Flying the Pitts S-2C

It's been a while since I've written in this blog. My flying time has been pretty limited as of late, but the desire to own my own Pitts, and fly more continues to increase. I've been looking to purchase a Pitts S-2B. At one point there were tons on the market, now it seems the market has dried up. However, there is one that is local to Austin that looks like it might be a good option. If all goes well I should be flipping around the sky in a month or so!

Now, on to the latest adventure!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

At the recommendation of Budd Davisson I booked an hour of spin training with Sonny Weller. To give you an idea of Sonny's vast aviation experience, he started flying a Piper Cub in 1956, and has owned more than a dozen aircraft, including the beautiful yellow and blue Pitts S-2C. Sonny has flown everything from gliders to multiengine airplanes. He started flying air-shows in 1999. He’s the nicest guy you’ll ever meet, and one heck of a guy to fly with!

0530, my alarm goes off. I wouldn’t say I jumped out of bed, but I certainly was excited to start the day. After a quick shower, and a short stop at Starbucks, I was on my way to Deer Valley Airport. Sonny and I had scheduled one hour of spin training in his S-2C. I don’t think I have ever met Sonny before, but upon meeting him for the first time, I couldn’t help but think he looked familiar. We hopped in his truck and headed down to the hangar. I updated him on my flight experience and mentioned that Budd had spent a little over 18 hours with me making sure I knew how to feel my butt! That was enough for Sonny! I think just the saying that I was trained by Budd was enough for Sonny to feel confident I knew what I was doing! I strapped on the S-2C and after a quick brief on the canopy, radios, and instruments, we were taxing to the runway.

Sonny’s S-2C is an amazing airplane. It has a little over 600 hours on it, but it feels like a brand new airplane. It taxied with the greatest of ease. After receiving clearance for takeoff, I taxied onto the runway and began to power up. Stick back, throttle coming up, and we were rolling. I couldn’t believe how quickly that C picked up speed. It was night and day compared to Budd’s S-2A. I raised the tail up and within a few seconds we were in the air. Just a minute or so later, we were at 3000 feet. Simply amazing! We headed to the west, and climbed to 4000 feet AGL. Once in the practice area, Sonny had me do a power off stall, followed by a power on stall. Both of these maneuvers were pretty uneventful. The C handled like a dream! Next up, a 1 turn spin to the left. At 4000 feet, I pulled the power back to idle, held the nose up to bleed off speed and waited for the stall. Sonny had given me the acronym PARE to remember before our training began. PARE stands for POWER AILERONS RUDDER ELEVATOR. Here comes the stall… wait,.. now KICK! Full left Rudder, stick full aft, and here we go. The plane pivoted around to the left, and now I’m looking at the earth below starting to spin. Here comes ½ spin,. Now ¾ spin.. and… full right rudder to stop the spin, elevator to natural, and wait… airspeed coming up,.. now PULL!!!! Back to level flight, power coming up, airspeed good, engine instruments reading in the green, start climb back to 4000 feet. No problem. Now it’s time to do a 1 turn spin to the Right. Exactly the same procedure, as the left, only kick with the right foot. I found out that I am much more precise stopping a spin to the left. When doing the spin to the right, I over rotated about a ½ spin. I can clearly see that I’m going to need a lot more practice…We continued doing some simple spins, including two turn spins, accelerated spins, and even a flat spin. The flat spin was very interesting. It felt like I was pinned to the right side of the canopy every time we pushed the throttle forward. It was a very different sensation for sure.

