OT: First Flight!

[MikeDixonUK]

Earlier today I flew my first Aeroplane as a treat for my Birthday (with an instructor obviously!)

 

Had a 45 min flight experience in a Cessna 172 - flew over the sea and north across the Scottish Border (Recon mission I guess ) then climbed up above the clouds, and saw a rainbow from above. Bloody good stuff!

 

Apparently I was excelent for someone who hadn't done it before (they probably say that to everyone) - though I think playing Over Flanders Fields and other flight sims did help me a lot with some aspects of it, like being able to hold it steady in level flight and coming out of turns properly - felt almost as if I'd done it before.

 

Although I must say that 30 degrees of bank in real life looks a lot different than 30 degrees of bank sat in front of your PC screen! I won't be doing any barrel rolls for a while that's for sure!

 

Only the lonely threshers of the sky, hidden from the earth had gazed on it. Only we who went up into the high places under the shadow of wings!

[Von Paulus]

[DonL]

It's a blast isn't it! Helps to provide perspective to OFF. Going to do anymore?

[carrick58]

Good Show, Old Man. Ask your I.P. to show you a corkscrew ( Make sure an Airbag is handy) I did it in a Para - Sail last summer with an Instructor and almost lost a perfectly good lunch.

[+Olham]

Wow, congrats, Mike! What a thing to do in real life!

I have been at the controls of a motorised sailplane at 4000 meters - but only for 2 full circles

and a couple of level flight miles. I wanted to do a dive, but the owner didn't like the idea

and quickly took over. I had only asked!

 

Good luck with your further learning!

[+RAF_Louvert]

.

 

Nothing in the world compares to flying light aircraft. Welcome to the club Mike, I wish you many more happy flights.

 

.

[MikeDixonUK]

Thanks - it's deffinitely something I want to carry on with, without a doubt!

 

I think the biggest eye opener with regards to flying a real plane as opposed to a sim is the way it feels when you're climbing and diving, and banking, like being on a rollercoaster or driving up and down a big hill - which is something you obviously don't experience when sat infront of your PC, unless you have some sort of massive sim cockpit in a hydraulic rig.

 

Deffinitely enhances the respect for the Fighter Pilots flying loops and rolls and hammerheads and the like - whilst trying not to get shot down at the same time!

[NS13Jarhead]

Thanks - it's deffinitely something I want to carry on with, without a doubt!

 

I think the biggest eye opener with regards to flying a real plane as opposed to a sim is the way it feels when you're climbing and diving, and banking, like being on a rollercoaster or driving up and down a big hill - which is something you obviously don't experience when sat infront of your PC, unless you have some sort of massive sim cockpit in a hydraulic rig.

 

Deffinitely enhances the respect for the Fighter Pilots flying loops and rolls and hammerheads and the like - whilst trying not to get shot down at the same time!

 

Mike,

 

You're making me airsick. I spent almost a year going through Naval Flight Officer (navigator/ballast) training. My job was to ride in the back seat and tell the pilot where to go. All was well until we got into the three ACM (Air Combat Maneuver, A.K.A, dogfighting) flights in the T2C Buckeye. Each flight was about 30 minutes long and as far as I know, I stillhold the Pensacola record - in those three flights, I barfed eleven times!

Edited April 24, 2012 by NS13Jarhead