F-18 Guest Rider

[Eagle43]

Everybody wants to go for a ride in an F-18, no? With the Blue Angels? We have some military pilots here, but has anybody flown as a guest?

Scene 2 displays the negative effects of too many Gs.

http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/ajc/swf/blueangels/blueangels.swf

 

[REWahoo]

Heh heh heh...

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

nice take off. 280 knots and still on land. how fun is that.

i can't decide if scene two is a comedy routine or if it looks more like something out of abu ghraib.

due to major sponsor pulling out this is the first in about 13 years that we won't have the air & sea show in fort lauderdale. we've had the blue angles here a number of times and often a newscaster gets to fly with one but our local guys were too vein to show the blackouts.

 

[FinanceDude]

Since I get dizzy on rollercoasters, I doubt I would go for this..............

 

[TromboneAl]

I've been to the Blue Angels show at San Francisco a few times. Best part for me is when they bring in one of the jets so fast that you don't hear it coming.

 

[Martha]

He is a tough guy! Willing to pass out three times and willing to show it on film. My palms sweat just watching him.

So how do you adapt? Do the pilots flex their legs too?

 

[Rustic23]

Aircraft was not on the ground at 280. They rotated at 130 and sucked the gear shortly after, he then gives an increasing airspeed, held it on the deck i.e. 10 to 20 ft, then sucked the stick back and climbed. Ask Rewahoo about his burner climbs in the T-38! I am not aware of any jets with a takeoff speed or even a gear speed of 280 kts. Could be, it has been awhile since I flew. Going fast and low is a hoot.

 

[kumquat]

Where do I sign up?

 

[TargaDave]

Yeah, I give him a lot of credit for being a good natured trooper about it.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Aircraft was not on the ground at 280

replayed. got it. still, very fun. amazing how fast those things climb.

 

[Walt34]

I would love to do that! I bought a piper Tri-pacer* when I was 25, kept it for 2 1/2 years, one of the best times of my life. Also took some acrobatic lessons in a Citabria and Cap 10 - that made any roller coaster in the world anti-climatic. That was during the time I was single and kept a 650 Yamaha motorcycle in the apartment living room. But I was neat about it and kept it on a sheet of plywood so the oil drips wouldn't get on the carpet.

One girlfriend walked in and said "Um, that's quite a centerpiece you have there...."

*Tri-pacer is a single-engine 150 hp four-passenger light airplane, cruised at 120 mph.

 

[Lazarus]

Lucky guy! I would love to do it. Was out last weekend doing loops and rolls in a Decathalon. Most G's I have pulled is 4 1/2 Don't know how 7 G's would feel!

 

[Texas Proud]

Lucky guy! I would love to do it. Was out last weekend doing loops and rolls in a Decathalon. Most G's I have pulled is 4 1/2 Don't know how 7 G's would feel!

Seems the reporter does not know either... was lights out before he got there...

(not saying I wouldn't be either... just saying....)

 

[REWahoo]

So how do you adapt? Do the pilots flex their legs too?

The more you do it, the better you get at anti-g procedures. Also, I saw no sign of the guy wearing a g-suit, basically a pair of very tight pants containing an air bladder which inflates when g forces increase. This compresses around legs and lower abdomen to help fight blood pooling in the lower extremities. But all of this works only up to a point. No pilot can remain conscious for more than a few seconds in sustained very high-g maneuvering.

Ask Rewahoo about his burner climbs in the T-38!

Oh yeah!...and I got paid to do it!

 

[martyb]

I flew backseat in a fighter jet once. Not an F-18, but it was an F-4E Phantom. We went on a bombing mission (practice bombs, not nukes!). Dropped 6 bombs on the target & I got to take the stick a little. I was great and I'll never forget it. I didn't puke until AFTER we landed LOL! Thank God for barf bags. Later, I was offered a ride in an F-16, which I declined. I've worked around fighter planes way too long to want to fly in one with only one engine. The F-16 has the nickname "Lawn Dart" for a reason!

 

[Nords]

He is a tough guy! Willing to pass out three times and willing to show it on film. My palms sweat just watching him.
So how do you adapt? Do the pilots flex their legs too?

The more you do it, the better you get at anti-g procedures. Also, I saw no sign of the guy wearing a g-suit, basically a pair of very tight pants containing an air bladder which inflates when g forces increase. This compresses around legs and lower abdomen to help fight blood pooling in the lower extremities. But all of this works only up to a point. No pilot can remain conscious for more than a few seconds in sustained very high-g maneuvering.
Oh yeah!...and I got paid to do it!

Naval aviation teaches a maneuver called the "hook" that can supplement the g-suit. It works, but at a long-term price-- let's just say that hemorrhoids are a much bigger problem in Navy air than they are in the submarine force.

Or maybe it's because the aviators have bigger... eh, never mind.

I was a lot happier with sub pay, sea pay, and the nuke bonus.

 

[saluki9]

Sadly the pilot in the video was killed in a accident during a performance last year.

http://kevinjdavis.gunnysite.com/

 

[FinanceDude]

The F-16 has the nickname "Lawn Dart" for a reason!

Lawn Dart??