Now for the really interesting stuff, inverted spins! By this time, I’m usually feeling a little sick from all this spinning. However, I felt great! I didn’t feel sick at all! I was so excited and soaking in as much info as I possibly could. Trying to memorize the experience so that if and or when I ever get into something like this, I’ll know what to do to get out of it. Ok.. back to the inverted spin. To enter an inverted spin, the technique is the same as a normal upright spin, except that you’re inverted upon the entry. So.. I rolled the plane upside down,… left aileron, a little left rudder, followed by right rudder, followed by a little forward pressure on the stick and we’re upside down. Well you’d think it was that easy.. In fact, I push way to hard on the stick which forced both Sonny and I up towards the canopy. My shoulder belts were not nearly tight enough I found out as my head was smashed up against the canopy. Not hard,.. but I felt it for sure! Ok.. now we’re upside down, hanging in our belts.. I felt the blood rushing to my head as I pulled the power back to idle and waited for the stall.. Here’s the stall.. and KICK. After the entry, it was pretty uneventful. The plane’s nose dropped through the horizon, and we started a nice 1 turn spin to the left. No biggie at all! I recovered and started a climb. We did one more inverted spin. This time I rolled to inverted with just the right amount of forward stick and avoided smashing my head into the canopy!
Now for a crossover spin. A crossover spin is when you start a normal spin, or inverted spin and then crossover to the opposite type of spin. For example, an upright spin that ends up into an inverted spin. This was very confusing the first time. It’s very hard to see what is happening, but you can certainly feel that something just happened. We entered the spin the same way.. stall, full kick and away we go. I held full aft stick, and left rudder in the first turn of the spin,.. followed my full forward stick to get the airplane to push forward into inverted. Once the crossover happens, you have to jump on the right rudder to continue the spin as now you’re going in the other direction. I can see I’m going to need some more exposure to this, as I don’t think I fully was able to comprehend what was happening. However, I was able to stop the spin, and come out of it without any problems.. I just want to be more comfortable with what’s going on.
That was pretty much it as far as the spin training goes. I think the most amazing thing was that I didn’t feel sick at all. I think it might be due to all the exercising I’ve been doing lately. I’m in a lot better shape now than I was even 4 months ago, and I think it really helps with G. tolerance.
With the training out of the way, now it’s on to the fun stuff! ACRO! Sonny said “Let’s do a loop!” Ok.. here we go. Dive for 165, set level flight,.. pull,…. Look left,.. check the sighting guide, and then head back, looking back over the earth,.. ease the pressure off the stick… float over the top,.. now PULL…. PULL… and back to level flight! “Not bad!” Sonny says! By this time I have a smile plastered on my face! Amazing! I cannot even begin to describe how incredible this plane is to fly! “Now let’s do a hammerhead!” Ok.. no problem.. here we go! 165, check… now pull ¼ loop to the vertical.. looking left at the sighting guide.. oops.. looks like I’m not quite vertical… a little more pull … there it is! Ooops….left wing low.. tad right rudder to bring it up… nice! Ok.. still going up… Wow, I cannot believe the upline on this plane! It felt like we were going to go into orbit. Well not really, but we did go up for some time! Speed is gone.. KICK LEFT! I pushed the left rudder all the way to the stop,.. added right aileron to keep the plane from torque-ing over onto it’s back and to keep it in the same plane. Looking out the left wing, I picked a point on the horizon and then watched as the nose of the plane swung through it on its way down. Now, looking straight down at the earth, I realized I held the left rudder way too long as the plane swung past vertical and yawed to the left. I had to step on the right rudder to straighten it out. Speeding towards the earth, I could hear the wind start to pick up as airspeed increased. I then pulled ¼ loop back to level flight. “Good job John!” I heard Sonny say! Considering I haven’t done any real aerobatics in over a year, I think I did pretty good! I was very happy! After another hammerhead, we did another loop, a slow roll, and a ½ Cuban eight! What a way to spend a Sunday morning! In my opinion, it’s as close to heaven as you can get!

Heading back to the airport, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad that the flight was over, but was overjoyed to have had the experience. I was excited about landing though, and was eager to see how well I’d do. The last time I flew a Pitts was back in March so I was anxious to see how much I remembered and whether or not I would still have the skills to land and keep this thing on the runway! Sonny talked me through the approach which helped out considerably. As we crossed the numbers, I was a little low so I added just a touch of power and then quickly pulled it out. Waited for the speed to bleed a little and then started the flare. Touchdown! All three wheels hit at the same time.. with a tiny tiny bounce, we were on the ground.. Having been used to Budd’s Pitts, I was over correcting with the rudders a bit. Sonny’s C requires a lot less effort to correct it’s movement. I calmed down my movements and we were tracking right down the center line. I applied brakes and slowed us to a crawl then exited the active. WOW. It all came back! Thanks to Budd’s superior training, and Sonny talking me through it, I made a pretty fair landing in a plane an amazing airplane!

I taxied back to the hangar with a huge smile and an undying desire to do this more often! I cannot wait to get a Pitts of my very own where I can share this experience with my family and close friends! There is nothing quite like watching the earth spin around below you, having complete and total freedom to go where you want when you want to! What an incredible day! Hopefully the next installment will be about my first flight in my new Pitts!

