Planes!

[mensor]

Haven’t been soaring in forever! That’s how I started too. First solo was age 15 in an ASK21 with civil air patrol. Can’t wait to do it again.

[Gashog]

I would build me one of these if I thought I could fit in it and meet the weight requirements of part 103. Legal Eagle

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[ob1quixote]

That's me in the right hand seat. My fathers Cessna, would later be repowered with an O-200 Continental.

[ob1quixote]

There was a windstorm the night before...

[Whiskerfish]

A very long time go I was on a cross country flight in one of my H-53 Helos and had to make a "precautionary" landing at a small local field. When we touched down the rotor down wash flipped a small aircraft just like that. Flipped it right over on it's back. Boy was that a stink

[ob1quixote]

Not licensed, but began "flying" in IFR, I was 5.
Still a lot of good memories!

[leggman]

last year Beth got to go up on this plane.... My first flight at age 11 was in one just like it
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I am going up in the same plane in 2 weeks. Gonna be fun

[Dr. Frankenstein]

Not an aviator, but an enthusiast...I have three hours in the left seat of a Cessna 172 and 182, and had the great fortune to fly aerobatics several times with the Red Baron Pizza Squadron in their open-cockpit biplanes; Now THAT is flying! To date, I have never had a better experience on this earth!

Not my video, but a good representation of them in action, even if it is a bit grainy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USsbhIQ7J5s

After the 'customary' ride, that just included a loop for the less adventurous, at my request the pilot and I found our own patch of sky and did more than just a loop - hammerheads, split-s, rolls, Immelmans...it was a truly awesome event. The great thing about it was they put you up front, too! I had been a big aficionado of biplanes since I was a kid, and since I did have some knowledge of the controls (rudder, pedals, ailerons, etc), I asked for the stick, but unfortunately after some consideration we thought better of it. No worries though, it was still one of the greatest events in my life.

The squadron was decommissioned and auctioned off after a mid-air collision in Florida in 1998 and a subsequent crash in 1999, but I was lucky enough to have flown with these great guys and planes.

[cfairweather]

I am not a pilot, but one of the worlds greatest stunt pilots was from my hometown in Lovington New Mexico. Many of you pilots will recognize the name Jimmy Franklin. I was friends and graduated with his brother Steve who is also a pilot. Jimmy was truly amazing and absolutely fearless.

Here is one of many links about him.

https://airshow.fandom.com/wiki/Jimmy_Franklin