Climbout From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Posted (11 years 9 months 4 weeks 21 hours ago) and read 6405 times:
I tried to see if this topic has been discussed, but came up empty handed.
Has anyone had the pleasure of riding in a figher jet, ie..F15, F16, Falcon ect..? How does it feel when the pilot is doing all of those manuevers (flips, turns, drops, ect..)? Can you tell when you are upside down?
If I want to experience this, how do I go about doing this, and what are the requirements?
I'd like to ride in one just to see what it is like.
LY744 From Canada, joined Feb 2001, 5536 posts, RR: 11 Reply 1, posted (11 years 9 months 4 weeks 15 hours ago) and read 6240 times:
You can go to Russia, and for a reasonable amount of money you'll get to ride in the L-39 and MiG-29UB. Anyone has more up-to-date info on this practice?
Hope it helps.
CannibalZ3 From United States of America, joined May 2001, 392 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (11 years 9 months 3 weeks 6 days ago) and read 6218 times:
In fact, there are several L-39s in the United States, and I have the happy coincidence of being related to the owner of one of them, and was therefore able to go for a flight. It's a very different flight from an airliner or private plane. Taking off, you go VERY fast in a very small plane, and when you take off you leave the ground like the sun pulls you. As for the manuvers, it's actually more uncomfortable then you would think. Positive Gs feel like something pressing against your stomagh from above, that you are lifting a very heavy weight using both your body and your arms. But it's great fun anyway. Weightless flight might feel pretty weird, but I was having too much fun to notice it. As I recall, it felt exactly like normally, except if you toss a pen/lighter/small furry creature up then it continues on whatever path you set it on (if you toss it up, it'll go up until it bounces off the canopy), and one of the pens I used actually floated behind the ejection seat. Everything is just slightly different feelings. Is it worth the money to buy a ride in one of these planes, I don't know, but I know that it's most definately worth a try if you can find someone that will take you up for free. There are a lot of people who fly aerobatic-certified planes that will be happy to take you up just for the fun of it. Ask around at the local airports, and good luck!
Climbout From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 3, posted (11 years 9 months 3 weeks 5 days 23 hours ago) and read 6203 times:
Thanks guys!
CannibalZ3,
Did you take any pictures from up there? Must have been cool to see what the earth looks like being so high above it. I hope I can experience this without having to travel way to Russia. I also hope I am in good enough shape for such a thrill ride.
USAFHummer From United States of America, joined May 2000, 10685 posts, RR: 54 Reply 4, posted (11 years 9 months 3 weeks 5 days 19 hours ago) and read 6202 times:
I think those Mig-29/Su-27 flights cost about $15000 hehe...a little past my price range...
Greg
Chief A.net college football stadium self-pic guru
Daniel-k From Sweden, joined Jun 2001, 8 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (11 years 9 months 3 weeks 5 days 9 hours ago) and read 6180 times:
I've had the pleasure of riding in the Swedish AF's military trainers, the side-by-side SAAB 105. As you can guess, everything up there is happening really fast - and that's even more true when flying at almost ground/sea level. However, the high g's can make you feel very uncomfortable, and it's a really shaky business.
I will post in-flight photos of the aircraft on my homepage soon (once I've got my scanner working).
CannibalZ3 From United States of America, joined May 2001, 392 posts, RR: 0 Reply 8, posted (11 years 9 months 3 weeks 2 days 23 hours ago) and read 6163 times:
Climbout.
I have many, many pictures, and as soon as I can get around to it, I'll load them on. The L-39 I rode is based at RDU (Raleigh, North Carolina), and is arguably the coolest plane there. I haven't actually seen spotters out at RDU (although this site has some pictures from there), but I imagine that for many people this would be a highlight-very unusual plane to see.
As to simulators, there are many that are so advanced that a pilot can log time spent in one. A friend of mine, while getting type-checked in a Citation, actually attempted a split-S in one of those. not manuverable enough I guess, he said the simulated wings came off partway through.
Glenn From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2005, 0 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (11 years 9 months 3 weeks 2 days 15 hours ago) and read 6160 times:
Flown in a few high performance aircraft. The amount of sweat is incredible, the High G's have at times made this little chappy a bit green and not too well and the G suit hurt like hell in a tight turn. But known of them where the aircraft you mentioned
XFSUgimpLB41X From United States of America, joined Aug 2000, 3952 posts, RR: 36 Reply 10, posted (11 years 9 months 3 weeks 2 days 15 hours ago) and read 6156 times:
Hehe.. i did a Split S in an NW 747-400 full motion sim during some training in June... that was a hoot!
Climbout From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 11, posted (11 years 9 months 3 weeks 2 days 3 hours ago) and read 6143 times:
It's gonna be so cool to see CannibalZ3's pictures.
Glenn, I wondered about that too. I would be kinda embarrased if I got sick after the trip. I don't think I would eat any breakfast.
You know guys, the more I think about it, the more I say I wanna do the real thing instead of a simulator. I can only imagine the awesome view of seeing the earth from so high up, especially right at dusk. I heard that MIG jets can go up about 80 thousand feet. That is almost outter space. Cool!
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not manuverable enough I guess, he said the simulated wings came off partway through. 
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