LH463 From United States of America, joined Apr 2006, 68 posts, RR: 0 Posted (7 years 3 weeks 4 days 12 hours ago) and read 2262 times:
Just wanted to see if there are any fun stories of people doing crazy things in light aircraft. Please make sure to include what airplane you were in. As for me the craziest I have done is Spins in a 172. I know it's sad...
CWUPilot From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 126 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (7 years 3 weeks 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 2126 times:
I would never do this of course but I may have been in the cockpit when an instructor spun through a 1000' cloud layer when we were supposed to be VFR at night.
"The worst day of flying still beats the best day of real work."
RoseFlyer From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 8739 posts, RR: 52 Reply 4, posted (7 years 3 weeks 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 2113 times:
I have done absolutely nothing crazy. I am not enough of a daredevil to enjoy spinning, so I never did any or had my instructor demonstrate them during my PPL training. So the craziest thing I have done is land on a grass strip with around a 15 knot crosswind, which is at the max for a Cessna 172.
If you have never designed an airplane part before, let the real designers do the work!
Texfly101 From United States of America, joined Jan 2006, 351 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (7 years 3 weeks 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 2099 times:
The first time I got in the left seat, actually, the first time I got in a light a/c, I was 14 and my dad (a former military instrument instructor) was teaching me to fly. I had anticipated getting in and him flying me around showing me the controls and what they do and maybe a few weeks later, after lots of ground study, letting me touch the wheel. Instead, we pre-flight the 152, I get my Cessna diamond, and he tells me to get in....the left seat! He tells me to start it up, and he tells me to give it some gas and taxi it to the runway. Then I almost throw up when he says push the throttle to the firewall and get it off the ground. On the takeoff roll, I'm thinking 14 is way too young to die, he tells me to pull the wheel back and we're off the ground...still alive! After we level off at 3k, me white faced, sweating profusely, death grip on the wheel and throttle, I'm sitting there, afraid to move, expecting to fall out of the sky at any moment. He tells me to take my hands off the wheel. For the first time in my life, I disobey my father and question him (my dad, being a military officer was not used to having his commands to me not instantly obeyed). I'm not about to let go. After a short discussion (that's a polite term for what was really said, unprintable in this forum...) in which I realize that I'm going to die either at his hands or the ground, I let the wheel loose....and to my relief and amazement, the 152 just ticked long at 90 knots, flying as pretty as can be...my dad then said, "see, it will fly itself. What you're going to learn is how not to kill yourself up here..." and from that point on, with all the stalls, spins, short field takeoffs, and situational awareness lessons, that was what he did. And I'm still alive.
Boeing Nut From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 7, posted (7 years 3 weeks 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 2029 times:
Training - going into a spin from an accelerated stall. Man, was that a gas!!!
For fun - Flying formation with a buddy of mine, which was very much against policy at my alma mater, and performing zero G manuevers. I never did find my E6B calculator after that flight!!
For "recreation" - Well, let's just say that an altitude of 5,280' has something to do with it.
Turnit56N From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 10, posted (7 years 3 weeks 4 days 3 hours ago) and read 2010 times:
I can thankfully say that I've done nothing crazy.
I have had a lot of safe fun flying well within the parameters of the aircraft. Often this has involved inverted flight, aileron rolls, barrel rolls, four point rolls, eight point rolls, snap rolls, spins, loops, outside loops, eight-sided loops, snaps at the top of loops, inverted spins, cuban eights, reverse cuban eights, cloverleafs, and immelmanns. These were all done in an appropriate aerobatic aircraft, within the G limitations of the aircraft (and more restrictively, within the G limitations of me), at proper altitude, over a carefully chosen area, and only after proper training. Therefore, I would not classify them as "crazy".
Anything intentionally unsafe or "crazy" is never something to be proud of. I don't even really like the idea of airing such events on a public forum where inexperienced pilots could get the idea that flaunting common sense and/or regulation is in any way "cool". I'm a big fan of having fun while flying, but only when that fun doesn't interfere with the safe operation of the aircraft.
57AZ From United States of America, joined Nov 2004, 2550 posts, RR: 2 Reply 11, posted (7 years 3 weeks 4 days 3 hours ago) and read 2006 times:
We've never done anything unsafe or illegal but have had some fun. The two flights that come immediately to mind are flying down the Grand Canyon of the Tennessee River just west of CHA. Flew out over the city and descended to 500' agl over the river, then proceded downriver to Marion County airpark down the river canyon VFR doing 160+KIAS. Second flight was over Lake Roosevelt at 500' agl doing 230+KIAS. Both flights were in a C414A. Neither flight busted regs and we are very familiar with the terrain in both areas.
"When a man runs on railroads over half of his lifetime he is fit for nothing else-and at times he don't know that."
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From United States of America, joined Apr 2006, 68 posts, 
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