Day 7

Hop 1

 

It's my last day of training with Budd.  Time to put it all together and really focus on perfection.  Up until this point Budd has been in my ear, and in my head for every single flight.  I've relied on his quick notes, and sometimes not so subtle suggestions on what I could be doing better.  I can recall times when I was too low, and would hear Budd say "Plan ahead!"  And then I would see what was happening and correct for it.  This hop was to be different.  Today, Budd said he wasn't going to say a word.  He was going to let me fly the airplane by myself as if I was the only one in it.  At that moment, the thought that went through my mind was:  Well, this is it.  This is where I show him I can do it, and that I've got it under control.  Now, that's not to say that I wasn't nervous about it.  I felt confident I could do it, and do it well, but I was very aware that every move I made was going to be judged and then critiqued.  It was time to get laser focused and do my very best.

First take off couldn't have been any better.  I lifted off so smooth, you wouldn't know I left the runway.  I climbed up to pattern altitude with the ball pegged in the middle.  It was then that I heard Budd begin to sing, "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood" 

He didn't say "Feel your butt…", or "keep the ball in the middle…" or anything like that.  He just started to sing.  To me, there was no better form of approval than hearing Budd begin to sing.  I couldn't help but laugh.   So, with a smile plastered on my face, I made my crosswind turn/ Downwind turn, they kind of blur together in a Pitts since your pattern is so tight.  I flew downwind and hit my altitude and pulled the power back.  I was on altitude.. Well maybe just about 50ft. Low.  I turned base, rolled wings level, quick belly check, then rolled into final.  I was a wee bit high so I put in just a little bit of slip.  Once my decent was established, I was all ready to touch down. I leveled the wings and began a slow flare.   I lifted my head as high as I could get it, and quickly looked out both sides to get a better idea of my decent, and position on the runway.  I GREASED it.  It was the smoothest landing I made so far.  I mean it was like glass…   Budd came on and said.. "well do you want to quit now?"  I started laughing, partly because I was in shock that I had just landed so darn well, and partly because Budd always says the right thing at the right time.  I responded with.. "Why? Am I that much ahead?"  He nodded his head in agreement.  I taxied off the runway and we talked about what I could have done better.  You see, Budd doesn't just strive to make you a safe pilot, he strives to make you the best pilot you can be given the limited amount of time he has with you.  It's simply amazing to have been able to watch him work.   Then next few landings weren't nearly as good as the first, but they were all really good.  I can finally see my mistakes and correct for them much sooner.  By the end of the flight, I was telling Budd what I did wrong and how I can fix it.  All in all, it was by far the best flight I've had over the last 18.2 hours.   

 

Summary:

After 18 hours of training, and many more hours learning about Budd and his history in Aviation, I can honestly say that this week will be one of the most memorable and life changing.  I have learned more about how to truly "FLY" an airplane than I have in all my hours flying.  I'm a much better pilot coming out of this training, and a wiser one too.  I've been inspired by his ability to teach, and his technique for distributing information to his students.  His ability to tell you a story that has meaning and gives context to flying a Pitts.  I've learned how truly wonderful it is to love what you do for a living, and to be blissfully happy with every day your able to do it.  I've learned that Budd has more irons in the fire than any one I've ever met, yet he is totally sane.  I'm utterly impressed by his ability to keep all those balls in the air.  I've found that in many ways Budd and I have a lot of similarities in both personality and ideals.  He's an amazing instructor, and a Pitts Master.   I have finally checked off a dream of mine that I had since I was a boy.  I've learned to fly a Pitts Special.  I've learned how to make love more, and screw less…  I couldn't be happier with my accomplishment, or more excited about my next steps in aviation.  I couldn't have had a nicer man, or a better instructor to help me achieve my dream.   Before my training with Budd, I was one of many, now, I am one of few.  A few that can fly a Pitts, and more over, understand how to do it well.  I plan to take more lessons with Budd every time I make it down to Phoenix.  I know that no matter how good I get, or how much experience I gain, I can always learn more, and I can't think of a better person to learn from than Budd.   Thanks for all the hard work you put into me, the lessons you taught, the critiques, and above all the good company!   I had a wonderful time Budd, and I look forward to doing it again soon!

Day 6

Hop 1

 

Boy am I tired.  It's been a grueling week for me.  Don't get me wrong, I'm having a blast, but I can definitely feel the energy getting sucked out of me.  I've got to hand it to Budd.  He's far more conditioned to this than I am for this type of flying.  I do know that this is what he does, and because of that it's just another day at the office.  For me, this is anything but normal.  I'm sure I'm using parts of my brain I never used before.  Not only that, but I'm processing information in ways that isn't normal for most people.  My brain is in constant state of visual and physical awareness during the 3 hours we are flying.  Every little attitude change, or weight shift is meant to have a correction applied.  Not just any correction, but the right amount of correction, and, it all has to be applied at the exact right time.  Learning how to fly this airplane requires a level of concentration and focus that I've yet to see in any other airplane.  Of course I haven't flow too many other airplanes, but from what I know so far, this is by far the most challenging.

