Who here has flown? I had one introduction class.

Post #437,654 by crazy 12/10/20 9:58:57 AM 12/10/20 9:58:57 AM Reply	Who here has flown? I had one introduction class. I didn't intend to get a pilot's license. My brother simply gifted me an introduction class. He's sat in the back while the instructor sat next to me in front. Four man plane. I've been in a variety of small crap planes for tours. My perspective of small planes is basically a VW bus with wings hanging on. This was not that. This was a Porsche with wings. So we take off from a tiny airport in Northeast Philadelphia and then go to the Jersey side. We have a certain range of what we're allowed before we go into various military base airspace. Stay away from that. He then hands the controls to me. There's a point in the horizon and you have to start turning left to go pull a u-turn, etc. It was fun. And then we return to the airport. At this point he said it's all yours. I don't want you to land but I want you to hit the wheels and then lift off again. Touch and go landings. What the f* does that mean? He told me: you see this little light above you that's not on right now? When it goes on there will be an alarm sound. This means the plane does not have enough lift and you're about to die. That's also the exact moment you want to hit the runway. You have to adjust throttle and stick, no I had a fancy sports car handle, and you just have to hit that runway in about 3 seconds after that alarm goes off. What the f*? Yeah, you're going to be floating in on low power and you're going to be dipping the nose but not too much, and the air speed alarm will go off and that means you've got three seconds to hit your wheels onto the runway. If you are actually going to stop we do other things but what I want you to do at that point after you hit the runway is hit the throttle and pull the stick back and go back up. I did this for about 15 minutes. Maybe I had three touch and goes. My brother in the back starts screaming he was about to puke get him off the plane. So that was the end of my lesson. I landed, and we got out. It was one of the most intense experiences of my life and I would so love to do it again.
Post #437,664 by mmoffitt 12/10/20 2:17:42 PM 12/10/20 2:17:42 PM Reply	PPSEL. N7522T is my Cessna 172A. Chuck Yeager was never the pilot Bob Hoover was and from personal accounts I've heard from others, Yeager was an even bigger prick than the standard for test pilots. Some folks I've spoken with who were there said Hoover was supposed to be the pilot for the famous flight, but got sideways with those in charge and was relegated to Yeager's back-up. If half the crap I've heard about Chuck Yeager is true, I've got two words for his passing: good riddance. bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.
Post #437,675 by Ashton 12/10/20 5:11:34 PM 12/10/20 5:11:34 PM Reply	Thanks: myth killed by (likely) Truthiness, aka Be an iconoclast! ..wherever it's important :-)
Post #437,682 by rcareaga 12/10/20 9:29:04 PM 12/10/20 9:29:04 PM Reply	Well, here’s how Hoover remembered it in 2002 Well, he’s a real hero in my book. I knew him intimately. In his book, he wrote a lot about us, our togetherness. I was selected to fly the [Bell] X–1 before him! Of all the people I’ve ever known—you could not have done better than Chuck—the best aviator I’ve ever flown with, that’s a true statement. The feelings run deep, so does the admiration. I can assure you the success of that program (the X–1) could not have been any better accomplished than it was with Chuck at the controls. He’s the best aviator I’ve ever flown with. Great friendship, great admiration. Source here. I really enjoyed Robert Hoover as the nervous frat president in Animal House. cordially,
Post #437,689 by mmoffitt 12/11/20 8:20:19 AM 12/11/20 8:20:19 AM Reply	Hoover was a first class guy. No way he'd steal thunder from anybody, let alone Yeager. It doesn't change the fact that Yeager was a lucky prick. bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.
Post #437,684 by Another Scott 12/10/20 11:28:33 PM 12/10/20 11:28:33 PM Reply	I don't remember anything about Hoover, nor much about Yeager. Yeager was from WV and several things are named after him there. (Or at least they claim him.) His later politics would fit in very easily with the deep red status it has now. Armstrong was an amazing pilot and the obvious choice to be first on the Moon. https://www.airspacemag.com/videos/armstrongs-close-call/ Cheers, Scott.
Post #437,691 by mmoffitt 12/11/20 8:39:51 AM 12/11/20 8:39:51 AM Reply	Check this out. Short clip of one of Bob's most famous maneuvers. This is airmanship. The energy management required for that maneuver in a Shrike is exceptional. Bob may have sanitized his narrative in that clip a little for public consumption. The story I got from my retired Air Force primary instructor who knew Bob was that the trick used to be done by setting a shot of whisky on the top of the panel, but the FAA raised hell about it (may have been the CAA back then). Hoover had his airman's medical taken away by the FAA without cause because, well, the FAA does things because they can, not because they should. It was ultimately reinstated. The primary reason you don't remember Hoover is that he was a victim of bureaucratic power. bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.
Post #437,694 by Another Scott 12/11/20 10:14:13 AM 12/11/20 10:14:13 AM Reply	Nice parlor trick. Thanks. But having your craft blow up underneath you and being cool-headed about it is yet another thing. :-) Cheers, Scott.
Post #437,695 by drook 12/11/20 10:39:10 AM 12/11/20 10:39:10 AM Reply	My father told me a guy he flew with did tricks like that with a pen Bring a new guy up in the second seat. The pen would already be up on top of the panel. He'd grab a clipboard and start looking around trying to "find" the pen. While looking, start a roll and the pen would float. Land the pen on the clipboard and say, "Oh, there it is." -- Drew
Post #437,697 by mmoffitt 12/11/20 3:45:10 PM 12/11/20 3:45:10 PM Reply	I like to make a sheet of paper heavy. Have the right seat hold a sheet of paper on their flat open pan, then make it heavy. They're always amazed at how heavy a little sheet of paper can get. bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.
Post #437,698 by Ashton 12/11/20 4:03:32 PM 12/11/20 4:03:32 PM Reply	Were there a Nobel for achieving Perfection, reliably-every-time: this über-Mensch deserves a Statue Even moi can imagine, if along for the ride: being able to Wonder-at and throughout: the 'scary' zenith of each maneuver ... with pulse at a steady 60 and, simply Enjoying-cheating-death (all at 0-probability). But only with Bob --assuredly there are many with similar talents--but ..well, you Know. Once I briefly rode pillion with a Mega-star of off-road m/cycle ridership. After the first moments of sheer-Terror I was able to convince self to relax and enjoy, via the mantra ... piece-of-cake ... piece-of-cake ... (and Yes, I Am a physical-Coward re. er, envisioning the meat-ware spread all over a landscape. Still) :-{
Post #437,677 by scoenye 12/10/20 6:46:27 PM 12/10/20 6:46:27 PM Reply	Gliders here. Touch & go is generally frowned upon with those ;-)

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