Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler I got the fly today!

hehe, no really I got to do some of the flying today while up in a small plane. We needed to do some work on the far east side of Iowa (I'm in Nebraska) so we had a friend fly us there. I got to try it on the way there and did do it for quite a while on the way back. I know it's not the hard parts (take off and landing) but was fun none the less. I've always wanted to learn how but it takes time and money which I just don't have at this time in my life. But one can always hope for later in life.

OK I'm done with my 5 yr old moment.

Hey, man. I'm jealous. I was really into flight simulators for a while and have never lost the desire to fly a real plane. Someday...

Oh, how fun! You know, I thought I saw you up there!

Mary (in far east Iowa)

We flew into Muscatine. Nice lil town.

My aunt who lives in Missouri owns a small cessna (I think that is what it is, something similar) plane. She let me take the co-pilot controls when I was up there. She hasn't let me fly since. Maybe it was because I wanted to see if the plane could do a loop.

Way to go INANE.
I also got to fly yesterday.
I soloed (sp) my RC sailplane for the first time yesterday.
Not the "real" thing but a lot of fun none the less.

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Maybe it was because I wanted to see if the plane could do a loop.

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Is your nickname "stall-boy"?

Alright, fellow aviation enthusiast. Glad you enjoyed your flight INANE, hopefully you'll be able to do the lessons some day ... soon.

That's one of those things that is on my list as well. I think it would be fun to learn to fly. Definately one of the things I would do if I hit the lottery and didn't have to work, but had tons of time to spend on things I wanted to do.

I've already taken my 1st three sailplane lessons (full scale/not RC) and hope to complete them by the end of summer.
This is type of sailplane (ship) I'm taking lessons in.
The Grob 103 Twin Astir.

drool. How much wind noise do you get in those things?

Interesting... I hadn't ever thought of gliders but I bet thats pretty interesting.

There really isnt much wind noise at all except when it gets hot and you open this little triangle vent towards the front of the canopy.
My second flight was supposed to be only about 30 minutes but because it was such a good thermaling day, we stayed up for almost 3 hours. It was FANTASTIC! If it hadnt been so hot we would have stayed up longer.


BTW: If you do it right you can get your sailplane pilots license for a little more than the cost of M80/500 system.
Also we get towed to altitude by a plane probably very similar to what BrotherBob flys.

Bray you probably was towed by a Piper Pawnee, an airplane I haven't flown in years and I don't know of any operator that uses them anymore. We have the much larger and turboprop powered (750 & 1,100 shp) Air Tractor AT-502s and AT-602s with GPS swathing and guidance systems. The 260 hp Pawnee would be straining with 150 gallons in the hopper where we'll carry 500 and 600 gallons with the 502s and 602s, which is why most all of the Pawnees are retired to towing banners and gliders.

It's been years but I remember the Pawnee being a kick in the pants, as long as it wasn't carrying a load.

I've always wanted to learn to fly also, since I was a kid it was one of my dreams, never seemed to have enough time though.

As I mentioned to Inane over an instant messenger... I've only ever flown a Katana... engine by Ski-Doo (Bombardier, seriously!), airframe by those guys that made those little styrofoam gliders I had as a kid...



This is how I got over my fear of flying. You WILL notice I'm chainsmoking and cradling my Zippo in my hands.

Bren R.

Way to go Bren! Man how in the heck did you ever fit your tall self into that Katana? I haven't flown any of the newer trainers but am told that the Diamond Aircraft and very dependable Rotax engines makes for a very good and economical trainer.

Nice shorts.

hi bray,

I was taking sailplane lessons (Schweitzer) before I moved to the US. I never resumed them but got into RC electric models, which I still enjoy. Interesting how this interest in aviation and high-quality sound seem to dovetail.

When I first met Ian Colquhoun back in the '80s, he had just gotten his license for float planes (a Cessna, I think) and he was flying a twin-engine (don't recall the name) when I joined Axiom.

I recently read where Morgan Freeman just learned to fly and bought his own plane. He's the same age as I am, so it's never too late. Then I read an FAA report that pilots over the age of 50 account for a disproportionate number of accidents in civil aviation and had second thoughts. . .

Regards,

That's because the older you get, the more pressing the apparent need to join the mile-high club.

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Nice shorts.

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Bad legs. [rimshot] Sorry Bren. Hard to resist a good straight line.

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That's because the older you get, the more pressing the apparent need to join the mile-high club.

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What if you are flying solo?

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What if you are flying solo?

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MIght get confused and apply too much throttle.

Either way--dangerous.

Too funny...

Bren, wow that is a pretty small plane. Makes the one I was in seem very large now.

"Interesting how this interest in aviation and high-quality sound seem to dovetail."

True. I've noticed that all my friends that are into audio also love aviation with the exception of my neighbor who could care less about audio but enjoys jumping out of perfectly good planes.
Hmmmmm.
Interestingly enough he holds or held the worlds record for most consecutive jumps in a 24 hour period. Of course he wailking with a cane(temporarily) at this point in his life.
He had a "head on" with a van while landing during a 4th of July show.
It was probably a white one (van that is).


What kind of RC planes do you fly?

I'm trying do decide between a VP150 upgrade or this for my second RC plane.

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I'm trying do decide between a VP150 upgrade or this for my second RC plane.

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Go with the VP150 it will last longer

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Nice shorts (snip) Bad legs.

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And a double dose of "bite me" to both of you.

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Man how in the heck did you ever fit your tall self into that Katana?

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Actually wasn't too bad... for most of the flight, I had the rudder pedals and stick retracted. Gave me about the same comfort level as being in the back of a 2 seater mid-size car. The worse feeling was the sweltering fishbowl effect from the canopy on a 30+ celsius day.

Bren R.