Always Learning

People have called me an airport bum—someone who spends most of their spare time at the local airport—but I’ve found special things happen when you are at the right place at the right time. One of the best is an unexpected opportunity to fly someone else’s airplane.

My first such invitation came many years ago when I was sitting beside the pothole-riddled taxiway at a small airport near Chicago. I was mesmerized by the pilot in a yellow and orange Aeronca Champ effortlessly performing touch and goes, when he stopped on the taxiway and waved me over. Much to my surprise, he offered me a ride around the traffic pattern. It was my first tailwheel flight and sparked a passion for these simple 1940s airplanes I harbor to this day.

What could be more special than a 65-horsepower engine and wooden propeller thrashing at the warm summer air for every bit of thrust to carry two aloft with goofy grins on their faces? Control stick in one hand, throttle in the other, flying for no purpose other than the pure joy of being aloft.

I’ve been offered rides in many interesting airplanes just because I was the person standing closest to the opportunity—with my hand raised.Perhaps my most recent lucky offer. I was near a friend’s hangar when he needed someone to help test the intercom system in a newly acquired Extra 300L. The Extra also has a tailwheel and a stick, but the 300 stands for 300 horsepower. I sat in the front seat and after the pilot (and flight instructor) demonstrated an aileron roll he let me try a few. It’s hard to describe the thrill of rolling an airplane faster than your eyes can process it. In an Extra, you simply apply full aileron in the direction you want to roll (the roll rate is 360 degrees per second!) and in a blink you’re upright again.

Next, I flew my first loop. Nose over to reach 160 knots, then ease into a 3-G pull to begin the loop, looking side to side to gauge progress. Ease off the stick at the top of the loop to maintain a circular profile. Now inverted, look up to see the horizon coming into view above the canopy. Steady back-pressure on the stick as the airplane accelerates on the down side of the loop and then pull 3 Gs to level off. I overeagerly pulled 4 Gs, but the airplane didn’t mind—it can withstand more than 8. After landing, I was still on cloud nine although a bit woozy from the Gs. Yup, the intercom worked great.

Between these two flights, I’ve been offered rides in many interesting airplanes just because I was the person standing closest to the opportunity—with my hand raised. I’ve flown a Cessna 170 in formation with a Piper Cub; acted as human ballast in a Beechcraft Baron performing steep turns; luxuriated in the back seat of a classic Cessna 195; helped deploy a golf ball drop from a Hughes 500 helicopter with the doors removed; sat in the co-pilot seat of a Cessna Citation jet on a relocation flight; and acted as safety pilot in a Van’s RV–6A—just to name a few surprising adventures I stumbled into.

Whether you are a student pilot or have been flying for years, I encourage you to head out to the airport even if you don’t have plans to fly and bum around for a while. You never know when you can lend a hand, get the ride of a lifetime, or meet a new friend.