Today the weather was a bit rougher.  This mornings flight wasn't too bad.  The wind was very light but still variable.  I really had to pay a lot of attention to my ground track to make sure I was set up on final correctly.  Just a few seconds of not paying attention on downwind, and I was way too close to the runway.  This resulted in a really sloppy entry to base leg and a screwed up approach which required frantic corrections to get where I needed to be.   Even with these corrections, I wasn't able to be as precise as I'd like to be.  When I set up my slip I was combating the thermals, the crosswind, and perhaps the most difficult force, myself.  I kept over correcting and doing too much of what I needed to be doing.  This little Pitts needs to be loved not screwed.  It seems I was back to screwing it again, and not loving it. 

 

Hop 2

Last hop of the day.  I was supposed to go do some spin training later in the afternoon, but Sonny wasn't feeling well and needed to cancel.  I was disappointed, but I certainly understood.  So, here I am, knowing that this is the last flight of the day, I wanted to pour myself into this and apply extra pressure to make sure I'm being as perfect as possible.  The winds had picked up some, and were a bit more gusty.  They were shifting all over the place which was the exact thing I needed to learn how to deal with.  Thermals on the end of the runway ballooned up almost every approach, and then on the other side was a nice sinker.  All of which I needed to experience and plan for.  Budd is excellent at pointing out all these things way ahead of time so you can be prepared to react.  In some ways I was left wondering if I can buy a Budd to putt in the front seat of my Pitts to keep me safe.  I believe I'm retaining a lot of what he's taught me.  Even if only one thing clicks each day, it still clicks, and is embedded in my brain… Today,  it was my ground track and airspeed.  I did a much better job this hop than the previous.  I had a lot on my mind before getting in the plane this last hop.  I had to force myself to push all the drama out of the way an be in the moment.  Once the engine was running that wasn't a problem.  That is just one of the many things I love about flying.   It requires total and absolute focus to everything that is happening whether inside your plane, or out, you need to be present and safe.

I've learned how to not over correct as much on the roll out, though I'm still being way to dancy with my feat.  I discovered that if I apply a little break a lot of my dancy tendencies disappear.  I mentioned this to Budd and he said it was most likely because the breaks help control the speed of the turn.  It slows it down so that my slow reactions have a chance to catch up.  Well he didn't say it exactly like that, but I'm sure that's what he meant.  The other thing it does is help even up my feet so that I'm not carrying one rudder more than the other which helps to keep it straight. 

All in all, it was a good day, and a better one than yesterday.  I think I'm feeling about 85% confident now.  I know that I still need a lot of practice and time behind the stick, but at least I know I can do it and can be safe about it.  One thing I know for sure is that if it doesn't look perfect on final, I'm going around.  I still need everything to be pretty much right on to get the plane down and under control.  I think that if I was by myself, I would have had at least a few go-arounds today.  Budd worked with me through the troubled approaches to help me "see" things and learn from them so the next time I would recognize them and be able to make better choices and better corrections.   Tomorrow is my last flight with Budd for this trip.  I would love to be here in Phoenix and be able to book time with Budd more often.  I think what I'll do is every time I come to visit, I'll set aside an hour to go fly with Budd.  No matter how good I get, I think he can make me better.   To be honest, that's all I want to do is get better.  Each and every day, no matter what I'm doing I just want to learn and get better at it.  Flying a Pitts has been a dream come true ,and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.  

Day 5

Hop 1

 

Well today is Friday, and is soon to be hour 11 of my training.  It's been a long haul to this point, but it's been a kick in the pants the whole way.  Budd was right, learning to fly the Pitts in a short amount of time is very intense.  It's a lot of work and I am very tired, but I'm having the time of my life.

Same drill as before, taxing, check, take off, check,..  Budd has worked me into a machine.  I've got the basics down again, and have learned to really FLY again.  In a lot of ways it's like I'm learning to fly for the first time.  The plane requires such precision that you really have to learn what the airplane is doing and why it is doing it so you can correct it.  Or .. A better way to put it is one of Budd's bumper stickers:  The airplane will only do what you tell it to do until you tell it to do something else. 

