Are you a pilot? Show me the coolest thing you've flown.

[jmiller676]

I used to play Ace Combat on my PS2 back in the day...

THAT GAME WAS SO COOL!!!!!

 

[IN_Sheepdog]

I haven't flown a lot, but I've flown a couple of cool things. This is a pair of SIAI Marchetti SF-260 light attack fighters I got to learn some basic dogfighting in. My instructor (in the right seat, not visible) was a Marine Harrier pilot. That's me in the left seat looking at my opponent. The big black thing on the panel is a sun shield for the gun cam video monitor. If you look closely, you can see that I had forgotten to completely buckle my 'chute harness... oops! (Don't worry, I fixed it before we took off!)

I also spent some stick time in a Waco bi-plane that looked like this. I don't have a pic of the actual one I flew, but the paint job on the left-hand one is identical, so there's every possibility that it's the same aircraft:

AIR COMBAT USA !!! Yeah Scutter that must have been cool as heck. I gave my son for his 16th birthday a day with these guys and he had a ball!!! Loved the video afterward as well as watching him walk across the ramp afterwards pale as a ghost, and grinning from ear to ear..
10 years later, and he still says that was the best birthday present he ever received.

Im very jealous tho, because I was about 20 lbs more in the gravity department than they were willing to accept... Still have it too!

As for flight times. Cessna 210's about 1100 hours, Beech Baron's 300,
Cessna 414 and 421's and a little time in a Shrike Commander.

Coolest was simple aerobatic training in a Citabria. (once I was able to "put it on and wear it!"

Never flown a V-22, Stealth, or a B-747, but I did stay last night in a Holiday Inn Express!!!

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

I'm not a pilot but I got to fly these. Loops and rolls and somethig called an "S" turn or something of that sort. Most fun I've had in a plane.

An organization called History Flight used to pass through Indy. It was very cool. Pricey but worth it.

 

[Scutter01]

AIR COMBAT USA !!! Yeah Scutter that must have been cool as heck. I gave my son for his 16th birthday a day with these guys and he had a ball!!! Loved the video afterward as well as watching him walk across the ramp afterwards pale as a ghost, and grinning from ear to ear..
10 years later, and he still says that was the best birthday present he ever received.

It was extremely awesome. As I said, I don't have a lot of flight time, but since I did have experience I was allowed to man all of the controls the whole time. Normally your instructor will fly in and out of the game area, as well as manipulate the throttle during the game (normally, the student just operates the yoke and nothing else). IIRC, the only thing he did was man the radio.

 

[Hoosier8]

This isn't me but I used to have a Wills Wing glider and my longest flight was 2 hours and 5 minutes.

 

[A_Brit_In_Indy]

I was as high as a kite once on some funny tobacco does that count ???

 

[HandK]

I have flown a Piper Cherokee 140

A piper Arrow

A piper Tomahawk

a Piper warrior

A Beach Sport

A Bellanca Citabria

and a Cessna 182

And a Bell Jet ranger!

 

[Cemetery-man]

Not a pilot but I did get a chance to fly in one of these (and take the controls) a couple of times back in the '70's.

 

[flightsimmer]

This is the last plane that I have owned and flown. So far!

10mm, when you care enough to send the very best.

 

[Fenway]

I flew this in the 80s

 

[Boiled Owl]

Back in 2002 when I had two planes. I had to sell this one to pay for the engine overhaul for the other (Piper Comanche). But nothing beats low and slow! This pic was taken at the farm on Feb 17 2002, 50º that day. Landed in the bean fields regularly.

Piper Cub:

 

[pinshooter45]

Alas the closest I've come is flying the A-10 Warthog in a Tank killer in a Flight sim. But I'd almost give a vital piece of my anatomy to fly in one and shoot that Big Fraking Cannon! I've been told It will actually slow down the aircraft when fired! Just something about flying and aircraft the was literally built around a cannon!

 

[ranger2k]

As a design engineer in a prior life:

<<<<<< See Avatar plus:

F-16

A-12 in the sim

 

[jsharmon7]

Cockpit View: C-130J "Super" Hercules at Paris Air Show 2011. [VIDEO]

 

[Scutter01]

Cockpit View: C-130J "Super" Hercules at Paris Air Show 2011. [VIDEO]

You got to fly a Herc?

 

[jsharmon7]

You got to fly a Herc?

Oh, no, I just thought you guys would like to see that. Sorry!

Do you happen to know a guy who has one by chance?

 

[Scutter01]

I'm always happy to see a Herc, but this thread is to talk about the coolest thing you've flown.

 

[Fenway]

I know we have some commercial airline pilots on here!

 

[Mackey]

Not a pilot but the coolest thing I've flown IN was the C5 Galaxy. So big you could park a DC-10 under each wing and keep them dry.
I remember seeing a tank in the cargo bay as I climbed the ladder to the upper deck. I heard it can carry multiple helicopers also. The seating was interesting as we faced backwards during flight.

 

[Hiker1911]

I was an instructor on this model, and color (fun, fun)...