The flight over today was super murky. The air quality is just terrible right now, haze, and smoke. It’s hot, humid and still. I’ll take the still though, that 7-8 knots wind is just fine for what we’re trying to do here.
I arrived at the same time as another T-6, and we helped each other put our covers on. Nothing official was supposed to happen until tomorrow, so I covered up the plane and secured it.
I’m sitting inside, and the head fellow comes up to me and says he knows what I need and what I want to do, and says first there needs to be an observation flight, and do I have a flight tonight in me. You don’t say no to that, so ready or not, I said sure. He asked if I wanted to do this in a 2-ship or a 4-ship. I said it didn’t matter, whatever he had available and wanted. I think that impressed him, because being #4 is a lot harder than just being #2. He paired me up with a super experienced guy in my back seat, and found 3 other pilots willing to go up, and we were “on”. Our flight happened during the ground school, so I didn’t get or have to attend that. I wouldn’t have minded the refresher, but it’s a darned good thing I looked over the manual last night in an attempt to get ahead of the game a little. In flight refresher/crash course is better than ground school. I told them it had been awhile for me—in fact it was a year ago that I was up with 3 other T-6s, and since then I’ve only been up twice. Once at the TBM Gathering and once at Indy. None were official, and that’s not a lot of practice. So I sort of got thrown into the deep end with a check pilot along in my back seat observing. That’ll make a person nervous.
The flight didn’t go bad. I thought it was a little rough, and that I was out of position more than I was in it. But my observer pilot was more mad at Lead than he was at me, for a couple of things, and I’m always glad to have the pressure off of me. ;) I made a few mistakes that we talked about, and I knew I’d done them. I forgot a radio call on takeoff, and my landing was too short and I put the tail down too soon, making for a long taxi to the end holding everyone up. Escehlon turns, ugh. They are a nemesis for me. Everything else…not too bad. He said he could tell I was a little rusty but that it was a really good flight. He liked how I flew the airplane, and he loved how my breaks (steep turns for rejoins and in the pattern) were completely coordinated. He said most people wallow around in the turns. I appreciated the compliment. He said he would talk with the organizer. I don’t know if that means he’s approving me to take the official checkride for a NATA card, or if that means I just have approval to fly without someone in my back seat for now, or if that WAS a checkride, or…what exactly. They said it was an “observation” ride. Probably just to see if I can actually fly and if I’ll try to kill anyone. He was in a hurry so I didn’t ask any more questions yet. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.
From there I met up with Kathy and JP and a lot of the other pilots at a nearby restaurant. They were dressed up so I put on my one nice shirt I brought for just in case. And I had quail. I didn’t realize they would have the little baby quail carcasses on my plate. It tasted good, but man, I felt like I was was on a survival show for a second. Poor little baby quail all splayed out on my plate. I don’t like seeing the shape of the animal I’m eating. Like the calamari that are full baby squid. Or fish with the head/eyes still there. Or frog legs. Or little quail. But it did taste good. ;)
It sounds like I won’t have to stay for Sunday’s practice, as it may just be for the Monday arrival, not the show. They also made it sound as though I would be able to fly at Oshkosh on Tuesday. JP says I’d have to have someone in my back seat for the first time. I told them I’d already flown at the OSH airshow with someone in my back seat, but for PTs, not T-6s. One guy thought maybe I’d get away without having to do that, but I think it’s unlikely, and they will probably require it. But if they do, it also sounds like it might not be an impossible task to get someone. They were really organized. They are running sorties off the books, and on the books, and keeping everyone flying. Nobody sat for long without a mission. That’s a complete turn-around from years past where only the good ole buddies got to go fly.
I think this is going to be okay. Today was actually really good. Steve sent me a text that no matter what it was going to work out, and Mom sent me an encouraging email, and I just felt a lot of positive energy today all around, at the event, in myself, etc. Now I need to get to sleep so I can function tomorrow at 6 am and be a good pilot still. lol
Whew.
Putting our new cover on the T-6, thinking I was done when I arrived.
I was not done. I had to take the cover off and go fly. ;)
Two poor little quail carcasses on my plate. Tasty, but still, how sad looking.
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