So I went to visit a friend, PM member DoubleClutch, this weekend for some deer hunting on depredation permits. He has a farmer friend with the permits who's bean fields are being eaten down to nuthin'
While there, I got to fly a small plane for a bit, great fun.
A friend of his owns a small air strip & has a couple of planes, a crop duster & a little white plane with 6 seats. He said "You coming back later for a plane ride?"
Oh, yeah, love to fly! So we spent some time shooting our rifles, had lunch, cooled off a while & let the sun get down some as it's hotter than [beeep] in north FL now. Went back & had a beer while hanging out, then it's time to fly.
So I call shotgun, jump in the right seat with a beer & off we go. Cruised around for 30 minutes or so up around 1000' looking at all the farms & such.
The owners son Brad, also on PM as Fly2Low, I think, is a commercial pilot for Delta/United & was home, so Brad was our pilot. He also gave us a simulated crop dusting run, fly low over the power lines, drop down to just above the field & fly to the other side, pull up hard at the last second to clear the trees. Too much fun
After about 30 minutes he said "You want to fly it?"
So I said "Sure! Hold my beer & watch this!!!" and handed him my beer.
After he took my beer, I took the stick. Turns out that to steer it you use both the stick & pedals.
Left & right on the stick to turn, forward to lower the nose, back to raise it.
Down left pedal to turn left, down right pedal for turning right.
So to make a right turn, for example, you push down on the right pedal while turning the stick to the right. But you also have to pull back the stick to keep the nose up in order to nose lose altitude, or when you start at 1000' you start approaching the bean field shortly, LOL
So I got to fly us around for a bit & the Brad explained how to land.
Then he gave me my beer back so he could land the plane...
I wouldn't have minding landing. I prolly would have remembered most of the things to do. What could possibly go wrong? But didn't get a crack at it this weekend
I've flown a glider once, maybe 15 years ago. Always wanted to learn to fly but never could afford to. Really wish I'd found a way to do that now, it's great fun
DC has a fun bunch of friends & lots of critters to hunt where he lives, plus he's not too far from the coast for SW fishing & such. We had fun this weekend, enjoyed his hospitality & would have fun going back after more deer, pigs, coyotes, etc. Lotta farms & farmers kinda like the yotes though, as the yotes eat deer & the deer are problems for them while the yotes most aren't. But you never know when an opportunity might pop up when someone decides that they are a problem & wants them thinned out a bit.
While there, I got to fly a small plane for a bit, great fun.
A friend of his owns a small air strip & has a couple of planes, a crop duster & a little white plane with 6 seats. He said "You coming back later for a plane ride?"
Oh, yeah, love to fly! So we spent some time shooting our rifles, had lunch, cooled off a while & let the sun get down some as it's hotter than [beeep] in north FL now. Went back & had a beer while hanging out, then it's time to fly.
So I call shotgun, jump in the right seat with a beer & off we go. Cruised around for 30 minutes or so up around 1000' looking at all the farms & such.
The owners son Brad, also on PM as Fly2Low, I think, is a commercial pilot for Delta/United & was home, so Brad was our pilot. He also gave us a simulated crop dusting run, fly low over the power lines, drop down to just above the field & fly to the other side, pull up hard at the last second to clear the trees. Too much fun
After about 30 minutes he said "You want to fly it?"
So I said "Sure! Hold my beer & watch this!!!" and handed him my beer.
After he took my beer, I took the stick. Turns out that to steer it you use both the stick & pedals.
Left & right on the stick to turn, forward to lower the nose, back to raise it.
Down left pedal to turn left, down right pedal for turning right.
So to make a right turn, for example, you push down on the right pedal while turning the stick to the right. But you also have to pull back the stick to keep the nose up in order to nose lose altitude, or when you start at 1000' you start approaching the bean field shortly, LOL
So I got to fly us around for a bit & the Brad explained how to land.
Then he gave me my beer back so he could land the plane...
I wouldn't have minding landing. I prolly would have remembered most of the things to do. What could possibly go wrong? But didn't get a crack at it this weekend
I've flown a glider once, maybe 15 years ago. Always wanted to learn to fly but never could afford to. Really wish I'd found a way to do that now, it's great fun
DC has a fun bunch of friends & lots of critters to hunt where he lives, plus he's not too far from the coast for SW fishing & such. We had fun this weekend, enjoyed his hospitality & would have fun going back after more deer, pigs, coyotes, etc. Lotta farms & farmers kinda like the yotes though, as the yotes eat deer & the deer are problems for them while the yotes most aren't. But you never know when an opportunity might pop up when someone decides that they are a problem & wants them thinned out a bit.
