"Many people here not only fly for real but have flown wwii planes."

[maddafinga]

Nice one maddafinga, that smile on rtb is something pretty much everyone that flies has in common, at least. Pity we can't bottle it and distribute as and when needed 

No kidding man!  I still break out in a grin every time I think of that flight. 

The pilot said after the aerobatics, "you've got a really good stomach for this,"  made my day. 

[Tupac]

After I soloed I had a big goofy grin on my face for several weeks.

Theres no feeling like that in the world

[SCTusk]

After I soloed I had a big goofy grin on my face for several weeks.

Theres no feeling like that in the world

ahhh the first solo  yep nothing like it, not even the first.... well, that's a close race to call  I have a second solo story, the first was like most I suspect, memorable but nothing in particular to report. The second was a little more atypical. Blanik L13 2 seat all metal glider (with forward swept wings interestingly) winch launch. Generally we didn't get much more than 10 or 15 minutes in the air off the winch at that club, and the thermal activity didn't seem unusual on the check flight. I found one and got stuck in with the gusto you might expect from a newly fledged 'ace' pilot, and lost track of time. When I finally decided to call it a day the wind had changed (new active runway) and I had to lose over 4,000 feet of unfamiliar altitude. Got it all wrong and ended up on finals rather too low (air brakes out OOOPS NO airbrakes back in) and skimmed over the perimeter fence to a safe but non-glider like flat approach landing. CFI was sheet white, they'd had the recall mat out for over an hour but I hadn't noticed it. He thought he'd lost his star pupil, at least that's how I chose to interpret the stream of abuse. Total time of flight 2 hrs 17 minutes, max height achieved 4,300ft. I was quite unpopular with the other club members for hogging the a/c for half the afternoon, and my claim for a Silver C was refused outright.... or at least that's how I interpreted the stream of abuse.

[Twincam]

7th hour solo  in a Cessna 172  Skyhawk at Crest Airpark  Kent WA, that was back in 99. Since then....


150 hours Beechcraft c23 Sundowner
100 hours give or take few, Beechcraft A36 Bonanza
125 hours 172 Skyhawk

[SCTusk]

7th hour solo  in a Cessna 172  Skyhawk at Crest Airpark  Kent WA, that was back in 99. Since then....


150 hours Beechcraft c23 Sundowner
100 hours give or take few, Beechcraft A36 Bonanza
125 hours 172 Skyhawk

Ahhh a GA pilot, excellent.  Twincam maybe you could answer a question for me, do you think that your RW GA experience has enhanced your combat performance in AH or worked against you? Basically I'm interested in your take on the difference between the two, i.e. GA flying generally requires careful precision and deliberate caution, whereas in AH (perhaps also in RW combat?) a certain explosive recklessness seems to lend some advantage.

It's also possible that you have managed to easily seperate the two, bringing the aggression into your virtual flying while not allowing your natural caution (from RW) to interfere. The reason I ask is that I've come across a number of RW pilots with considerably more RW experience than myself, who seem to struggle with ACM, apparently not so much due to skillset as to timing. But perhaps it's just an SA thing?

[Oldman731]

GA flying generally requires careful precision and deliberate caution, whereas in AH (perhaps also in RW combat?) a certain explosive recklessness seems to lend some advantage.

I learned to fly computer games before I learned how to fly real aeroplanes.  While the familiarity with cockpit instrumentation, principles of flight and all that was very useful in learning to fly, the "certain explosive recklessness" you identify became a significant hindrance to a number of aspects of RW flying, most notably landings and, oddly enough, straight and level flight.

I blame autotrim.

- oldman

[SCTusk]

I learned to fly computer games before I learned how to fly real aeroplanes.  While the familiarity with cockpit instrumentation, principles of flight and all that was very useful in learning to fly, the "certain explosive recklessness" you identify became a significant hindrance to a number of aspects of RW flying, most notably landings and, oddly enough, straight and level flight.

I blame autotrim.

- oldman

lol oldman, yeah I can see how that might happen. Once you 'burn in' a skillset the neurons involved are always waiting in the wings to fire up during moments of stress. I regularly consider then reject the idea of joining a nearby ultralight club which runs trikes, there's no question in my mind that at some point - almost certainly the least appropriate one - I would pull back on the control bar instead of pushing forward, or vise versa. Pity because I really like trikes, possibly one of the safest and funnest (and cheapest) ways to get airborne. Safest that is, if you haven't already learned to fly conventional controls, and I'm not ready to die looking like an idiot just yet (I can't help looking like an idiot, but if I die doing something stupid it's kinda written in stone).   

[dirtdart]

I have never landed in a C-5, although I have taken off in one...

All my warplane experiences are limited to flying somewhere, then being flung out into the Airborne breeze.  UH-1, UH-60, CH-47, C-130, C-141, C-5, C-17.  I really screwed up in the early nineties, I had a shot at jumping a OV-10, but my buddy and I figured the line was going to be outrageous and did not go.  Turns out everyone else thought the same and so the guys that did head down jumped readily.  Had to have been a blast. 

[SCTusk]

I have never landed in a C-5, although I have taken off in one...

All my warplane experiences are limited to flying somewhere, then being flung out into the Airborne breeze.  UH-1, UH-60, CH-47, C-130, C-141, C-5, C-17.  I really screwed up in the early nineties, I had a shot at jumping a OV-10, but my buddy and I figured the line was going to be outrageous and did not go.  Turns out everyone else thought the same and so the guys that did head down jumped readily.  Had to have been a blast. 

No, see dirtdart.... you really need to stay in the aircraft to get some idea of how to fly it, jumping out like that every time you go up how are you going to learn anything?

 That's a different world you live in (and you're welcome to it) 

[dirtdart]

No Sir, a  to you able pilot. 

The happiest days in my Airborne world (hence my old name of Dirtdart) was when I finally was a jumpmaster.  Instead of being jumper 32 on the right side, I was now right by the jump door.  In the event of an emergency, hook up, door opens, number one jumper... FOLLOW ME.  I felt a lot better about flying after that lolz.

--Crusader

[kennyhayes]

My father flys general aviation quiet often in his diamond star.
I am planning to get my license in a couple of years.

[Fatboy26]

I have never landed in a C-5, although I have taken off in one...

Was in a C-5 a few times.  Everytime it landed, something broke and required 12+hours of repairs.  Apparently the combat takeoff was something.  (I slept through it)

[Tupac]

Apparently the combat takeoff was something.  (I slept through it)

Sounds like something I'd do.

[Tyrannis]

when i was young, i had an uncle who worked at wright patterson, i'd often go to the museum alot there. after i became a "reguler" and made friends with some of the workers there, they would let me get closer to the planes. ive sat in the cocpits of p51s/p38s/f6f and even an sr71 blackbird they had there for a limited time, i was even priviliged enough to ride in the famous b17 "memphis belle" as it was transported to wright pat for restoration. (by ride i mean was inside the bomber as it was being transported on the back of a flatbed down the highway, they didnt fly the plane, somethine about 2 of the engines have rust or corrution in it..i forget which) was all a fun experiance.


off of ww2 tho, i jobshadowed an apache pilot at fort knox for a school project, and got to fly in one of the apaches. (he even handed the controls over to me for a few secs, just dont tell the base control he did that  )

i'd post pics but idk how to post pics in the text box... im a forum noob 

[R 105]

Most of my flying was done in a Taylorcraft BL-65. The closest I came to flying a WWII fighter was in the late 50s when I was about six or seven years old. A friend of the family owned a P-51 that he flew in air shows. He let me sit in the plane with him while he taxied it to a hangar once. I could feel the power of that engine running in my chest. I will always remember that.