First akro experience...

What type did you do your aeros rating or have your first upside experience in?

  • Alpha A160a Robin

    Votes: 1 2.1%

  • Cessna 152 Aerobat

    Votes: 3 6.4%

  • Decathlon/Citabria

    Votes: 16 34.0%

  • Pitts S2A/B

    Votes: 2 4.3%

  • Victor AirTourer

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • RV6

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Yak 52/CJ-6a Nanchang

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • DHC1 Chipmunk

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Other

    Votes: 25 53.2%
  • Total voters
    47
N

NZflyer

Filing Flight Plan
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NZflyer
Hey all thought I'd get the ball rolling on another one this always interests me to see where and how people got tangled up in unstraight and unlevel flight!

Me? Well I was 12, dad bought me a flight in a Pitts at Warbirds over Wanaka, in 1996. The bug bit me, hard. Had another go in a Pitts with a friend who worked for an aerobatic joyride company (where I am now), in 2003.
Finally got money aside to do the aeros rating in 2004, after I got the CPL certificate in a side by side, French built Alpha A160a Robin. 160hp...fixed pitch...it's actually not that bad, in fact, when put amongst all the other club aircraft, a sea of Pipers, it is actually a great trainer.
Did 18months ofcompetition training with a couple of competitions at sportsman level, and then had a crack in a few other neat ships before the yak came along.

Got a pole here for people to post what they did the aeros rating in, always interesting to see. :)
 
I started aerobatics when I was 18, sorta accidentially. I wanted an airplane. So my Dad found a really good deal on a recently restored Citabria. Well since I owned an aerobatic airplane it only made sense that I learned aerobatics. I'm not really that good though, I don't have an aerobatic capable airplane now and I haven't done any in years.
 
A, now friend, pilot/CFI has a hanger across from me with a Pitts Special. One day we flew out for breakfast and he gave me several lessons in acro. I love going up when we have the chance.
 
I was just out of college when a pilot friend of mine and I bought an aerobatic book and rented a 150 Aerobat. He read and I flew. This is NOT the recommended introduction technique.
 
chip must've learned something along the way, my first upside down time was w/him in the Extra 300. boy was that FUN!
 
I have no training, but my first upside down ride was in a Stearman. Open cockpit is the only way to go!:D
 
Well NZ i went iwth OTHER cause you forgot the best Acro Plane .
I did mine in Chips EXTRA 300(what a plane )
Thanks again Chip

Dave G.:blueplane:
 
A few of the members of a big flying club I belonged to got together and purchased a Starduster Too (open cockpit biplane, mildly aerobatic) and were willing to take on a newbie partner (me). Once I learned how to land it (my first real taildragger experience) I had to learn some acro. BTW there's no such thing as an acro rating.

-lance
 
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Nice, well I didn't put Extra in there as an option because it is WRONG to go in one of those first - because I haven't been in one yet! :D
T37? That's not the mentor? What is it? a Jet?
 
Dean said:
I have no training, but my first upside down ride was in a Stearman. Open cockpit is the only way to go!:D
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Yeh how cool are they, I have had a crack in both the Stearman and Tiger, but the Radial is just so much more fun I reckon. :)
 
NZflyer said:
Nice, well I didn't put Extra in there as an option because it is WRONG to go in one of those first - because I haven't been in one yet! :D
T37? That's not the mentor? What is it? a Jet?
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It's the Tweet. Sub-sonic, side-by-side, twin jet used by the Air Force (I don't know if anyone else uses it) for their second level of training. Looks vaguely like a Paris Jet, I think.

EDIT: Oh ya, my first upside down was in a T-28 Trojan.
 
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Like many on this forum, my first was in Chip's beautiful Extra 300L.

I also got some Acro in a Stearman.
 
I had my first taste with some extra goodies during spin training for my endorsement. I had already wanted to eventually take aerobatic training. That experience sealed the deal for the goal.
 
Just some spins with my CFI in a 172.

I must say I do like Chips method (would never try) but it shows he has Chutzspa (sp?)
 
I did only half a turn in a spin in a 172 during my PP training (what a job it was getting that thing to spin!), but after getting my ticket, I entered a raffle at the Sussex, NJ airshow for a half-hour of aerobatics dual... and WON!! :yes:

Soon after, I was strapping into a shiny new Zlin 242 at Stewart Airport... just handling that bird for takeoff and climbout was a rush!!
Never did any spins then, either, or any vertical-line stuff (too hazy, according to the instructor), but we did several loops, aileron rolls and barrel rolls... it was even more fun than I'd expected, which is saying a lot!
Took a breather and debriefed after my 1/2 hour was up, then I forked over $100 for another 30 minutes, during which he showed me some upset-recovery stuff relevant to my usual flying. It was a very strong building block to add to my foundation, looks great in the logbook, and it was FUN!!!
Next aerobatic goal of mine: spins, and lots of 'em... :D
 
First acro instruction was in Nancy Lynn's 300L. That airplane was destroyed in an accident that killed her partner - the evidence suggested G-LOC was the cause. Nancy also passed in an air show accident last year flying the replacement Extra 300L which I'd also flown with her. Almost all of my acro instruction and experience since that first experience with Nancy has been in a Pitts S-2C.
 
My wife bought me a $500 gift certificate to a local acro school for my birthday. That got me a fun ride in a Pitts S-2B, but then we moved out of state and I had to get the remainder refunded.
 