I had some much better approaches this time, and I think at least 2 really decent landings.  There was a lot of traffic when we were out there so we spent a lot of time waiting at the end of the runway.  None the less, sitting in a Pitts waiting for traffic to clear sure beats the hell out of sitting behind a desk any day.

 

Hop 2

Budd and I got back from a nice lunch at our favorite place called the Fitness Café.  Really good healthy food.  Budd always gets the same thing. I guess you can see he's a bit of a creature of habit.  He's got a routine for just about everything he does.  I think that's part of the reason why he's so good at what he does.  He's honed in his skills on the same thing over and over to the point where it's hard to see the flaws.  It's this thinking that he is trying to impress upon me.  Get the same thing going each time as much as possible and life will be a lot easier when you get close to the ground.  He also makes sure that I sort things out in the air before I get too close.  It's always better to figure everything out when you have altitude and time than to try and get it all sorted after the plane touches down crooked or off center.

On this flight we had some light and variable winds, and some pretty good thermals.  I got a good grasp on how to handle both.  Though Budd did have to coach me through them, which is great because that's how I learn.  On every single landing he's always pointing out something that could be better, or that I should have done a little differently, or that I should have noticed earlier.  I came in a bit crooked and touched down slightly off center and got the Pitts into a crazy little hop.  Budd told me to just keep with it and to get it straight.  I fought with it for about 200 feet before it stopped hoping around.  Once it did calm down I got it straight and applied break.  Budd told me that when those hops happen, unless you catch it on the first bounce, you have to just ride it out.  If you can catch it on the first bounce, you can give it full power and get out of it.  It was an eye opener for  sure, not that I was scared or felt out of control, but it was something to be very aware of.

 

Hop 3

The end of the day, and Hour 13.  It was kind of hot, and the sun was beating down.  The wind was up around 11 and jumping all over the place.  Finally I'm getting something other than perfectly calm wind.  With this little cross wind, it was just enough to blow me around and force me to hold a tiny little bit of aileron in to hold the Pitts straight.  Of course I didn't realize I was even drifting until Budd told me I was.  It's still amazes me how much I'm NOT seeing.  Just when I think I'm on top of it, there's something else I missed.  It's very frustrating, but very rewarding when you get it right. 

Several more landings, and a few rougher than needed roll outs, and it was about time to call it a day.  The last landing was by far the best of the day which was summed up with just one word from Budd….  "NICE!"  That made my day.  When Budd says nice job, you know you did something good.  It was a perfect end to a perfect day!   I'm looking forward to doing it again tomorrow.    Tomorrow I go up 2 times with Budd, and once with Sonny.  Sonny will be working on an hour of spin training with me.  That should be a Blast and a half!   I seriously can't wait!    And all this time I didn't think I was going to get to go upside down… Ha!   Now I hope I don't get sick.

 

Day 4

Hop 1

Day three.  A lot of the jitters, or anticipation have finally subsided.  Not to say that I wasn't excited or anxious  to get back in the plane, but I was much more calm about today's flight.  I got out to the airport, my usual half hour early.  I like to get there early as I hate to have anyone wait on me.  Budd showed up right on time, and we began our morning routine.  I'll skip those details and get right into the flying.

We taxied out to runway 3, and did our run up.  Taxing is now a non issue.  I feel completely comfortable with it.  I still taxi a bit slow I think, but I wasn't in a hurry, and it's better to be safe than fast.  We got down to the end of 3, and did our run up and final checks.  We were cleared by the tower for left closed traffic so I got us on the runway and ready to go.  Full power,  held the stick back for the 3 count, then pushed forward and the tail started to lift.  I finally have the right amount of pressure on the rudders to keep the plane tracking straight.  Reached 85, had the right angle, and the plane climbed into the air.  I checked my ground track by looking into the mirror to see the runway behind.  I was dead on.   Airspeed looked good, patter was good, power was full, and altitude was rising.  Then I heard Budd say, "When you take off like that, it kind of makes you wonder why it was so hard the first few times huh?"  Well that was very true.  I think the biggest realization is that I have finally learned how much pressure it takes to fly the Pitts, and when to use it.  It's really a factor of practice and paying attention on being as close to perfect as humanly possible.  Again, I'm nowhere near perfect yet, but I do see my progress.  All in all, it was a great morning.  I had some really nice landings, and have started to hone in on my flares and getting a softer touchdown.

