HEL - LO, 5 - 0 !!!
I feel the need.... the need... for speed. This was for real. I used to be afraid to fly, then I built a bridge and got over it. Now, I can't get enough of flying. I had always wanted to fly in a military fighter jet, but I never thought it could really happen.
Here was my birthday ride. I would have never guessed in a million years this was possible. Mike wanted to surprise me, but it turned out that a physical and an ECG were required... So he had to tell me in advance. He lined it up, and as the pilot was an acquaintance, they visited a few times on the phone to work out all the details. Dan, a younger-than-me-retired Navy pilot, flies international commercial airline routes as his day job. He is also a fighter jet instructor.
I was allowed clearance to co-pilot and observe from the back seat since he was on a proficiency training exercise.
After I had my briefing, which focused heavily on ejection procedures,
I still wanted to go.
I had completed my briefing, and we were ready to go. The only things that made me a bit nervous were these signs. This aircraft was not produced in the U.S. I could read some of the instruments, but a few details -- that must not have been too important -- were still in Cyrillic, the Russian language.
So, I proceeded on a need-to-know basis. Fine with me. I was comfortable with the ejection procedure, and that seemed pretty violent, but I was willing. After all, that's how Goose perished in Top Gun -- he hit his head on the canopy as his seat left the aircraft. But he wasn't on an Aero L-39 with a pilot as mature as mine. I was truly in good hands.
I still wanted to go.
You can see me having a good time here. I don't recall it, but Dan told me I was screaming before we even made it to wheels up. I apologized. That was far from the most exciting part. We immediately completed an "impromptu" aileron roll. I thanked him for that, and then I asked for a heads up before the next maneuver, please. I was able to control and fly the jet, and I will never forget it. Yes, I made some brave moves. We did a double barrel roll, maybe a few of those. We pulled more than +5 G's, and that is what the aircraft was built to handle. So we maxed those out. Then we did a negative G maneuver and flew inverted. And it was the coolest thing EVER. Flying upside down, looking out the canopy in every direction -- tears came to my eyes. Absolutely the most awesome thing I've ever seen. And the weirdest feeling in my stomach I've ever had.
He may have been kidding me, but I was told that I was an excellent co-pilot.
A) I did not interfere with the operation of the aircraft.
B) I did not get nauseated or sick.
C) I did not use foul language.
Apparently, I'm the Grace Kelly of the airways. *sarcasm*
All in the name of flight, we routed through Denver on our way to Houston so we could fly on a new 787 Dreamliner. Yes, it is the one that keeps having the fire and electrical problems, but I figured, heck, Denver to Houston is probably about the same as Amarillo to Dallas -- by the time you reach cruising altitude, it's time to start the descent. I wasn't afraid. Although it was a beautiful plane, honestly, I can say that the excitement didn't touch fighter jet level excitement.
This was quite an exciting birthday. I highly recommend 50.
