Bucker: Turning my world upsidedown!

The gift that keeps giving.  Memories created, friendships cemented.

My birthday was in July and I was delighted to be given a "ride in a Bucker" this year.  
Pilot friends of mine, Gail and Doedo are the proud owners/parents of this open-cockpit biplane.  And this is the story of my first open-cockpit airplane outing.  But there is more... Aerobatics and a smoke machine awaited me.

All I needed to do was get my flying kit on and get in.
Easier said than done!

Step 1:
Put on the flight suit.  It has pockets for keeping little things like your phone and camera safe when inverted.  No-one wants to be hit in the head or in the flight instruments by a wayward camera and no-one wants to be searching a farmer's field for a new-ish Galaxy S4 that fell to its death!

Step 2:
Learn the ways of the parachute.  Practice putting on the parachute and buckling it up correctly, then take it off and lay it nicely on the seat in the plane.  There is no way you can simultaneously wear it and climb into the aircraft, so the idea is to climb into the parachute as you climb into the plane!

 

Step3:
Climb onto the wing and into the front seat (passenger seat), into the parachute.  Then buckle into the 'chute and secure the equally complex seat belt around the both of you.  There is no wriggle room.

Step 4:
Goggles!  Yes, I have waited all my life to look like this, with good reason.

Step 5:
Almost dressed, but one last thing...
The aviator's headset is also a cool flying hat!  It must be fitted over a ponytail that is low and loose, then secured under the chin.  Loosing a borrowed headset in flight is also poor form!

Now... time to fly!
I was in good hands.  Gail, from the seat behind me, expertly taxied us out and did run-up.

Gail, behind me

My view... the prop and the fuel gauge

You must remember that she can't actually see in front of her ... I couldn't even see in front of me and I was in front of Gail.  Very impressive, especially as we begin the roll for take-off.

At this point, my camera is safely stowed in one of those pockets I mentioned earlier.  And if it wasn't for Mark, on the ground at the airport, I wouldn't have these great shots.

 

 

Gail and I flew north and began the fun stuff.  Barrel rolls and loops... and something that had "cuban" in the name.  Forgive me, my brain (and stomach) got a tad scrambled that day and I forget the details.

However, I have not forgotten the smiles, the smell of the smoke, the feeling of weightlessness and the view of the ground from upside-down.   Even better ... I didn't need to use that parachute!


Thanks Mark and Gail for an amazing birthday gift.  :-)

Pagosa Springs Formation Flying Clinic - Flight of 10

And just like that, the clinic and the weekend, were almost over.  :-(

All that was left to do was the flight of 10 ships to Durango.  This was the closest thing to Bonanzas To Oshkosh one could expect before the actual Bonanzas To Oshkosh event... and unfortunately, B2OSH was not going to be possible for me in 2013.

We all arrived at Jim and Sheila's hangar, rested and enthusiastic.  The weather was spectacular, again!
There was a pre-flight briefing and everyone was divided into elements of two.  Going to Durango was fairly straight forward.  Five elements of two ships, spaced appropriately based on aircraft capability.

First though, a "walk through" of the plan.  I love this part.  Formation flying is fairly intense.
These pilots took it seriously (as they should) and seldom got the chance to act a bit goofy and overly dramatic together during the practices.   The walk through seemed to be the exception in my opinion!

I smiled as I photographed 10 pilots acting out run-ups...

 and take off rolls.

Four elements of two were spaced 15 seconds apart, then Tom in the Baron was going to wait 30 seconds before beginning the take-off roll.

The plan was to clear aircraft to leave the formation and fly homeward, after taking off in elements of 3 at Durango Airport.   This puts folks well on their way home, just before lunch.  Sheila had us covered though... Each person had a little brown bag lunch to take away with them.  So thoughtful!

Then we were off!

I rode right seat in Tom's Baron.   We were in charge of bringing up the rear... which is just perfect for taking pictures.

While our spacing at Durango might have been a bit tighter, I felt it was a well done flight, all told.

My only question was about the end.  We had briefed that all 10 would shut down engines at the same time on cue, but by the time the Baron was taxied into place on the Durango ramp, not only were most of the planes shut down, some pilots and passengers were already wandering outside the cockpits.

It was already pretty hot.  I could see why there rush to get inside.  The FBO at Durango was an air conditioned pilot's haven.  Clean bathrooms, free chocolates and a spacious meeting room made for a very comfortable debrief.

And before too long, it was time to go.

The order of aircraft for the Durango 3-ship element departure was specifically chosen so that pilots could be cleared to depart the formation and go home, starting with #10.  There were just two airplanes and pilots (and me!) heading all the way back to Pagosa Springs.  I rode right seat with Jim Lane in his A36 and listened to the goodbyes as each man was soon lost from sight.  It was bittersweet.

Then along came Michael!

You might remember my blogging about being right seat passenger in his Glasair in 2012.  He caught up in the blink of an eye, appearing at my side of the A36... ready to have his picture taken.  He was long overdue and I had promised.

My last Pagosa Springs Formation Flying Clinic flight was a good one.  Nice landing Michael!

 

And finally... leaving the Pagosa Springs area, Longmont bound in Bonanza N303B.    :-)