~I wanna fly high...!~
Jul. 22nd, 2006 06:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flyboy_foxEEEEEEEE!!!! I flew a bi-plane today!!! I finally got my bi-plane lesson ^____________^
Okie, recap! Last night thunderstormed SO badly, I was almost certain the flight would be canceled. The storm kept me awake most of the night until past 4am... it was right overhead, and the thunder was incredibly loud ;_; By morning, I almost gave up on even calling the aerodrome, but I decided to just in case... and lo and behold, they were still doing scheduled flights for the morning! ^^ And by the time I got there, it had brightened up a lot. So...
... when I got there, I was briefed about health and safety rules (what to do if the 'plane crashes/rolls over/etc XD) and on how to enter and exit the 'plane, and on the basic controls. Then...
...we went back outside and waited for the guy before me to finish his flight. We saw the Tiger Moth land, and then I went over to it with the safety guy. Beautiful old 'plane. Built in 1935, and still in perfect working order. Tiger Moths are your basic training bi-plane, hence the dual controls. The instructor sits in the back seat and I sit in the front ^____^ Awesome! So... I got in. You have to step up on the lower wing and pull yourself up into the cockpit using the little handholds inside. The 'seatbelt' is just four straps, one over each shoulder and one coming up from either side, held together in the middle in a cross-shape via a big pin. I had to wear this big headset/earphones thing to communicate with the instructor, and a helmet kinda like a motorcycle helmet. Too bad I didn't get to wear the traditional 'Biggles' getup, but oh well ^^ So, I got strapped in and...
... we took off! It was awesome. There was so runway, just a field with a mild incline which we took off from. I expected to feel kinda nervous as we took off, but I was actually completely calm and unruffled from the get-go. The pilot took us up and gave me a little aerial tour of the area... over the reservoir... quarry... Gatwick Airport... pointed out a few things to me, like this house in the middle of nowhere with a really strange but cool hexagonal shaped garden... and London in the distance, 30 miles away but clear enough that you could see the Millennium Dome. Then he told me to lightly hold the control stick in front of me while he maneuvered the 'plane so I could feel how little or how much the stick is moved to control it....
... as a lightweight bi-plane, the control stick is VERY sensitive! He showed me how to increase and decrease altitude (pull back to turn the nose up to ascend, push forward to tip the nose down for descent), and how to steer (push the stick to the side to bank/tilt the plane, pull back a little to start the turn, then bring the stick back to center to complete the turn), and finally, how to find the level again (the horizon should line up perfectly with the little circle in the center of the cross-cables in front). And then he said...
... "You have control." To which I replied, as instructed, "I have control." And so... I was flying the Tiger Moth! I did a few turns, some ascents and descents, and basically just larked around for a while, flying in circles and such. Then he gave me some challenges, such as bringing the plane in line with the M25 motorway below. It was actually pretty easy! I feel like I got to grips with it pretty fast, and it was really fun! ^___^ The 40 minutes was up way too soon...
... and so the instructor took control again and, after showing me a few very steep turns just for the thrill of it, we descended down to Redhill Aerodrome once more and he landed us. Tiger Moths, like most old lightweight 'planes, have no brakes, so it's just a matter of making sure you give yourself enough space to come to a halt naturally :P Which we did, of course, and I was highly disappointed that it was over so soon ;_; But then I found out...
... there's a camera in the cockpit that recorded the whole flight! I saw a preview of it... the camera shows me, and the view below on either side. It takes two to four weeks to get it made into a DVD and sent out to me, but in the meanwhile, my mom took a few photos as I was heading out, and there's a couple under the cut ^^
That's the 'plane I flew in. I'm there, standing to the left in a white t-shirt.
And that's the bi-plane taking off, with me sitting up front! Eee!! ^__^
All in all, over FAR too quickly, but I am DEFINITELY taking regular lessons once I have some money, and I WILL have a bi-plane license one day in the not too distant future. I'll also have my own bi-plane :P Oh yes. Hee! n.n
Okie, recap! Last night thunderstormed SO badly, I was almost certain the flight would be canceled. The storm kept me awake most of the night until past 4am... it was right overhead, and the thunder was incredibly loud ;_; By morning, I almost gave up on even calling the aerodrome, but I decided to just in case... and lo and behold, they were still doing scheduled flights for the morning! ^^ And by the time I got there, it had brightened up a lot. So...
