Lizzy McFly

I mentioned in my previous blog that I had an amazing experience going up in a Harvard for some aerobatics. The adventure continued last weekend and I had the absolute pleasure of going up in an Extra 300. This is one of the planes they use in the Red Bull Air Races. The pilot who took me up in the Harvard the previous week, Scott McMaster, was also my pilot in the Extra 300. Scott is the master of all things loopy, rolly, spinny and tumbley! I can’t tell you how much I was looking forward to this flight. Mike and I headed out to Burlington Airport around 7:50 last Sunday. Seeing such a lack of traffic on the highways was something we don’t see too often:

It looks like the circus has rolled into Burlington:

After flying for less than thirty minutes, we touched down. This was my first time dealing with Upright Aviation and it was a very positive experience from beginning to end. I was greeted soon after touch down and brought over to the Extra 300 in the hangar:

There were a few other sweet rides nearby, including a Kodiak float plane and Super Decathlon:

Everyone there was so professional and friendly. I was escorted upstairs to fill out some paperwork and have the flight explained. Soon after, Scott arrived to get the party started. I had help getting my parachute on and climbing into the plane. Little Vyctor looked on in awe in the background:

I was so excited to get crack-a-lackin! Mike captured this video of us barrelling down the runway and heading almost straight up:

https://youtu.be/2eeHcvUCNJk

Scott let me fly over to the area where we would be doing some aerobatics. He demonstrated a loop, roll, hammerhead and something I’ve never experienced before – a Lomcovak. Unfortunately, I had my GoPro angled up too high, but I think you can still get the idea. You can tell from the audio that both Scott and I were thoroughly enjoying ourselves:

We ended up doing four of them and they were a blast. So you have a better idea of what was happening, here is a video through Spencer Suderman’s YouTube channel of what it looks like from the outside:

I’m still smiling about our flight over a week later. It was incredible and I am so appreciative of Scott’s time to give me one of the best flights I’ve ever experienced.

I strongly recommend anyone seeking a thrill to contact Upright Aviation in Burlington.

Today’s symptoms: Both the recent Harvard and Extra 300 flights took a bit of a toll on me for a few days after each, but it certainly was worth it. Just doing a regular flight in Vyctor for an hour two is draining enough, but then there was the added excitement of flying in the other two planes. Mike and I had a mostly relaxing weekend, apart from a 40 minute flight on Sunday morning. I’m feeling weary today with a fairly bad headache, but I think the high heat and humidity are playing a role. Bring on Autumn!