Aerobatics!!
The World War II dogfights I read about in my youth were the ultimate competitive aerobatics. The penalty for non-proficiency was death. There is no second place in aerial combat. Only the winner flies home.
I remember a book on WW2 flying. The writer described watching Saburo Sakai, the famed Japanese ace, rolling his Zero fighter in a beautiful, curving firing pass against an American B-17 — not an inch of slip or skid, perfectly coordinated, squeezing every ounce of performance out of that magnificent airplane. A true master in total control.
I had ALWAYS wanted to do this – fly like a fighter pilot!
But first I had to master the rudder. That accursed, magical, enigmatic rudder.
Meynard said 99% of all pilots ignored the rudder in flight. I didn’t belong to that group. I didn’t ignore the rudder.
No, I was among the 1% of pilots who did not even know I was supposed to use the rudder that much in flight… .
After an hour in the Decathlon, I became familiar with that sweet sensation of an airplane in a perfectly coordinated turn. The airplane pushed firmly on my butt, G forces equally distributed left and right. A solid, tracking, competition turn.
Competition turns. Stick over with rudder, roll briskly to 60 degree bank, neutralize stick and rudder, and pull to turn with up elevator. I did it again and again, for the sheer joy of flying sharp turns, looking DOWN past my shoulder at the ground pivoting below.
At times, Meynard had to stop me and move on. “OK, you pervert, you’re having too much fun. Level out and take us to 2,000 feet… .”
At 2,000 feet, I did my first up and down lines.
Line up with the South Expressway. Stick forward, right rudder against gyroscopic precession pushing on the right side of the propeller disc (and I thought that was just theory!).
Ever increasing forward pressure to pitch down as airspeed builds. Glance left-right at the amazing sight of wing tips slanted 45 degrees down against horizon… .
Then stick back, left rudder against gyroscopic precession, 45-degree up line. As the prop pitches up, right rudder against p-factor (p-factor used to be just theory, too!).
G-forces. I pulled 2, then 3 Gs. Pop stick forward to hold 45 degree up line for one second. Then, stick-forward-right-rudder, back down. Then, up again. Again. Again. Blood draining from head, then rushing back. Butt lifting off seat with each pushover. Man, I love Gs!
“OK, you pervert, enough already!”
The thrill of seeing the South Expressway still lined up with our nose, despite all those gyrations. Precession! P-factor! You gotta love that rudder! If our wings had machine guns those cars would be toast.
Then, vertical up and down lines.
At level flight, look straight up, pick a target cloud 90 degrees up.
Stick-forward-right-rudder to build 150 mph, then stick-back-left-rudder-stick-back-some-more-now-with-right-rudder, pop stick forward to stop nose at target cloud, glance left-right for incredible sight of wingtips bisecting horizon.
Then, stick-forward-right-rudder to 90 degrees straight down, the wing’s vertical struts perfectly aligned with the vertical horizon.
Vertical flight. Vertical!
This must be like the dive bombers at Midway!
Hanging forward on straps. Pushing stick ever forward as airspeed builds and she wants to nose up. Keep the nose on that reference point on the ground.
Bombs away! The carrier Akagi is toast! 🙂
Then, aileron roll!
Reference Mt. Makiling on nose. Stick forward for 130 mph, then stick back, pop it in level flight for one second, then stick-back-some-left-rudder to 30 degrees pitch up, neutralize! Wait one second for judges to note level flight… . Then, left-aileron-left-rudder for one c-o-n-t-i-n-u-o-u-s roll, nose arcing below the horizon, inverted flight, straps lifting, butt floating off the seat (tighten lap belt even more next time!), feet lifting off rudder pedals, nose arcing back up, Makiling floating back in windshield. Right-aileron-right rudder, straighten out, pop the nose level. Scream!
YEEEEEHAAA!
Next n this series: Spins, eights and a secret love affair.
Posted from Bangkok, Oct 31, 2007.
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Too much fun, mate.
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You got that right!! Get your butt over here and we’ll try some of these (under Meynard’s adult supervision, of course) Gs!
Thanks for visiting, Dave, glad to see you here!
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Hi sir Tonet,
Just discovered your blog now, and i have been sitting on my butt reading your posts and enjoying every word. I love your writing sir and the content is just as awesome!
Im a pilot trainee with a PPL earning hours for my CPL. I fly in OMNI too! I envy you sir, Its always been my dream to fly like a fighter pilot too, seeing your aerobatic training made me more inspired to fly.
I have always wanted to train aerobatics with Capt. Halili. Do you mind if i ask how long it took and how much it costs?
regards,
Erik
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Oh BTW sir, is it okay if i link your blog to my Multiply site?
regards,
Erik
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Hi Erik!
Sorry for the delay, I was traveling, as usual 😦
First of all, it would be an honor to be linked to your Multiply site. Go ahead please. Is it an aviation photo site?
I was at Omni last Saturday. I won’t be back until mid-November, though. This is a time of year when I need to travel to our factories around Europe and Asia.
We should meet the next time we are there together!
As a boy I was fascinated with my Dad’s World War 2 stories –he saw a lot of air raids on Manila Bay. His stories enthralled me. that one about the P-38s flying very low over the rice fields at Pagbilao — he told that so deliciously.
Then there were the movies — The Dam Busters, Twelve O’Clock high, and a few others whose titles I can’t even remember. I was less than 10 years old. He would come home from his job at the Filoil refinery and sneak me out of the house late at night to watch the last full show at theatres in downtown Manila.
