The first formation flight
Hello All,
During my flight training (civilian), my friend and I decided to take up the Super Decathlon, an aerobatics plane, for some fun in the sun. We refueled at Oceanside airport, Ca, and then ventured eastbound to the practice area. The practice area is far away from civilization, so we would not have to worry about hitting houses or population and such. Along the route, as we had noted by our charts, we found that we could cross into a militarized (NO-FLY) zone if we did not apply situational awareness. This in mind, we came to a mutual agreement of not entering this zone!
I have had some requests for more aviation stories; however, my mind was not being cooperative with any refreshing thoughts. Until now- and since I have already prefaced with the foundation of a story, I shall continue….
The take-off and departure was by the book and with our parachutes properly donned, we admired the view of Oceanside harbor. The westward departure forced us to either immediately turn north for 180 degrees, or extend out toward the ocean. Following our final eastbound turn, we became somewhat (ya right) disoriented and followed the previous heading.
As we flew over the hills of sage and dust, we could only admire our view of the horizon from 1500 feet. Additionally, we would periodically scan for traffic (other aircraft in the area). I believe, I was the first to see the approaching helicopter, yet I am still not certain. To our left was a “Hughie”, United States Marine Corp helicopter- with guns, and he was flying parallel to us about 500 feet away! “Oh-sshhhhh”, I exclaimed into our intercom! My friend actually finished my sentence as we were being “escorted” from the militarized (NO-FLY) zone. I could not help but think, “There go my pilot’s certificates”; and then, we understood that we were only playing our part of the “escort”. No actions were to be taken. Cool! “OK, it is time to play” came a voice over the radio. To which, the other pilot in our aircraft (um, really it was not me) said, “Boy’s it’s the devil in me” back at them. I think that was a quote from a ‘70’s song about driving fast, picket fences, and the “lines in the road just look like dots.” Therefore, the next thing we did was to join up with them in formation- inverted!
The Super Decathlon will fly inverted for two minutes without the requirement of maneuvering prior to fuel starvation- and we tested those specifications.
When it was my turn to watch our proximity to the helicopter, my buddy asked, “What are they doing”? I needed to take a second look for verification purposes as I thought I saw a bird. Yep, right there in between the aerobatics plane and the helicopter was a bird waving at us in the formation.
Upon the second look-, I was correct. As I could see the gunner telling us that, we were NUMBER ONE!
Reach
God loves the Marines- Hoo Rah!
During my flight training (civilian), my friend and I decided to take up the Super Decathlon, an aerobatics plane, for some fun in the sun. We refueled at Oceanside airport, Ca, and then ventured eastbound to the practice area. The practice area is far away from civilization, so we would not have to worry about hitting houses or population and such. Along the route, as we had noted by our charts, we found that we could cross into a militarized (NO-FLY) zone if we did not apply situational awareness. This in mind, we came to a mutual agreement of not entering this zone!
I have had some requests for more aviation stories; however, my mind was not being cooperative with any refreshing thoughts. Until now- and since I have already prefaced with the foundation of a story, I shall continue….
The take-off and departure was by the book and with our parachutes properly donned, we admired the view of Oceanside harbor. The westward departure forced us to either immediately turn north for 180 degrees, or extend out toward the ocean. Following our final eastbound turn, we became somewhat (ya right) disoriented and followed the previous heading.
As we flew over the hills of sage and dust, we could only admire our view of the horizon from 1500 feet. Additionally, we would periodically scan for traffic (other aircraft in the area). I believe, I was the first to see the approaching helicopter, yet I am still not certain. To our left was a “Hughie”, United States Marine Corp helicopter- with guns, and he was flying parallel to us about 500 feet away! “Oh-sshhhhh”, I exclaimed into our intercom! My friend actually finished my sentence as we were being “escorted” from the militarized (NO-FLY) zone. I could not help but think, “There go my pilot’s certificates”; and then, we understood that we were only playing our part of the “escort”. No actions were to be taken. Cool! “OK, it is time to play” came a voice over the radio. To which, the other pilot in our aircraft (um, really it was not me) said, “Boy’s it’s the devil in me” back at them. I think that was a quote from a ‘70’s song about driving fast, picket fences, and the “lines in the road just look like dots.” Therefore, the next thing we did was to join up with them in formation- inverted!
The Super Decathlon will fly inverted for two minutes without the requirement of maneuvering prior to fuel starvation- and we tested those specifications.
When it was my turn to watch our proximity to the helicopter, my buddy asked, “What are they doing”? I needed to take a second look for verification purposes as I thought I saw a bird. Yep, right there in between the aerobatics plane and the helicopter was a bird waving at us in the formation.
Upon the second look-, I was correct. As I could see the gunner telling us that, we were NUMBER ONE!
Reach
God loves the Marines- Hoo Rah!
posted by Reach | 2:41 PM
4 Comments:
My husband is ex-military, Army Airborne and I don't know how many Hoo-Rah's I've heard in my life. I guess once you learn it, you can't unlearn it!
EOTR, so true......
I've read your entries at 7's site, and appreciate your visit here, thank you
Reach
Hoo Rah indeed! Loved the post. Nice to hear your voice again.
Crazy! Certified! But I dig the spirit, big time!
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