Fighter Combat USA

[Spitter]

As noted in this thread, I finally got to do this. 

Today was day one. We did some basic aerobatics (loop, aileron roll), high G turns, before lining up in a couple of offense/defense drills. We each set up n the other guy's six, about 600 feet back, and start turning when they call fight on. The sensation can't be compared to anything else. It was incredible. The g-onset is fast...really fast. In an Extra 300, with ~400 deg/sec roll rate, you go from straight and level to 90 degrees and 5 gs in a matter of seconds.

Then we did a head on merge with the instructors flying and our job was basically to keep eyes on target and 'feel' how the plane flies.

It. Was. Bloody. Exhilarating!!  Holy toejamballs, this is better than sex!!    Once I find me another joystick, I'm gonna have to re-up with Aces High and get back in it again. 

My buddy flying with me didn't handle the maneuvering so well, and spent about the second half of the flight with his face buried in the airsickness bag. He's a trooper, though and didn't ask to RTB. Just let the pilot fly and went along for the ride.  He's going to take dramamine before tomorrow's flight and see if that gets him through it.

I'll post videos when I get the DVD after tomorrow's flight.

Also, I'm guessing the Extra 300 is definitely a perk plane....

[Kanth]

sounds cool I've considered doing this but back and forth on it.

Sounds like it was a great experience. 

[Serenity]

It's a thrill, ain't it? 

I'd love to see the videos!

[GScholz]

  <-- ...with envy!

[Vulcan]

Wonder if they get a nervous twitch whenever someone comes from AH...

...don't worry I merge like this all the time in the Yak-9T   

[Shuffler]

Wonder if they get a nervous twitch whenever someone comes from AH...

...don't worry I merge like this all the time in the Yak-9T   

        

[Spitter]

Wonder if they get a nervous twitch whenever someone comes from AH...

...don't worry I merge like this all the time in the Yak-9T   

They are very clear and very careful about anything that might cause a collision, as that is the only real danger in this situation. All shots have to be with a good angle (25 - 45 degrees behind the target, and 300-700 ft range). 

There's no 'hitting the brakes and letting the other guy fly by', either.... 

[Spitter]

"JD" was my pilot both days, and we had some serious fun. Each day was about an hour briefing, describing the flight, the maneuvers we would do, how the combat worked, rule of engagement, and stuff like that, followed by about 90mins of actual flight time.
Day 1: It was a little bumpy heading out to the range. Not too bad, really, but in a plane as light as an Extra 300, you feel everything.
First thing they do is some 'G-awareness' turns to see how you react to high g-loads. First 3g, then 5g turn. I have had some experience with high g turns in the past when I was much younger, but I handled them just fine, not even a little bit of tunnel vision in the 5g turn. I was a bit surprised at how quickly the aircraft pulled g load, there wasn't much of a gradual build. The plane banked, and pretty much immediately pulled into the g-load. Then we did an aileron roll, and a loop. The pilot demonstrated, then I got to do it as well.

After that, we did what they call a 'perch setup' where one aircraft sets up behind the other and tries to maneuver for a shot, while the other aircraft tries to not get shot. The pilots demo it, then we each got to fly, once as the target, and once as the aggressor.

Unfortunately, after the first two perch setups, my buddy started getting a bit queasy. So we took a short break and went and flew some aerobatic maneuvers while he was trying to get back into the game. We did a hammer head stall first, which was much less violent than I would have expected, and pretty tame actually. We followed that with a Lumshevak, which was really fun! The plane is essentially tumbling out of control for a few tumbles before recovering. Then we did a knife edge spinup. It's hard to describe, but the plane goes up vertically, yaws until the wings are in the vertical axis, then spins around the vertical axis, all while continuing to climb. 

My buddy wasn't feeling up to the next two engagements, but he stayed out and went along for the ride (he did wind up using the barf bag, poor guy). So we did two more engagements where I was trying to shoot him and some vertical maneuvering before heading back to base.

We buzzed the runway in formation, about 10 feet off the deck, and 165 knots, before we peel away and circle around for a landing.

Too diddlying much fun!

