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| - Hyperbole aside, and I mean this with complete, straight-face-glossy-eyed earnest - this was far and away the most wild and nearly incomprehensible thing I've ever experienced. I'll try for you to be very brief, to the point of terse, in my description here on out, keeping care not to flower the experience with unnecessary embellishments. But this is an extraordinary, once in a lifetime experience that these guys have created and I feel motivated to explain to you exactly why.
My father and I were given the gift of a dogfight by my brother, who flies for the Navy. Early arrival time (7am), suited up, introduced to the plane and briefed by 8. The two pilots were extremely laid back and good natured, clearly enjoyed their jobs, and encouraged us to enjoy the experience.
We went up in the stunt planes, an Extra 330L, and during the hour we learned how to maneuver the plane, "fought" against each other, then sat back while the two instructors "fought" against each other (which amps it up quite a bit, clearly), performed aerial acrobatics, and finished with a canyon run.
I flew with Joseph "Whip" Abbud and my father flew with "Hollywood". I think it's an unnecessary embellishment to mention anything about their ability to fly the planes, frankly, because my attempt would be a disservice. As teachers, they were extremely encouraging, which helped us get the best out of the piloting experience. It's an odd experience, flying a plane for the first time. If he wasn't yelling in my ear to push it harder, I wouldn't have. And that would have been a real disservice.
It's important to recognize, too, that even little things like turning left seem like wildly aggressive movements to someone who, like many of us, is completely untrained and unable to recognize the inevitability of the "rollercoaster" feeling (or g-force), even while it seems like something of which you ultimately should be hyperaware, seeing as how you're flying through the sky. As a co-pilot, the program is designed to "ease" you into this, if you can call it that at all, by starting with smallish maneuvers and ultimately mimicking the instructor after the initial demonstration. Again, it's important that these gentlemen are as encouraging as they are because it is a wholly unnatural and weird thing, experiencing the miracle of flight, untrained.
Once acclimated, the dogfight begins. The instructors aim the planes at each other and perform a flyby, after which they essentially let go and.. well go get 'em. You will not crash this plane. You cannot, despite your best efforts. And I really, truly had fantastic efforts. As a piece of aerodynamic equipment, it's designed to right itself were you to stall the engine or fly upside down for too long and pass out. Which, what?
I digress. Needless to say, the acrobatic portion of the demo was of such staggering extremism that I balk at my own heavy handed descriptions. Without being able to speak while using my hands as airplanes, it's difficult to say exactly how our airplane moved. There were about 20 minutes of flips, tumbles, inversions, variations, mutations, along with the novelty Top Gun go-upside-down-and-hang-out technique. The harnesses were tested, and passed with flying colors.
There are video cameras affixed to the planes as well, capably providing you with an odd recollection of exactly what happened. These videos are, in retrospect, delightfully boring unless of course you're the type of person who is entertained by a mirror. While necessary, I did feel that reviewing my flight did nothing but confirm for me that I was capable of smiling for an hour. This is, of course, no fault of Sky Combat Ace and their assuredly expensive video equipment, but rather of human perception. While in the plane, there were moments of surreal orientation where the ground does not seem to exist where you think it should - the g-forces pulling you up, when actually the ground is down. It was described to me aptly in that you essentially are "strapping the plane to your back," rather than sitting down in something beholden to gravity. Plummeting feels like one thing, but on video it looks like quite another.
This is in no way an experience for those who purge easily. While it's clear that the pilots will push only as far as you're comfortable, there are many factors to consider before visiting. However, your decision should not be hindered by ratings or concerns that there's enough toilet paper or whatever it is that makes your lip quiver. While I personally think it's near ludicrous that the decision to careen backwards through the Troposphere at the hand of a virtuosic acrobatic aerialist, I do understand the motivation to perform due diligence. If I may add my two cents, the service was impeccable, the staff fun, knowledgable, and everyone was without odor.
I cannot recommend enough. Sincere thanks to them for this once in a lifetime experience.
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