Full size experiences?

[Cliff Bastow]

I was wondering about what other peoples best,full size aviation experiences might be?

I have had several including flights in D H Rapide, Tiger Moth and Hawker Hunter but I would have to say my best by a long way was a flight in the BBMF Lancaster with a Spitfire and Hurricane in formation. For most of the flight I sat in the middle upper turret. The fighters were so close I could see the tail wheels rotating in the airflow.

Look forward to hearing other peoples experiences. Pictures would be nice if possible.

Edited By Cliff Bastow on 29/12/2013 13:15:11

Edited By Cliff Bastow on 29/12/2013 13:17:18

[Barrie Dav 2]

Can't beat flying gliders!

[Colin Carpenter]

Hi. Flew a Cherokee late 60`s when school chum passed his flying exam at Biggin Hill and he would let me take over ! Naughty !! Also Tiggie, Thruster, few minutes on a DH Dove,2 flights in a Rapide, then half an hour in Warrior again when I retired at Compton Abbas , Flew it from take off to touch down !!

Best was the Thruster even though your life is hanging off a scaffold pole or so it seems !!

Colin

[Andrew Russell 2]

I fly microlights there as close to real flying as you can get. heres my 2 babys.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

You're just making me jealous Cliff!

I've flown Chipmunks on several occasions which those in the know claim to be very close to the handling experience of a Spitfire and had a 50 mile or so stir of a Dakota on the way to Scotland. The same friend who arranged that went on to fly King Airs so I had various goes with them.

I did once do some test flying of an RAF Valiant on behalf of the manufacturer when one was returned with a noise problem - however it wasn't on behalf of Vickers but for the UK agent of Schleicher as it was the RAF name for the ASW19 Club glider! At least it had roundels on the wings...

I can also claim to have flown a WW2 German single seater - but that wasn't an FW190 or Bf109, unfortunately but a Grunau Baby glider, apparently built for the Luftwaffe by conscripted Polish POW labour and I was assured that all the deliberately weakened components had been discovered over the years!

A trial lesson in a helicopter with a rather glamorous blonde lady instructor is something I won't forget in a hurry and one or two rather exciting wave soaring flights above 8/8 cloud over Wales will linger long in the memory.

No, it's not working...although I count myself fortunate to have flown many different gliders and the odd powered aircraft I'm still green with envy.

Edited By Martin Harris on 29/12/2013 14:27:49

[Nev Haycox]

De Havilland Chipmunk x 3 and a 1978 Cessna 172N Skyhawk.

[Monz]

Slowly busy with my PPL, but some of the more memorable flights have been with the SAAF in a C47TP...

[Prop Nut]

Had many take-offs in Hastings, Beverleys and C-130s but only a few landings, as we used an alternative means of returning to Earth, known as a PX-Type.

[Colin Leighfield]

I did my ppl in 1984/5 at Birmingham. I flew Cessna 152 and 172, including one with the 6 cylinder Rolls Royce Continental engine. Grumman Tiger, Piper Tomahawk, Rollason Condor. Had a 1/5 share for a while in an ex Royal Auxiliary Air Force Auster AOP6, which we had permission to fly in original military markings.

One's in which I have "had control" to some degree include Chipmunk, with the ATC between 1959/63, Piper Cherokee, Stampe SV4, also gliders including Slingsby T21, T46, Blanik 1 and 2, Ka18.

Sadly due to my late wife's illness I had to drop flying fairly early and was never able to build up my hours to the degree that I would have liked. I keep thinking that I might get going again, some of the current micro- lights are very attractive, but at 67 it might be a bit late and what spare time I have tends to be occupied with my Honda VFR1200 (love it), but you never know.

[Levanter]

First - Chipmunk while in the CCF from Hamble RAF Training Base. The instructor knew that as a school boy I would not be paying any attention to the safety briefing but he did ask me to confirm I knew the meaning of the word "Jump"! Just to further grab my attention said that following the word "Jump" I should aim for the wing because if I aimed for the gap, the tailplane would get me. Needless to say loved every second especially counting down the cartridges for the starter.

