I've always been a huge fan of roller coasters so I was naturally interested in
doing aerobatics. I had read a number of publications that extolled the
virtues of taking aerobatics lessons as a way of improving pilot skills. I
more or less figured it was all hype in the magazine articles to sway the reader
to give aerobatics a try. I was pleasantly surprised at what a huge
leap in pilot skill level the training actually provided. Oddly, one of
the first big improvements that I noticed was my landing ability. Who
would ever think that learning to fly upside-down would improve the ability
to land an airplane?
My favorite aerobatic maneuver to fly, beyond a doubt, is the Snap Roll.
For sheer satisfaction in a job well done though, nothing beats perfectly executed
Cuban 8s or Slow Rolls. That's not to say that I don't appreciate well
done Hammerheads, Aileron Rolls or even simple loops. If you're interested
in seeing the view from inside the cockpit while doing a loop, I've put together
a photo sequence which you can visit by clicking here.
Along with learning the techniques to fly an airplane through many new maneuvers,
I was also quickly learning new techniques to delay the onset of nausea. No
matter how much fun a person is having doing loops, spins and rolls of various
kinds, the body has a limit. At first, my endurance was rather limited.
That endurance could be further limited by certain maneuvers. One of the
early techniques I learned to delay the onset of nausea was to insist that my
instructor not demonstrate any new manuevers. Rather, if she would explain
the mechanics of the maneuver first, then talk me through the performance of the
maneuver the first time or two, my endurance went up dramatically. It should
be noted that even after a year of doing aerobatics, I still have limited
physical tolerance of aerobatic maneuvers flown by someone else.
Once the nausea set in there were a number of techniques I learned to quickly
put my stomach at ease. Two of the best are to quickly start chewing
mint gum and to put pressure on the inside of the wrist with one finger. Of
course, it goes without saying that flying straight and level also helps to
calm the churning fluids.
While I continue to fly aerobatics regularly as a way to keep my pilot skills
up, I am also beginning to embark on the difficult road (airway?) of earning
my Instrument Rating. In addition to giving me more skills to make me
a better pilot overall, adding the Instrument Rating will make trips, and
especially vacations, via airplane much more practical.