 

Hop 2

After the success of the first hop, I was pretty confident this was going to be an even better one.  Well for the most part, It was.  I had a bit rougher takeoff, not bad, just rougher.  I held the nose a little too high on the runway which caused the Pitts to bounce around and bobble a bit. This was  acknowledged and affirmed by Budd doing a little head dance in the front seat as if he was listening to some hip hop music.  He's got some sense of humor.   There was a 5 knot cross wind that was almost non existent on the runway.  But, once I was up, it was there for sure.   In fact due to this little crosswind that I wasn't thinking about , I was pushed too far into the runway on downwind.  This caused me to ultimately be too close to the runway and forced me into going around.  My first one for the day.  It was a good decision, and I'm glad I made the choice.  I think Budd did too.  He knew I wasn't where I needed to be early on and was waiting for me to make the right decision.  I did, and went around for a better set up.  I nailed the next landing.  I had PAAP in my mind, and it showed.

 

Hop 3. 

The shortest and the best of the day.  The sky was really crowded for this hop.  We spent a lot of the time holding on the ground.  Not too much to say about this hop other than I can certainly tell that I'm getting better each day.  Knowing that this was going to be the last flight of the day, I wanted to really focus and buckle down and get it right.  In short, I did what I said I was going to do.  The only thing I screwed up on this hop was being a little heavy on the rudders on roll out.  I drifted a little to the left of the runway, and corrected it just a tiny bit late.   All in all, I think I'm starting to really get the hang of it.  I wouldn't say I'm a Don Juan yet.. But I'm starting to get a little better than a 20 year old at making love to the plane.   We sat at the end of the runway for about 5 minutes, and it looked like we were going to be there a lot longer so we decided to call it a day.  We taxied back and put the plane in the barn.  Tomorrow is a new day, and we're hoping for some wind to raise the challenge, and make me work a little harder, and to make sure that I can handle the bird in any weather.  Let it blow..let it blow let it blow…  I now have 10 hours of Pitts time, and I still find my self smiling from ear to ear at the thought of my future in these aiplanes!!!

 

 

Pitts in action...

Day 3

I woke up this morning feeling very tired, and a little under the weather.  I felt a little nervous, and nauseous for some reason.  I felt like canceling my flight.  I didn't, I got up, took a shower, and then headed to the airport.   Once I got there, I started to feel a little better, and I knew that once I got in the seat that I would be so focused on what I was doing that I'd feel better.  It's kind of like going to the gym.   You know how much work it's going to be, but you know once you're there, and get your body moving things will fell better.  Then when you're all done, you are happy that you went, and you feel amazing!  Well flying the Pitts is very similar.  It's a lot of work, but every day you do a little better, it feels amazing, but it really is a ton of work!

 

Hop 1

First hop today was great.  The air was smooth and cool.  The traffic was light, and Budd and I were able bust out a ton of landings.  Before we did any of that though, we headed out N. of the airport for some good old fashioned coordinated turns.  I was in laser focus mode, and really paid attention to the timing of my inputs.  One by one, I started to figure it out, and was ready to head back to the patter and give it a shot under pressure.   We got back in the pattern, and did some pretty good work.  Still no where near perfect, but better.  I had a lot more confidence in this flight than I've had so far.  I still had some rough landings, but my takeoffs were pretty darn good.  I'm still catching the P-factor a little late, but it's my goal to catch that before the end of the day.

 

Hop 2. 

Better Better Better…   Well, to be honest that's kind of the only way for me to go.  I've got it beaten into my head now PAAP.  I'm constantly checking my airspeed, pattern altitude, and my ground track.  It's pretty darn amazing how accurate you have to be all the time in this thing.   For some reason, now I'm having trouble in my slips.  I keep floating to the right of the line, and holding the  slip a little long.  However, I am seeing the sink rate, and able to start my flare at the right time, and am getting much better at knowing when I'm going to touch down.   Still a little rough on the roll out.  One thing I've finally started to do is to look out both sides of the airplane quickly.  For so long I've been using my peripheral vision to see what's happening.  Budd has repeatedly told me not to do that, but rather look with both eyes at each side.  He said you get twice the information and it's much more accurate.  So.. I think I've finally got that going on.   There's so much to remember, that the only way to really remember it is to just keep practicing.  I'm now 6 hours into flying this little plane, with one more to go today.  I feel better than ever, but am keenly aware of where I need to get better.  

 

Hop 3. 

