I had one of the best days of my life today. I have always wanted to try aerobatic flying and today my dream came true. Dave from my Recreational Aircraft Association took me up in his Skybolt.
We started with a briefing on how I would be strapped in – good thing since it was an open cockpit. We then went over what to expect from the G forces and how to deal with them. I’m glad we had this lesson as I ended up putting it to good use! He used a model airplane to show me the maneuvers we would be doing. I felt like such a dork during the briefing as I was so excited and couldn’t stop smiling. After doing his pre-flight inspection and answering my nine million questions, he assisted me into my seat and helped strap me in. Once I was firmly belted into place with my headset on, I informed Dave that I had to pee. I then told him I was kidding and that was my attempt at “aerobatic humour”. He cranked up the engine – what a beautiful sound! We were airborne within seconds of barreling down the runway. He held us just off the ground until we picked up enough speed, then he made a very abrupt ascent toward the clouds. It was such a rush. In order to make me feel confident in my harness, he flew us inverted for a few seconds. As soon as we were upside-down, he had me place my hands on my head to prove that I wasn’t going anywhere. I do believe it was from this point on that I threw my hands up in the air after every single maneuver, because I was having the time of my life! I was constantly giving him a double thumbs up (he sat in the seat behind me) to let him know I was feeling fine with everything. He took me through a slew of insanely enjoyable moves and actually did a few more than we planned, because I was enjoying it so much. We hit almost 6 G’s during one of his final maneuvers, which is when I put my G force coping technique into play! It was a good thing too since I was starting to feel a little funny as the G’s peaked, and I started to get tunnel vision. Overall, it was an amazing experience and I am certainly going to seriously consider purchasing an aerobatic-capable aircraft in a few years. Dave informed me there are aircraft that are good for both aerobatic and “regular” flights. Thanks again Dave, if you’re reading this!
After my flight of a lifetime, my mother, Chuck and I went to the Mandarin for dinner. This is when I told them about my amazing experience. They both seemed so happy for me. Yea! I think I was still talking about it after they carted our bloated, stuffed bellies out of the restaurant. *burp*
Today’s symptoms: After recovering from my three day migraine and taking a couple days to get my strength back, I was feeling pretty decent today! I’m completely knackered after today’s excitement, but it’s worth it beyond what I can describe with words.
Lizzy McFly 