It never occured to me to be an airline pilot. It was all about maneuvering flight. All my scale models were of P-51’s, Spitfires, B-17s, Zeros, F-4 Phantoms… . I did build one DC-9 model, and an E4-B (a derivative of the B747).
meynard’s Basic Aerobatics Course is the best way to learn REAL flying, in the core, palpable sense of the word. Stick and rudder flying, where you begin to understand in a very physical way the flow of air over your lifting and control surfaces.
It’s fascinating — you feel P-factor, gyroscopic precession (of the entire airplane, not the heading indicator), adverse yaw, in a very real way. Very different from reading about it.
Ask Meynard about the cost — he helps students tailor the course to their capabilities. It’s not cheap, but it’s very, very rewarding. I have his contact numbers if you need them.
Thanks for dropping by Flying in Crosswinds!
.
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Hi sir Tonet,
No prob with the delay, I too have been away from the computer since i commented here. Thanks for the permission for the link by the way, my Dad enjoys reading your entries as well.
My site is just a personal multiply account, but i have posted a few photos of the sorties i have flown ever since i started flying. I’ve been wanting to put up an online journal similar to this, i believe one can never have too much memories recorded, though i am not much of a writer or a photographer so i just post whatever pictures my point-and-shoot captures when I’m up there.
I grew up looking at the sky always hoping to see a jet or two, and in rare cases whatever fighter aircraft our country had back the n. I always wondered how flying felt, and how it was being free from the shackles of gravity.
I wasnt lavished much with toys growing up, and sometimes i preferred making my own. As a kid I would make airplane replicas from card board and folders and paper clips and glue. Copying whatever plane i see on TV or on magazines, at least the ones i could.
As a kid I idolized my uncle who’s a PAL pilot, now he’s the deputy chief captain for PAL’s A330/A340 fleet. He, togehter with my dad helped me get enrolled in Omni and realize my dream in becoming a pilot. Hopefully one day I will become like my uncle.
Movies played a big role in influencing my dreams of flight as well. I saw and liked “Dam busters” too, and “Flying Tigers”. “Battle of Britain”, “Tora Tora Tora”, and the more recent ones, “Top Gun”, “Fly Boys”(I recommend this one), “Pearl Harbor”, etc.
More then the flying stuff I was also inspired by the bond you have with your sons. It was inspiring seeing how passionate you are with your children. It goes with out saying that your sons are very blessed. Makes me want to have a son one day and share with him the wonders of flight.
You took your sons up in the air, in my case the son takes the father. I still have yet to take my Dad up in the air one of these days. He loves flying and airplanes too. Tho hes not a pilot, we both share the same love for aircrafts and flight.
Dont stop writing sir. Keep the adventures coming.
Hopefully we get to meet in Omni one of these days sir!
Godbless and safe flight!
😀
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Erik,
You say you are not much of a writer — and yet your English is impeccable, a vanishing trait in our country, and you tell a story well.
And don’t disparage point-and-shoot cameras. All my images here were taken either with a Nikon P-5xxx, or a Nokia E51 😀
Seriously, if you want to warm up for your own journal by writing here, let me know. This is a standing invitation. Seriously.
My email is tonet.rivera@bms.com
I, too, had an uncle at PAL. I used to just stare at his hands. 30,000+ hours, from Stearmans to the DC-8s. he was a contemporary of Ben Hur, who is now CEO of Omni.
Then his son had 30,000 hours too. B747-400, until he was laid off after the strike. For a while after that he drove a bus in Los Angeles.
I too didn’t have very many toys when I was young, so I overcompensated by buying toys until yesterday, and I will probably go on tomorrow 😀
Why haven’t you taken your Dad flying? Don’t waste time. We all think we have so much time.
Trust me. Do it tomorrow.
I’ll be at Omni this weekend. Let’s meet.
And I’m serious about writing here.
.
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Hi sir Tonet,
Thank you very much for the kind words. I must say, you are the first person who told me that. I try my best whenever i get the chance to write, though not often, but whenever I do I just write it the way I would want it to sound.
Seeing your photos made me wonder how you managed to take them, especially with a DSLR, as i have expected you would have. Now knowing that you own an idiot box as well, has given me a new found love for mine. 😀
Im honored by your invitation sir. Seriously I am. I have never had the chance to write any where. My only experience working in a publication was back in high school, I was an editorial cartoonist for our school paper the ‘Papyrus’. When things have settled down a bit, I will definitely take up your offer. Right now I’m working to help my Dad in his telemarketing business and finishing ground school for my CPL and IFR.
Wow, Capt. Ben is your uncle? That is awesome. So it is true that he has logged 30k+. My batch mates and I would be like little boys seeing their favorite NBA star up close whenever we see Capt Ben in the Omni office, or at least that’s how I felt. I admire Capt. Ben’s passion for the industry and flying. And It’s really awesome knowing that you’re his nephew.
You’re right. No time should be wasted. The next time I’m going back for a flight, I’ll be with my Dad. 😀
Financial issues are keeping me grounded for now, but soon as they’re resolved I’ll be back in Omni. Hopefully we get to meet by then.
Godbless you and your family sir!
Erik
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wow, breathtaking. i loved reading & watching your blogs tonet. met Capt, halili already, very nice man.
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