Well, by now you'd think I had this whole thing figured out.  This will be my 7th hour of flying the Pitts.  I'm feeling pretty good about things.  I am very aware of the areas that I need to improve.  PAAP is on the tip of my tongue and squarely planted in my brain.  I climbed into the back seat and took a few deep breaths and thought long and hard about what I needed to work on.  Budd was off to relieve himself while I sat there, practically meditating in the Pitts.  I closed my eyes, and visualized how my flight was going to be.  I kept thinking about my coordination errors and how I was going to focus on making my movements consistent.   I thought about how I wasn't going to blow through my altitude on the patter, how I was going to keep the power in check and make sure that I was setting up my approach as well as I could so that I would reduce the workload getting close to the ground.  I opened my eyes, and admired this little plane.  I looked at all the instruments, and again, just couldn't help feeling overjoyed to be in the cockpit.  Just then I realized that I just might be over the hump.  Well, at least in my mind I felt that all I needed to do was work on the details.  In some ways I feel like I'm a piece of clay waiting to be sculpted by Budd.  First, he did all the massing in ground school and our first flight.  Then the next day he adjusted the proportions by teaching and reinforcing the basics.  Today, he's starting to chisel away at some of the details, but not cutting too deeply just yet.  I think by tomorrow, I am going to start seeing the true form of Budd's creation.  Well at least that's my hope.

All went well the first few landings, and takeoffs.  I thought things were looking real good, all the way up to the point where Budd had to save our butt.  I had set up an approach that was just wrong.  I don't really know what happened.  I remember being a little slow, and hearing Budd say, watch your nose attitude.  To me this meant that my nose was too low so I pulled up, wish slowed the airplane down.  Then, I realized that I was starting to drift past centerline, and before I knew it things were getting bad.  I banked hard to get the airplane lined up again, and of course pulled up on the nose again to keep from losing altitude in the steeper bank angle.  Well that just made things even worse.  Slow, slow, slow.. Budd jammed the throttle forward to force us to go around.  I caught the airplane, and pushed forward on the stick as his sudden thrust of the throttle forced the nose up.  I pushed in the right rudder to compensate the p-factor and started flying the Pitts over the runway.  Things happened so quick and got so out of hand I wasn't sure what the heck just happened.  On the  climb out, Budd was very articulate about what just happened, and made sure I understood how bad that could have been, and what I should have done.  My fist instinct was to go around when I felt the approach was off.  I think that because Budd was in the front seat, I felt like I was still in good hands, and he wouldn't let me get into trouble.  I know now that if something like that happens again, I will follow my instincts and just go around.  I was always taught that there is never a reason you have to land, unless you are in an emergency situation.  If it's not right, or close to perfect, go around and make it so.  After the go around, we did a few more landings all of which were much better.  I'm getting a lot better at staying ahead of the airplane on roll out, but I'm still a little behind it.  I'm pretty amazed at my progress, and how much more comfortable I feel now.  I know I still have a lot to learn about finesse and making love to the airplane, but at least I'm aware of what needs work.  I can at least "see" it now.

The Machine!

Day 2

Well Today is the second day of my training. I'm hoping that this day is a little better in terms of not being overwhelmed by information. I got to the airport at 8:00, again, eager to start the day. Bud pulled up in his civic and once again, things began to move like clock work.

Once strapped in, we headed out to Runway 3. This time I taxied out, to the runway, but was still fighting the plane. It seems to take some serious time to get comfortable with how much pressure and when to and when not to apply it. We got to the hold short line and did our run up. He talked me through the take off and then let me taxi out to the runway. Lined up, Power UP, ..1,2,3, push stick forward.. Hold.. Don't let the nose drop… and then we were air born. Right rudder in to prevent the inevitable "Feel your Butt!" and we were climbing out. PAAP… was the phrase of today… Power, Altitude, Attitude Pattern. This along with Feel your Butt was drilled into me throughout the day.
I felt that the first flight was too bad. I did see that I was still severely behind the airplane, but I did my best to stay on top of it. Budd has such a good way of making you see and FEEL what your doing wrong. He's laser accurate with his words, and that kind of precision is what helps make you aware of what you're doing wrong the instant you're doing it wrong. He also does a great job of getting you to feel what's going on so you can predict what's going to happen next. This is all critical when flying the Pitts.

After several touch N goes, I was tired, and I knew it. I did my best to stay focused and stay on top of it. Budd made me aware of how bad my coordination was every time I heard Feel your Butt. My ground track was all over the place too. I kept blowing past center line over and over. I was SCREWING THE airplane instead of making love to it he said. He said that if I flew the airplane like that a few more times he was going to send a letter to my girlfriend giving her his condolences.. That made me laugh, but I got the point. I need to become a better lover. And.. That is exactly what I was going to strive for on the next Hop.

