Aerobatics Are SICK!!!

Now that is FUN! I had my first aerobatic lesson today with Mike Love at Morey Airplane Company in Middleton in a Cessna Aerobat. It lasted all of 30 minutes, but was some of the best minutes of my life! This also marks the first time I ever wore a parachute, but fortunately did not have to use it.

The Cessna 152 with 2 guys and parachutes is a pretty cramped place to be, but is workable. Thankfully Mike is much smaller than me, but we only carried a minimal amount of fuel for the hour we planned to fly. Even though I was having some serious fun, my stomach told me to head for home after 20 minutes. I don't get sick on planes (when they are flying properly), but do get sick on boats, and know that when you start feeling queezy that is your body telling you it's had enough. I am sure my endurance will improve as I get more and more used to flying like this. I was warned that aerobatics is like crystal meth, do it once and you're hooked! I am officially an addict!

We only flew about 8 miles from the airport, just west of Cross Plains, using highway 14 as our major landmark. Mike demonstrated the aileron roll first while I followed him through with the controls. Then it was my turn. Two rolls to the left, then one to the right, each slightly better than the one before it. I honestly never knew the yoke would twist that far! I feel like I am getting the hang of this, but also know the aileron roll is probably the simplest of all aerobatic maneuvers. My stomach was only slightly pissed off following these four rolls.

Mike wanted to try a loop. Like before, he demonstrated the first one to me and then offered to let me do one. My stomach said no, and an uncontrolled "I want to go home" came out of my mouth. I was not sick, and did not get sick, but was REAL close and had had enough for today. Mike said this is totally normal and I will quickly build up a tolerance for the G-forces and unusual attitudes. I can't wait to test his theory :)

The flight home was short and simple and the crosswind landing pretty good. I was all smiles on the outside, but my stomach was still doing aileron rolls. The total flight from engine start to stop was 30 minutes. Next time I will go for 45. Mike was kind enough to videotape this experience for me and now I will share my facial contortions with the world. Yes, that is the look of fear on my face, but also the look of tremendous fun and education.

High Winds and Aerobatics

Early this morning I had a flight with my instructor, Harold Green. The wind was nasty, Madison calling it 15 knots gusting to 25, and being out of the north-north-east meant we had a perfect crosswind at Middleton. But it was from the left, and I seldom have problems handling a left-crosswind. Harold knew this, so we headed for Sauk Prairie where the wind would be from the right, something I do have problems with.

The first landing was pretty good. The 2nd was what Harold called "interesting". I will leave it at that, it was interesting, to say the least. The 3rd and final landing was similar to the first, fair to good. We didn't have much time this morning so we headed back for home. Along the way Harold demonstrated a chandelle, a maneuver I need to perfect for my commercial pilots license. It does not seem that hard, but I am certain when I actually start doing them myself I will change my mind.

After landing I spoke with Mike Love about some aerobatic training. Mike has been teaching for over 25 years, has written 3 books, and is considered one of the finest flight instructors around. Everyone has the utmost respect for him. He is also unique in being one of the very few instructors that not only teaches aerobatics, but loves it. Morey Airplane Company has a Cessna 152 Aerobat that is used for akro instruction, as well as parachutes for the pilots to use, and Mike owns his own aerobatic plane himself, but cannot teach in it.

This is something I have wanted to learn for a long time. Not simply to learn so that I can go out and do loops and rolls all day long (though that will be fun), but because it makes you a better pilot. You learn much more precise control of the plane, lose your fear of unusual attitudes, and build a level of confidence you just don't have without the training. Of course, it is also FUN, FUN, FUN!

So that is what I am doing over my lunch break today, going to roll and loop a Cessna with Mike. I am sure I will be starving by dinner time, but skipping lunch before this flight is probably a good idea. Less to come back up, ya know :)