... when I got there, I was briefed about health and safety rules (what to do if the 'plane crashes/rolls over/etc XD) and on how to enter and exit the 'plane, and on the basic controls. Then...
...we went back outside and waited for the guy before me to finish his flight. We saw the Tiger Moth land, and then I went over to it with the safety guy. Beautiful old 'plane. Built in 1935, and still in perfect working order. Tiger Moths are your basic training bi-plane, hence the dual controls. The instructor sits in the back seat and I sit in the front ^____^ Awesome! So... I got in. You have to step up on the lower wing and pull yourself up into the cockpit using the little handholds inside. The 'seatbelt' is just four straps, one over each shoulder and one coming up from either side, held together in the middle in a cross-shape via a big pin. I had to wear this big headset/earphones thing to communicate with the instructor, and a helmet kinda like a motorcycle helmet. Too bad I didn't get to wear the traditional 'Biggles' getup, but oh well ^^ So, I got strapped in and...
... we took off! It was awesome. There was so runway, just a field with a mild incline which we took off from. I expected to feel kinda nervous as we took off, but I was actually completely calm and unruffled from the get-go. The pilot took us up and gave me a little aerial tour of the area... over the reservoir... quarry... Gatwick Airport... pointed out a few things to me, like this house in the middle of nowhere with a really strange but cool hexagonal shaped garden... and London in the distance, 30 miles away but clear enough that you could see the Millennium Dome. Then he told me to lightly hold the control stick in front of me while he maneuvered the 'plane so I could feel how little or how much the stick is moved to control it....
... as a lightweight bi-plane, the control stick is VERY sensitive! He showed me how to increase and decrease altitude (pull back to turn the nose up to ascend, push forward to tip the nose down for descent), and how to steer (push the stick to the side to bank/tilt the plane, pull back a little to start the turn, then bring the stick back to center to complete the turn), and finally, how to find the level again (the horizon should line up perfectly with the little circle in the center of the cross-cables in front). And then he said...
... "You have control." To which I replied, as instructed, "I have control." And so... I was flying the Tiger Moth! I did a few turns, some ascents and descents, and basically just larked around for a while, flying in circles and such. Then he gave me some challenges, such as bringing the plane in line with the M25 motorway below. It was actually pretty easy! I feel like I got to grips with it pretty fast, and it was really fun! ^___^ The 40 minutes was up way too soon...
... and so the instructor took control again and, after showing me a few very steep turns just for the thrill of it, we descended down to Redhill Aerodrome once more and he landed us. Tiger Moths, like most old lightweight 'planes, have no brakes, so it's just a matter of making sure you give yourself enough space to come to a halt naturally :P Which we did, of course, and I was highly disappointed that it was over so soon ;_; But then I found out...
... there's a camera in the cockpit that recorded the whole flight! I saw a preview of it... the camera shows me, and the view below on either side. It takes two to four weeks to get it made into a DVD and sent out to me, but in the meanwhile, my mom took a few photos as I was heading out, and there's a couple under the cut ^^
That's the 'plane I flew in. I'm there, standing to the left in a white t-shirt.
And that's the bi-plane taking off, with me sitting up front! Eee!! ^__^
All in all, over FAR too quickly, but I am DEFINITELY taking regular lessons once I have some money, and I WILL have a bi-plane license one day in the not too distant future. I'll also have my own bi-plane :P Oh yes. Hee! n.n
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no subject
Date: 2006-07-22 05:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-22 06:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-22 07:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-22 08:58 pm (UTC)And totally irrelevant, but from behind, you look a lot like my brother o.o
no subject
Date: 2006-07-22 09:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-22 09:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-22 09:31 pm (UTC)Hee... on a sidenote, your hair really has gotten long! n.n
no subject
Date: 2006-07-22 11:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-23 06:05 am (UTC)Really glad you had a great time - seems like only yesterday the flight was postponed for many months. Time passes too quick ^^:
no subject
Date: 2006-07-25 10:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-23 07:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-25 03:27 am (UTC)-ahem-
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/BlackRocketHQ/
Ne? I'll be yer Jess! ^^