Most recent - I had been working for a customer for a week in the south of France surveying a large yacht. The purchaser said that that if I could finish on Friday before 5pm I could ride back with him. The was highly motivating and at 1655 I was ready! We drove from La Ciotat to the Paul Richard Race Circuit. The pilot took my bags while some goddess of a hostess proffered the mandatory complimentary drink (coffee to make sure I was not dreaming) and within minutes we were hurtling down the runway in a Cessna Citation direct to Palma de Mallorca. 1810 take off and at 2000 we were ordering a meal in my favourite restaurant in Andratx. My girlfriend was with me and was well impressed. I told her not to get any funny ideas and reminded her that the owner of the plane already had a girlfriend. Plan B was Ryanair from Nice the following day at 5 minutes to midnight. Sorry Michael O'Leary

[Paul Marsh]

I've flown in the past:

DH Chipmunk

Venture II

Grob 109 glider

C-130 Hercules

Dominie

Jetstream

SA Bulldog

Fox Glider

Slingsby T2

Puma 230 sqn Helicopter

Microlight

Robinson R44

Jet Provost

[IanN]

FAA and CAA PPLs in the early 80s, long since lapsed due to cost. Trained on Piper Tomahawks, main hired mount was a Warrior. Also had goes on Cessna 152, Piper Archer and a Beechcraft Bonanza (the conventional - not vee - tail version)

[AlexJ]

I spent a day with the "Blades" last year, it involved plenty of hairybatics and some chopper flying. The memory of the flying is permanently fixed in my mind!

Alex

[ben goodfellow 1]

micro light twice , my mothers boss had one at eshott (bokenfield) .swooping down on the beach was awesome . he was crazy he flew to poland and spain in it too(not with me), also little planes a couple of times,

[Terry Walters]

Me?

ATC Slingsby T21

ATC Slingsby T31

RAF Chippies

Cessna Skymaster

Cessna 172

RAF Avro Anson (Yes really twice!)

RAF Short Belfast

RAF Hercules

RAF Vickers Varsity

RAF VC10

Tiger Moth

DH Rapide

Piper Tri-Traveller

Beagle Pup

Auster J1

RAF Devon

Cessna 150

Cessna 150 Aerobat

Piper Cherokee 130

Robin 315 Dr

Plus the usual scheduled airline flights, helis and paragliding! Thank God for the ATC in the '60s!!

Terry

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Posted by Monique Lyons on 29/12/2013 14:40:05:

Slowly busy with my PPL, but some of the more memorable flights have been with the SAAF in a C47TP...

That's one posh looking Dak cockpit Monique - a little more modern than the Air Antique (I mean Atlantique) one that I had a little play with which looked (and sounded) as though it was fresh off the Berlin Airlift...

[Dane Crosby]

In my time I have qualified on:

T21b

Grunau 2 & 3c

Chipmunk

JP 3, 3a, 5 5a

Gnat

Hunter Mk 6,7&9

Varsity

Hercules C1 & C3 including various PLR variants

Gazelle

Squirrel

Wessex (WIWOW available on request)

Sea King HAR 3 & 3a

I have had trips in:

Beverley

Brittania

Comet

B707/720

VC10 & 15

HS125

Islander/ defender

TriStar

Harrier

Canberra

Lightning

Bell 206 (eek)

Mil 8

There are a few more that I have have forgotten about!

I now mainly operate a MF35x...........sigh

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Pete B]

Blimey, I can feel shades of the green-eyed monster coming on with some of those lists....

For what it's worth, in such exalted company:

Whirlwind, Wessex, Gazelle, Lynx, Cessna 172/5, Cherokee, Dart Herald, Optica, B737, B747, B777, A320, A340 and, all being well, I'll be adding an A380 in January and a Tiger Moth in April....

Pete

ps Unfortunately, I only ever got to 'stir the sticks' in the Cessna....

[John Privett]

Hmm, some interesting, and varied experiences so far. My list is a little shorter than some of the above!

The first plane I ever got my hands on the controls of was also the first plane (of any description) I flew in. That was a Blanik glider at the Northumbria Gliding Club as a member of Durham University Gliding Club. My log book shows 6 flights in the Blanick and 10 in their Ka7. I had a couple more flights some years later in a K13 at Lasham.

