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International Young Eagles Day,
A Zero Gravity Adventure
June 8, 2002
By Captain Dav1d 2002-06-08
[.. Cont'd from page 1]
It was getting on into the afternoon, and the ground crew were scrambling to get the last few flights airborne. Many pilots, like myself, stay until we have made sure that EVERY child that wants to fly gets that chance. And this group was eager to fly. I told John that I'd take them.
As the three boys (see picture) approached, I asked if they had ever been flying before. All three said they had been flying before, in both big and small airplanes, but they had never been given Young Eagles certificates. However, they loved flying. That was my first indication that this was going to be the "special” ride of the day.
These very polite youngsters listened attentively as I went through the abbreviated walk-around, and they asked a few questions about what were looking for with the inspection. I made sure each one of them looked into the tanks, and visually checked the inflation of the tires, as well as inspecting for damage on the control surfaces (none found!) They asked all of the right questions, and listened to all of the answers. That was my second clue.
The looks on their eyes as I did the run-up check indicated that they were paying attention to my audible checklist. I was watching them watching me, and we were all watching the instruments. They nodded their heads as I spouted the passenger briefing. They wanted to experience everything. Clue #3.
Then, we took off. I don't anything about their previous flying experiences, but my constant chatter kept them amused, and the constant change of scenery kept them occupied. When we got to the first corner of the box, we talked about a "gentle left turn”, and other kinds of turns. And then we got to talking about other maneuvers, including "negative G's."
"Negative G's?" they asked, incredulously, "What's that mean?"
"It's like the weightlessness at the top of a roller-coaster ride, only much smoother. I will aim the airplane upwards, in a gentle climb, and then I will push the control yoke forward, making the plane dive. You will float up to the extent that your seatbelt will allow, and then you will gently settle back into your chair. I will hold this for only ONE SECOND. Do you wanna try it?"
"Yeah", "Wow". "Cool". I couldn't tell who said what, but with assent from all three of them (and the previous encouraging behaviour), I decided this was the flight I had been waiting for all day.
Already being at 3,000 feet, it was a quick climb to 4,000 feet. I warned the boys as we approached my target, and did my HASEL check, and then called out "Here we go”. I pushed the controls forward, enough to achieve the desired results. Weightlessness. Floating. Zero Gravity.
Then I let the controls come back as the plane fought to level itself out, and we settled back into our chairs.
"Wow". "Cool". "Neat". "Sweet". "Yahoo". And. of course, smiles.
Within seconds, they all said "Can we do that again?" We spent a few minutes discussing what really happened during that moment of apparent weightlessness, and what the opposite ("Positive G's”) meant. We talk about aerodynamics, wing shape, and I told them about a man named Bernoulli.
Of course, they wanted to try the positive G's too, for contrast, but it was the negative G's that really interested them the most.
We rounded the second corner, over the gravel pit, and I used that as an opportunity for the "steep turn to the left” demonstration (total turn = 360 degrees plus 90 degrees). They loved it. Halfway through the back straightaway, we did one second of positive G's. Just before the third turn we did another negative G move. At the third corner, over Preston Lake, and with permission from the tower (because we were now in the normal inbound flight path), we did a steep turn to the right (for only 270 degrees), and headed southbound
One more quick negative G trick on the southbound journey, as the kids kept begging for more. I had to disappoint them as we approached Buttonville because of the potential other traffic.. But they understood.
When we landed, and they were safely escorted off the field, they rushed to tell their parents all about the "fancy stuff” that we did in the air. Within seconds, the parents came over to me and thanked me for the "special treatment" for their kids. It was nice, and I blushed somewhat, but for me, the real enjoyment was seeing the enjoyment on the kids faces DURING the flight.
I was right. This WAS the flight that I had been waiting for all day. And it was worth it.
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