as it does in most bubble canopy equipped aircraft, granted, it was a really nice day to fly. The pilot in the back, a good friend of the owner of the airplane, called clear prop and the beautiful AIEO-540 engine roared to life and purred like a finely tuned Ferrari.
As we taxied out the Pilot told me to taxi it out. Thoughts started rushing through my head, “Did he know I’ve never taxied a tail dragger before?” “How much pressure am I supposed to put on the pedals?” “Do I use brakes to S-turn?” “I can’t see a thing!” The first thing I did was almost taxi it right off the taxi way! I had always been told that extras and Pitts' and other aerobatic planes had extremely touchy controls while taxiing so I only imputed very light rudder. The pilot immediately put on the brakes and explained I needed more rudder. At that point I started pushing the pedals quite hard to get the airplane to S-turn. From then on out my S-turns were off center and asymmetrical but it got the job done (keep in mind this was the first time I've taxied a tail dragger).
On takeoff he told me to throttle up and follow his movements on the stick. I was eager to observe his movements and gradually pushed the throttle forward and watched the airspeed climb. He gave a little forward stick to get the tail off and lifted off at about 90. The throttle was all the way in; we were climbing out at 110kts which made the trip to altitude pretty quick. On climb out the pilot gave me the controls and asked me to roll inverted to perform a seat check. I thought to myself "Ok I'll just slowly roll and push to about -2Gs" the second I tapped that stick over we went inverted and right back up level, in all the excitement I forgot I was flying an aircraft that rolls at 400 degrees per second! The pilot asked me to roll inverted again and, a little embarrassed, I rolled inverted the second time around and pushed. (If you are still reading I thank you, it’s so easy to write a lot about such a great experience)
The main maneuver I was most excited to perform was the tumble. That’s the first thing we did, we got up to altitude and leveled out. The pilot talked me through what he was going to do "full left rudder, back to full right rudder and at the peak of the tail swinging around to the right I’ll give it full forward and left stick." He did exactly what he said and a whole mix of sensations and orientations came over me as we pulled -2.5gs and the tail came over top of us. We recovered cleanly and he asked me what I’d like to do next. I didn’t know the names of any maneuvers so he listed a few. I chose the torque roll. We once again leveled out to enter the torque roll. We dove down, pulled inverted, watched the string fly backwards and let the torque of the engine do the rest. Then on to the inverted flat spin. The entrance into the inverted flat spin was a bit interesting though. The pilot dove down to get some speed, pulled vertical and entered a hammer head, as the nose came to the horizon he pushed the stick forward and right and the aircraft did an odd gyration and settled into the spin nicely. We did that one twice as the first attempt ended up in another odd gyration. The second attempts lead us right into a very clean flat spin. It was amazing watching the ground below you and looking out to the wing tips as they spun on the horizon. In the end the tumble didn’t disappoint and ended up being my favorite maneuver of the day. +6/-2.5Gs later we decided to call it quits and head back for the airport, he said I had the controls on the way back so naturally I did a few little barrel rolls and aileron rolls on the way back.
On landing we came in at a pretty fast speed, I can’t recall the exact number as we were looking for a Cessna on downwind, but it was somewhere high in the yellow arc. We found the Cessna and decided to go ahead; in one big downwind-base-and final we arced our way onto the runway touching down, once again, at about 90. I didn’t want it to end; I didn’t want to get out of the airplane. I desperately wanted to jam that throttle forward and pull back on the stick but I knew all good things must come to an end.
It was at that time that I realized I was hooked. I never wanted to give up aerobatic flying and, on a lesser point, never really wanted to fly a 150 again but I knew I must. That day I discovered that aerobatic flying was the pinnacle of aviation. It’s what I always dreamed about as a small child and what I will continue to dream about for years to come. As I try to convey the sensations of flying to a non-pilot I find it extremely difficult as there is nothing on this planet that feels the same. After the Extra experience I have tried to explain the sensation of 6Gs or any number of negative Gs. I have tried to describe the feeling of being upside down spinning in an aircraft as it plummets towards the earth. People just don’t understand it. I will always try to describe it to others simply for the fact that I remind myself of the feelings and joy it brought me, and hopefully, one day… Someone will understand the sensation I feel. The sensation we feel.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The pilot (also my mentor in my aviation career) suggested I started looking into purchasing a Pitts S1 after I get my PPL (next month
) Actually originally he suggested my family sells our house and buys an extra but my parents weren't to fond of that idea. So now I'm kind of looking for an S1. I know I wont be able to afford one on my own unless I sell my car as well as my 150 share but I've seen some pretty cheap S1's out there that I could set up a partnership for. What can one expect to pay for an early pitts with an 0-290 or so? I'm only 120 lbs (yes, yes I know I need to eat more but being light gives me an advantage in my 150 haha) so I feel like an 0-290 wouldn't be TOO bad for performance but ideally Id like an 0-320 or 0-360.
Anyways I would get proper pitts training from my mentor in his pitts S2E and eventually Id like to compete in some IAC competitions. Also what the GPH on a S1 with the 0-290 or 0-320? I need 100 hours to go to ATP and Id really like to make the majority of those in the Pitts.
Id appreciate anyone's thoughts on the subject, positive thoughts are desired but I know everyone has their own opinions about a 17 year old looking into a pitts. (Which by the way I'm not the kind of 17 year old who goes out and drinks until 3 AM. Im the one who hangs out at the airport more than my house and drive my car which is a 87 Porsche 944 at the speed limit rather than 100+)
Thank you all for reading this and understanding the sensations while helping in my desire to educate myself on an aircraft we all love.
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