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Jul. 10th, 2009

basefinder

03:36 pm

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Jul. 4th, 2009

basefinder

01:33 pm - 4th of July weekend

Yesterday was most awesome. I went to Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (AKA Jeffco) and went for a ride in the Collings Foundation's TP-51C. I'll have photos for you "soon" and this will go on my web page, but I just want to get some of my thoughts down on "paper" while they are fresh. This is the (rare) two-seat modification of the P-51 Mustang of W.W.II fame. Crew chief Wayne talked to me on the ground, took my money, and helped me climb into the back seat of the beast and secure the multiple belts to secure me to the parachute and to the aircraft. Pilot Stu talked to me about the flight and said "I hope you enjoy your ride as much as I do every time I fly this plane." The "C" modification includes dual controls, so I had engine and flight instruments, control stick, rudder pedals, and throttle. (scarybaldguy, is that gizmo alongside the throttle the propeller pitch control? I forgot to ask.) This is said to be the only flyable Mustang in the world with operable dual controls. When you climb into the Mustang on the ground (a choreographed placement of left foot on left main landing gear strut from the front of the wing, then swinging your right foot up onto a specified small area of the wing's leading edge), you're sitting back at an awkward angle due to the plane's landing gear -- it's a "taildragger" with two main wheels up front and a small wheel at the back end. We took off and headed north. Once we were away from the populated area, Stu signaled to me that I had the stick. *gulp* I timidly tried the controls, finding them very responsive. I made some gentle turns, climbs and descents just to get a feel for it. Comparing it to the other two aircraft I have briefly controlled, the term "solid" kept coming to mind. It didn't feel wobbly like the sailplane or the Aeronca, it felt like it was going to go wherever you pointed it. I guess I was boring poor Stu out of his mind with my timid moves; when he took control back he made some really tight turns to give me a better idea of what the old warbird could comfortably do. (Flashback: remember when I rode in the NASCAR stock car and said it was like riding in an airplane? CONFIRMED.) Then Stu asked me if I was up for doing some basic maneuvers. My stomach said hell no but my mouth said "YESPLEEZE!" He did a couple of rolls, aileron rolls I believe is the right term. He did a preparatory move before each roll, a shallow drive with an abrupt pullout that was hitting 3 Gs. That part was uncomfortable but the rolls were just exhilerating. Same with the loops; I find those to be a bit scarier and I forgot to look at the G-meter for those. I'm sore today in ways that I assume is from tensing and squeezing against the G forces. My time was up way too soon, and we landed back at Jeffco. The front wheels touched down first, then as we slowed a bit the plane settled back onto the tail wheel. As we taxied back to the terminal and the Collings "mini-airshow," Stu occasionally wiggled the plane from side to side so he could get a better view around the raised nose of the airplane. Wayne climbed up on the wing and opened the right side windows of the canopy. Unbuckling was quicker than the buckling had been, then I climbed out using the marked handhold to swing out onto the designated portion of the wing. Then you just sit down on the wing and slide off the back of the wing to the ground. Photos to follow: airplane shots on the ground, stills and video of me and the airplane (courtesy of Debbie) and a few in-flight shots. Oh, and the background to this experience were the B-17 and B-24 sitting next to us on the ramp. They were open for walk-through tours but did not fly while we were at the airport (though, we did see the B-24 in the air as we were driving on our way to Jeffco, landing from its earlier flight.) I'm glad Debbie drove as my legs were positively wobbly after the flight. :-)

Now I need to get ready to go over to Debbie's for the rooftop fireworks watching party.

S

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Jul. 1st, 2009

news

theljstaff

02:41 pm - Advisory Board Election Winners

And the Winner Is . . .

The votes have been tallied, the results are in, and we have a winner (two, actually). Congratulations to the newly elected user representatives to the LJ Advisory Board: from lj_election_en, it's kylecassidy, and from lj_election_ru, it's nekbke! You can see the full breakdown of results for lj_election_en here and for lj_election_ru here. Thanks to everyone for your participation.