2-3-4

Today was definitely a good one. First thing in the morning I got up in a 3-ship. They put an instructor (John S) in my back seat, and I was #3, with a Yak as #2 and another T-6 as #1. The #2 guy was brand new, on one of his first ever flights, so he was all over the place, which made it tricky for me, which made the instructor in my back seat all giggly. This was the first formation flight I'd gotten in since six months ago, so I had some of my own rust to knock off. John S. came from Huntington with his family and ended up staying and flying in my back seat so they'd let me go up...which was very nice of him. At one point he told me I was doing too good of a job, so he started having them do some other stuff to mess me up. #2 alone did a good job of making me work for it. But the flight went pretty well. Next up was lunch, and then they put together a four-ship for me. Two more T-6s came in for just the morning, both NATA guys, one of whom I met at Mt. Comfort last year, the other I didn't know at all, but they're both supposed to be up there in NATA. So on that flight, A T-6 was Lead, a Marquetti was #2, another T-6 was #3, and I was #4. That flight went even better than the first. Even with #3 not coming in well on rejoins, which goofs up the person behind them (me), and the Marquetti with its high wing loading bouncing all over the place, it was still a good flight. We landed, and they were really complimentary in the debrief. John said "Hey, fly with this girl. A lot." And they said if we ended up around each other again, they'd be happy to fly with me any time. Progress from Mt. Comfort last year where at least one of them was not interested in going up with me, whether he remembers that or not. ;) The sun was going down, the wind calmed to nothing, and it was a dead flat gorgeous evening. I made the comment that THIS is the weather you want to take up a formation flight in. So the head of the event, a check pilot for the jets and the RPA guys, said "Well, let's go. You and me, two ship." I said Okay. I was a little concerned because I"d had two flights in a row go well, I'd mentally stood down, plus I was tired...but I thought I was wired enough to be okay. So this time in my back seat he put another jet formation instructor pilot, and he took one of his jet students in his backseat, and he went up in his friend's T-6, and I was #2 in the two-ship. So today I got to be #2 out of 2, #3 out of 3, and #4 out of 4. That worked. This last flight, when we first called up to check in, I was supposed to say "Blue One Two." Blue flight, section 1, I'm #2 in the flight. I said "Blue Two One", which he corrected me on the radio for. I said something else backwards right away, and then he said he had to shut down. I looked over, and he hadn't removed his chocks. Heh. He shut down, took out the chocks, fired back up, I took a breath, and the next check in and the rest of the flight was great. No formation flight is perfect, but the air was smooth, it was a 2-ship, and I was in the groove. We did two rejoins, the first was okay, it worked out fine, but the second one was so pretty that he called in over the radio and said "If I were you, I'd quit on that one, because it doesn't get any better than that." I hit the line right off the bat, came on up it, high closure rate, stopped it dead smack on the money, right in position, boom. Probably can't do that again if you paid me, but what great timing to have one go like that. ;) We did some 50-55 degree bank turns, lazy 8s, cross-unders in a descending turn, etc. It was fun, I enjoyed it, and so did they. When we got done, they both said the words "I'm impressed", said I was solid, wished we had four T-6s coming tomorrow to get a flight or two in with 4, then do a checkride if all went well, but they don't have the airplanes or the people for tomorrow, as lots of them bugged out tonight. But like I said, the one in the other airplane is a check pilot that I'd be using if I don't use Dan S. So it's nice to know he felt that way. And the flight was gorgeous. Sunset, still air, blue skies, a hint of clouds here and there that the sun was shining off of, it was like glass up there. Truly pretty. We went inside and had a steak dinner, baked potatoes, etc., and the three other pilots from that flight hoisted their drinks and did a cheer to "Chicks who fly T-6s." Hear hear. :)

I do wish the formation guys would give people a chance more easily, but I'm hoping this finally made a difference for the future for me flying. One person here or there has helped, slowly, but now there are folks from a few more places who have decided I'm not that scary. I still have lots to learn and lots to smooth out, but I'm getting there. My newbie #2 guy apologized later for "messing up" my flight and hoped he didn't bother me trying to train. Good grief! Like I'm going to begrudge HIM finally getting some flight time in too as a newbie. Besides, it made it more work for me, but that's actually a good thing for me. It made that two ship later much easier. ;).

So, one day of sitting around by myself watching the jets fly, and one day packed with my own flying, which actually felt like it went pretty well even to picky me, and making a couple new friends to boot. Now I need some sleep as we're starting an hour earlier tomorrow to try to get people home with incoming weather at a lot of our locations... Won't likely get any more formation in, but it was worthwhile...