This is not a cheap couple of days, but since the company that runs this is a client of mine, they basically gave me the employee discount! 

https://fightercombat.com/

[Spitter]

Day 2 started a little earlier, which was nice. Although it's October, it's still S Central Az, and the temperatures on the ground were in the mid-90s F. Once we got up to about 6k feet, it cooled off nicely (the plane doesn't have A/C of any kind, just vents).

We started pretty much the same, pulling some 3g and 5g turns to see how my g-awareness was doing. Then some basic aerobatic maneuvers (loop, and aileron roll). Then it was two more perch setup demos, one with each of us as the target/chase plane.

Aside:my buddy's pilot for the day was a former NASA pilot, with two space shuttle missions, and over 400 hours in space.

We took a short break after the perch scenarios because my buddy wasn't doing so well again. We did a Cuban 8, and some inverted flying (because we can)...... and some simple aerobatics again.

Then it was fight on!

The 'neutral pass', we start going by each other head to head, about 500 feet apart. As soon as the aircraft are past, 'Fight on' is called, and we maneuver for the shot. The first fight was mostly just a simple turning fight. I had a slight advantage because I wasn't feeling sick.... the fight went about 7-8 turns before I got a clean shot, but I won that encounter.

The second fight was more fun for me. The other pilot was flying (my buddy was just along for the ride at that point). It was a lot more variety, and it went vertical towards the end, and I finally got the kill after following him into the vertical, around the top, and getting the shot as he was pulling out of the loop. I was the top gun!

After that, the other plane just followed us, while JD and I did some aerobatic maneuvers. We started pretty easy with a Hammerhead stall, which I managed to do pretty well. (JD flew it, then I did it.) Then we did a tail slide. JD pulled a great tail slide, falling probably almost 100 feet before the plane flipped over into a dive. He said it was one of his better ones. Mine wasn't so pretty. Who knew it was so hard to hold a plane nearly perfectly vertical?   It was still fun, but I'll need to practice a lot more before I go try out for an airshow....

We then moved on the 'extreme' portion of the aerobatics. The first maneuver we did was a knife edge spinup again. Then we proceeded to do a Lumshevak, and we got 3 full tumbles this time.  We took a few minutes to gain some altitude for the spin. The plane flips over pretty good before fully developing into a spin, so it's quite the tumble, but really fun. Then for the final maneuver, we did another spin....inverted.

Seriously, this should be on everyone's bucket list, but only if you think you can handle the maneuvers. My friend had a good time, and he's glad he went (he's been wanting to try this for a long time), but he's pretty sure he's done with this....

When I do get my pilot's license, I'll definitely go back for their advanced upset recovery training. Until then, I may do another 'adventure' day or similar aerobatic package. Too. Much. Fun.

Oh,  I won all the awards!   

Top Gun - I won both dogfights. It's best 2 out of 3.

G-Monger - For pulling the most Gs during the dogfight (5.7 Gs).

Aero God - For completing all of the aerobatic maneuvers after the fight.

Give me a few weeks to get all the video together, and I'll post up a link.

[Serenity]

Great job spitter! I'm really impressed you handled it so well, those kinds of maneuvers can be tough, even on people who are used to them. Can't wait to see the video!

[Spitter]

If anyone is interested in the raw, unedited video:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B33mKknU67tZMzk4N2xEWkhnSFk

Most of the good stuff starts towards the end of 8Oct16(2) video. Most of the actual fights, and aerobatics are on the 8Oct16(3) video.

[pembquist]

I think you deserve an award for Cast Iron Stomach or Heroic Vestibular System First Class.

Lucky bastard.

[Lusche]

Seriously, this should be on everyone's bucket list,

It was for 5 minutes... until I looked up the height and weight limites 

If anyone is interested in the raw, unedited video:

Some nice views in there, can't wait for your edited version 

[TequilaChaser]

Thank you for sharing, Spitter, congrats on sweeping the Awards

Bet you got one helluva employee discount, hehe


Cheers

TC

[Shuffler]

It was for 5 minutes... until I looked up the height and weight limites 


Some nice views in there, can't wait for your edited version 

You can always drive a real restored WWII tank in Texas and shoot live rounds on 18,000 acres. In fact they have several tank and vehicles to drive.


www.drivetanks.com