Had my first flying experience (pics)

So I've always been mad about planes, ever since I was tiny (before bikes were ever on my mind). I was recently introduced to a guy who owns a 1/20th share of a small private aircraft located in Cranfield Airport. The guys flown for decades, including fighter jets and big military jets. He just does it for a hobby now and said I could fly with him, chipped in for an hours worth of fuel which worked out very easy on the wallet.

He taught me some basics on the ground regarding the instruments/physics etc for about 15minutes, then pre-flight checks and we were off flying.

It was an absolutely awesome feeling, just as I had imagined it to be. So much fun being in a tiny plane where there is barely room for two people. He gave me the controls in the air and I flew for a bit which was a blast. Real delicate business with the steering as you're not allowed to grip it too hard. He said I had a good knack for it though!

He did some pretty cool stuff in the air. Banked at crazy angles, making 2 g's worth of force. He also shut the engine off in mid-air, then simulated an emergency landing by getting quite low to some fields before flying up again. When we landed at the runway he just took off again and did 2 other different types of landings. Obviously had to take some snaps:




7 people own this plane, and this guy got 1/20th for £1000. Don't know the significance of that because he says he just books it whenever and there are never clashes apparently, but either way that doesn't work out too bad. He was a real top bloke, and darned good pilot.
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The plan is to eventually get a full pilot licence, perhaps even commercial, after a couple of years saving as much money as I can. Flight school prices in this country are mad but it's relatively cheap over in Florida and you can do it much quicker as the weather is more reliable. Then if I don't end up enjoying my job I can just go to South Africa and fly safari planes!

edit: gotta love the knight rider style steering.

[Paul the 6th]

were you allowed to keep your phone turned on during the flight?

haha yeh. Though good luck getting a phone out of your right jean pocket in that thing.

[Kenzie]

Looks like some bleeder has nicked the stereo out of the dash! Never been in a light aircraft, only commercial.

[daveangel]

Nice one thulfi, I went up in a Tiger Moth from Headcorn in 2008 and had the controls for a while, was excellent.

[Paul the 6th]

in all seriousness though, amazing buddy. There's a small airfield down the road from me (rufforth) where they do alsorts of stuff like gliding, microlights, alsorts of whacky flying type stuff - keep meaning to pop in and see if there's any activity based stuff..

This just might have sparked a bit more of an interest

Tiger Moth, that must have been awesome!

Originally Posted by Paul the 6th

stuff - keep meaning to pop in and see if there's any activity based stuff..

This just might have sparked a bit more of an interest

Seriously go for it mate. It's a blast. Might be worth heading down to rufforth, having a chat with a few guys and seeing if anyone has part ownership in a plane. If they're anything like this guy, they will be more than happy to help. They love flying, and they love getting other people into flying (bit like us and bikes!), and this way it will be less expensive.

A few hours on and the whole thing feels like a dream.

Well done Sounds really cool!!!!

I prefer boats. Next thing I want is RYA Sailing with Spinnakers. Aiming to do it at Mylor, near Falmouth, in the summer.

I did something similar - cost me 12000 nectar points

Top buzz though, flying over the area just outside S****horpe while the trainer is negotiating with Robin Hood to keep us away from jets full of holidaymakers.