Dean said:
I have no training, but my first upside down ride was in a Stearman. Open cockpit is the only way to go!:D
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Same here. The pilot asked if I wanted level 1, 2, or 3. My cousin was standing there telling me what he thought of me if I went with anything besides level 3. :)
 
Diana said:
First off...welcome to the forum! :)

My first experience wasn't very positive, but later on aerobatics became more enjoyable:

http://www.areeda.com/flying/dr/ManySplendoredThing.pdf
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Hey Diana,
That's such a neat story. Congrats on that. Always love to read about experiences like that one for your dad.
You should give competition ago in the machine you have, they look like so much fun. :)
 
diana, i just read that article, wow what a great story!
 
Well I did my first spins in a Ryan PT-22, but first inverted acro stuff in a super decathalon!! After that I instructed in the decathalon for a while!! Loved it except the useful load.
 
NZflyer said:
Hey Diana,
That's such a neat story. Congrats on that.
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Thanks! Chip was the inspiration for that story, actually. :yes:

NZflyer said:
You should give competition ago in the machine you have, they look like so much fun. :)
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Finally got up the nerve to compete this year. There's a thread about it here somewhere. I wrote an article about the competition experience and it will probably come out in the January issue of Sport Aerobatics. Poor Chip was along for that 'ride' too. :D
 
Diana said:
Thanks you guys! Tony, we still need to get together and go play in the Citabria. :yes:
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oh i know, i just have to find a ride down to the farm. I will probably be trying to get my students to get me down there this coming spring :D
 
First 'really' unusual attitude was doing spin training in a 152 with CFI while trying to burn hours to get up to the 40 for my PPL checkride.

Since then, everything upside down has been in either an RV-8 or RV-6A. Haven't had the -7A upside down yet. :( SOMEday, though...
 
First spins were in a C150 during PPL training. Ever since I got the really big surprise of that first windshield full of Mother Earth, I've believed each student should experience spinning and recovering to take the teeth out of their fear. (Plus, many of us agree it is fun.)

First real aerobatic experience was 20+ years later in a Bellanca Decathlon. I had to get myself all mentally adjusted (Instructor: "Ready?" Me: "Almost. Give me just a minute. Okay. Now.") WOW! And that was a simple aileron roll. In a later session, when he rolled over to inverted flight I grabbed his tennis shoes off the rudders that were on either side of my seat. Those size 12 dogs were the handiest things when I felt my weight hit the harness and hang there. I haven't flown aerobatics in several years, and I never really did it enough to finish off the fear my chair would come unbolted and I'd go punching through the greenhouse roof during inverted flight. (Not Kosher, but no chutes back then)

I hope I'm not done with aerobatics, but I'm devoting my flying $$ to the more pedestrian instrument rating these days :)

Lisa
 
....and I'm resisting the temptation of a beautiful late model Decathlon for rent right down the road! I'm pretty proud of my self-restraint! www.marcairaviation.com Lisa
 
lsimonds said:
....and I'm resisting the temptation of a beautiful late model Decathlon for rent right down the road! I'm pretty proud of my self-restraint!
Lisa
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One person's self restraint is another person's denial. The Dark Side is just too powerful - give in to your feelings.
:D
 
lsimonds said:
First spins were in a C150 during PPL training. Ever since I got the really big surprise of that first windshield full of Mother Earth, I've believed each student should experience spinning and recovering to take the teeth out of their fear. (Plus, many of us agree it is fun.)
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That was pretty much my experience too.

Even though I always thought it might be fun I didn't try again until about 5 years ago. I went out with an instructor in a Pitts S-2C. It was a new, beautiful, immaculate airplane, but very expensive to rent. Also, I'm not sure that the instructor and I were a good match for each other. Then last summer I got the wild hair to try again, this time in a Super Decathlon. I took a number of lessons over the summer in both the Super D and a Pitts 2-B (which was $100/hr less than the other Pitts). I learned the primary sequence and also started to work a little bit on the sportsman sequence. Then my real life got busy and I haven't taken a lesson in about a month and a half. I need to get back to it. I would like to be able to compete next spring.

The last lesson I had, I learned some variations on spinning in the Pitts. He showed me how you can tighten the spin (make it more vertical) by using forward stick without releasing the rudder. I guess this is why you recover with opposite rudder first before forward stick. Then he showed me how to flatten the spin by using opposite aileron without releasing the rudder. This feels really weird like those amusement rides when you are pushed against the back of your seat. Finally we recovered by pretty much letting go of everything. I hope I am remembering this right. :redface:
 
Well I had to choose "other" since my first actual acro experience came in a friends' 1929 Waco. We did a few rolls, loops, hammerheads, and spins and it was all great fun, all I can remember was I only had a lap belt and no shoulder harness like he did in the rear cockpit and I was gripping the canapoy pretty darn hard!!! I did of course have a chute on but did not intend to learn how to use it that day....I have done a handful of hours in a Citabria 7KCAB since then and all have been extremely fun and I hope to do more in the future.
 
Another vote for the Extra 300 - I flew with Craig Fordem at The Aerobatic Experience in Boulder City, NV (near Vegas). Sweet airplane! Fun times!
 
I have NO IDEA for sure what my first akro experience was in, but I think it was in a Cat O' Mills glider(Xtra 300 next)....guess who the Xtra 300 was with...
 
Christen Eagle II, and then a Grob 103...talk about having the soaring and acro bug bite hard - twice! It makes it so hard to focus...I want to do it all!!!!
 
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