I flew with Astronaut Hoot Gibson.
When he arrived, he came inside and sat with us, and taught me a little about flying. He drew some force and vector diagrams, as well as explaining to me the benefits of differently shaped wings. He explained how to stall a plane, how to avoid stalling a plane, and how to make a plane go Zero-G. He also spent some time explaining to me various flight terms that didn't mean anything to me until we were in the air. He was very professional and explained everything really well. It helped, I think, that both Hubs and I have a scientific background in engineering and physics, respectively.
After Hoot tried to convince Hubs to ride along, unsuccessfully, the three of us walked out to the plane. I knew Husband wouldn't want to fly- he hadn't taken Dramamine, and I'm not sure, honestly, if he trusted his life in my first-time-ever-piloting-a-plane hands. Husband willingly stayed on the ground. I imagine he was thrilled that it was my intention to remain onboard the aircraft, as opposed to every other time I've been on a plane small enough to have a parking space, when I plan to jump out.
We took some obligatory photos, scattered about this post, then Hoot and I hopped in! Actually, we stepped in lightly, using a small metal step on the side of the plane, and a slip-resistant spot on the wing. Before we got in, we did the pre-flight plane inspection, and while doing this, he showed me different parts of the wings and rudder, and explained how they affect the plane in the air.
He closed the door, and we started getting ourselves strapped in, and the plane's engines and navigation systems up and running. As we sat and waited for these systems to come up, Hoot explained the different switches, knobs, dials, levers, and displays. He explained how to tell what our bank angle is, what our ascent and descent rates are, and how to tell the elevation of the surrounding terrain. He showed me how the rudders work, and explained how the single-velocity propeller work. We also continued the pre-flight checklist, making sure our gadgets and gears all work properly.
Then it was time to make our way down to the runway for take-off! Something I never knew (and also had never thought of), is that when the plane is on the ground, it's not controlled by the steering column. It's controlled by the foot pedals. You have to apply pressure on one foot or another (or both), to move the plane forward or to turn, while on the ground. Interesting! Hoot wanted me to "drive" it to the runway, but I am too short! My feet didn't reach the pedals. Next time I'll be a Spice Girl and wear platform sneakers.
Before we got to the runway, we did a final check of all the interior systems. Then we looked both ways before crossing the street, so to speak, and headed off to the runway! At this point, my only job was to watch everything he did with both arms and both legs.
Once off the ground and in the air, Hoot leveled the plane, corrected the trim, pointed us in a safe direction, and showed me the basics of steering a plane. Turn the column left, plane turns left. Turn the column right, plane turns right. Apply forward pressure to column, plane descends. Pull on column, plane ascends. Turn and push column, plane turns and descends. And so on.
Easy enough right? Right. Except also exceptionally difficult. The plane reacts to even the most minute pressure and turns.
The V-Tail only has one set of systems, so only the pilot can take off or land, but the steering column was movable. The column unhinged, then rotated so it was in front of the right-hand seat.
And then, suddenly, it was my turn to fly. A plane. In the air. With no formal instruction aside from what had been given to me in the 30-40 minutes prior to, you know, flying.
I mastered the art of keeping the plane in the air, flying straight, without any major ascents or descents. Hoot was thoroughly impressed by how quickly I figured it out. So, we moved on to lesson number two. Turning. He gave me a bank angle to stay below, and an altitude range to remain within. I remembered his lesson: when you turn the plane, the plane loses speed, which means the plane starts to descend. So, I started to turn the column and pull it toward me as well. Somehow I managed to stay close enough for comfort in the altitude range he requested! He had me level the plane back out, get to a certain altitude, then turn the other way, with the same limitations. The second turn was much better.
We continued in this pattern for about 30 minutes. I flew the plane for about 30 minutes. I got a ton better, and he was impressed at my body control and ability to multitask so easily. He pointed ahead and said "Do you see that cloud? (I nodded) Get us to that cloud."
So I did.
Then he took the controls back.
It was time to play.
You know in the movie Aladdin, where Aladdin and Jasmine ride the Carpet during "A Whole New World" around the cloud and it ends up looking like a giant cloud-ice-cream cone? We did that! We circled the cloud! It didn't look like an ice cream cone, but I can't eat those anyways, so whatever.
He positioned the plane between the sun and the cloud so perfectly that when you looked at the cloud, you could see both a 360-degree rainbow, and the shadow of the plane.
Look closely.. you'll see our shadow and our rainbow just above the porthole.
That was all good and well, and very exciting. But then he popped the non-marriage question.
"Do you want to go Zero-G?"
If you know anything about me, you know that it took me less time to answer this question, than it takes the average person to blink.
He handed me a flashlight, explained the steps he was going to perform, and then...
The flashlight was suddenly floating above my hand. ABOVE MY HAND. It lasted about 8 seconds.
When we were level again (much to my dismay), I asked him if that's what it feels like on the Shuttle. He said that's exactly what it feels like, except instead of lasting 8 or so seconds, it lasts days. He asked if I wanted to do it again, as if that was even a necessary question.
We did it again, and once we leveled off, he told me that since I didn't want to throw up, I'd be just fine in space. (Win!)
After playtime, he handed the controls over to me again. This time, he played around with the GPS system, found the airport, and told me to get us there. The first hurdle in this effort was that I need to make a U-turn, essentially. Since I'd done so well with my other turns, he told me to go for it. I got too excited/relaxed, and I ended up making a 60-degree-banked turn, and essentially nose-diving. He never freaked out. He calmly said, "You're too far banked and we are descending rapidly. Fix this." So I pulled up on the column, cooled down on the turn radius, and brought us back up to a safe altitude and bank degree. I never freaked out either, probably because I was busy trying to not kill us.
Though I was drenched in sweat (rightfully, I think.)
I got us back on track to the airport, and once it was within sight, he took the steering column back, made his adjustments and his radio announcements, checked the surrounding area, and got into the holding pattern. We checked the landing gear three times ("A pretty important thing to check obsessively," he said, and I agree. Then he said, "It's pretty embarrassing to land without your gear down.")
Once we were safely in the landing pattern, he said, "You don't realize it yet, but you're exhausted. You flew today, for the first time, and it was extremely stressful on your mind and body. I recommend letting <Husband> drive you home, then taking a nap before going anywhere."
Lo and behold, the man was absolutely correct. Once home, I slept for 3.5 hours straight.
Hoot Gibson allowed me to test the waters on an activity that had always been an interest, but never a definite. There was never anyway for me to know whether or not I'd actually want to be a pilot. Just because I love flying (commercial) certainly didn't mean I'd love flying (piloting).
I'm so grateful to him for giving me this opportunity, and trusting and believing in my skills and dreams enough to let me fly his personal aircraft.