Fixed-wing power starts with a flight in a Cessna 172 from Sunderland airport (now the Nissan car factory) whilst at university. One of my friends had a PPL (courtesy of the RAF via the Air Cadets) and he took a few of us up to help keep his hours up. The same friend later took me for a 40-minute flight in a Jet Provost. More Cessna flights later in Cessna 150s from Redhill with our ex club chairman.

I had a half-hour 15 years ago in a Robinson R22 heli. I was given the controls one at a time after we took off, then all together. Not too difficult in staight and level flight, or even in the descent back in to Shoreham - though the instructor took control back as we crossed the boundary fence into Shoreham. I then had a go at hovering. Good grief, that was hard work! I have the "evidence" somewhere on video...

A trip to Eshott in 2008 had me flying a Eurostar microlight and I got to fly most of the flight after the initial takeoff. We landed out in a farmer's field - the instructor took over at about 50' on the approach and after backtracking and taking off again handed back to me. On arrival back at Eshott he talked me through the landing, and just to prove it wasn't a fluke got me to take off again, fly a circuit and land again. I'm told the plane was still serviceable afterwards...

I've only listed above the ones where I've actually taken the controls at some point. As a passenger I've flown in a De Havilland Dragon Rapide (G-AIDL) as well as the usual Boeings and Airbuses etc, including the A380.

So the original question was which were our best experiences. I'd have to list 2 as equal best - the flight in the JP and the Eurostar. Two completely different aircraft (obviously!)

To pilot a full-size jet was fantastic, and to pull around around 5g as we did some aeros was quite an experience - I hasten to say my hands were nowhere near the controls at that point, nor were they as we flew inverted for a short while, hanging from the thigh straps looking up at the ground below!

The Eurostar, well that's the only aircraft I've taken off and landed myself and I did fly the majority of the hour myself too. I also learnt what adverse yaw looks like from inside the aircraft - what a difference a little bit of rudder made!

[Spikey]

Blimey! Can't compete with Mr Crosby as I only did about 30 hours on Chipmunks then 100+ on Jet Provosts plus rides in Varsity, Valetta, Hunter T3 and Shackleton before the RAF and I parted company

But hey, I got to buy a drink for and shake the hand of both Douglas Bader and Adolph Galland in the same place at the same time, so who cares about the hours ...

[Kevin Fairgrieve]

I have no PPL, but I have taken the controls of the following.

G-JASE A 1./2 hour experiece lesson from Cambridge airport.

J-EWBC A day flying around East Anglia. A gift from a friend I made on a flight sim forum.

And then there was this!!!!!!

Kev

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Rev.Dr. Richard Davis]

I began flying when I was 12 years old my father was a FBO and after a few flights in a Aeronca 7AC II decided one day to go for a ride. Si I hand propped the Champ got in and took off made a couple passes around the airport and landed. Well I was greeted by my father who I thought was on a charter flight.

54 years later and 23,000 plus hours my full scale aviation days have come to the end as a Airline Transport Pilot.

I have flown many types . Type rated up to the Boeing 737-400

MY favorite is the Sterman PT-17 which I have owned 2 over the years.

For many years up to my retirement flying aerial tankers Began in the WW2 Grumman TBM and flew many different types to include the Douglas DC-6 DC-4 and lastly the Air Tractor 802 my wife and I had 2 for our company Wilderness Aviation / Fire Eaters

MY wife has her airplane a 1948 Stinson 108-3 and I have a Schleicher K4 glider that I love to fly is the oldest of its type left that is airworthy.

Model building has always been in my blood as a child I used to order 1 or 2 Comet kits a month. Now I still build and still fly.

My kit preference is for the Complete A Pac kits from Great Britian

[Keiran Arnold]

Err

Chipmunk,

Beagle Husky

Cessna 172

Andover

Herk C1 and C3

VC 10 C1 and K2

CH47D

Tornado GR1A

Sea King AEW.5

NA TF51 Mustang

Dragon Rapide

Various airliners, various Gliders including Slingsby Kirby Cadet