Hop 2.
Better, but still not great. Hop two comes in at 3 hours of time in the aircraft. In Ground School Budd talked about the difference between making love and screwing. He was somewhat graphic in this discussion, and maybe that's why it's so easily remembered. This whole hop, that's all I was doing was screwing. I was all over the place. However, that's not entirely true. You see even though you are getting better, Budd is constantly making work harder, and is working you closer to being perfect. Not to say that I was anywhere near perfect, but I was getting better. Still screwing, but getting better at it.. Maybe one of these Hops, I'll be making love. Several landings,… or um.. Bounces later, I started to get a better idea of what was going on. One thing to mention is that now I am flying this bird from the back seat. The sight picture is a little different, but not too drastic. You still can't see for anything out the front. In fact, when you're at pattern altitude on final, you have a mile and a half blind spot directly out the nose. NOT GOOD. So.. Budd teaches you how to fly an angled approach to correct this so you can always keep the runway in sight, all the way down to the numbers. The way you do this is by slipping. Hold aileron in, and some rudder, and the Pitts drops like a rock. Because of this, Budd makes you fly a higher than normal approach. Instead of a 3 degree glide slope, we fly a 5 degree one. It's amazing just how steep that feels. It's a pretty big rush when you see the ground com rushing up at you!

HOP 3.
Getting better all the time. I can feel my confidence getting growing. I can now taxi the Pitts pretty well. I'm still a little late getting off the rudder, but I am figuring it out. I now have a real good grasp on take offs, but I'm still a little squirrelly. I know what I'm doing wrong, but I'm just a little slow in anticipating it, and correcting for it. It's funny just how driven I am to be perfect. Budd is hard on me, but I think I'm harder on myself. For some reason this hop was harder on me than any of the others. I think it's because I had such a bad headache, and was starting to get really tired. I had a real hard time keeping the aircraft coordinated. Again, this plane will magnify anything you are doing wrong, and this hop, I couldn't even fly straight and level with out a little rudder, or aileron in. It was frustrating, but I continued to push through it. On the last landing I must have bounced about 3 times before I got the thing down and stopped. Needless to say, I was glad that hop was over. I was ready for a break, and some much needed rest.

Day One.

My day began at 6:30 a.m.  I woke up super excited to start the day.  I'm not a morning person by any means, but knowing that  I was about to begin learning how to fly a Pitts was all I needed to spring out of bed.    My dad made me some oatmeal, and poured me some Juice.   I think in a way he was just as excited about me learning to fly a Pitts as me.  So I ate my breakfast and headed out to Budd's place.  I arrived about 30 minutes early for ground school.  Like I said, I was just a little excited.

 

Upon entering Budd's house, I was greeted by a few cats, and a pomaranian dog.  His house was decorated with a southwestern feel, and looked very much like what I remember Arizona homes to look like.  We made our way back to his office.  Around his office was many photographs of famous and renouned pilots, all of which he's either met, or has become friends with.  Included in this collection was many pictures of Patty Wagstaff.  Patty has long been an role model for me.  She's a tremendously talented pilot that is truly inspiring to any pilot who seeks to master aerobatics. 

 

Ground school begins.  Budd had another student booked along side of me.  Willy.  Willy is from Minnesota, and has been flying for about 7 years.  It seems that both Willy and I are at about the same level of ability.  We both have about 200 hours of total time, and both have a strong desire to fly a Pitts. 

 

Budd begins his ground school by dispelling all the wives tales about the little Pitts.  He goes into tell you that a lot of those stories come about by pilot who don't really know the airplane.  He also talked about how the plane is really good at showing you what you're doing wrong, as if you were under a giant magnifying glass.  He said that the good thing about it is that it also shows you when you're doing something right.  Budd uses a series of "Bumper stickers" as a way to remind you of some key things about the aircraft.  For example, one bumper sticker says " The airplane will continue to do what you tell it to do until you tell it to do something else."  May not seem like anything that important on the ground, but when you're in the air, it becomes very obvious why that's important.

 

A few hours pass, and many amazing stories are told, all of which are vitally important to teaching you the foundations of flying this airplane, as well as working out a lot of the bad habits that most GA pilots posses.   He goes into great detail on how to use the rudders, and how important it is to learn to "FEEL YOUR BUTT!"  Ill go into this later, as it kept me awake last night.

 

 

After Ground school we all headed out to Scottsdale Airport.  After a few twists and turns, we arrived at the terminal and headed to the hanger.  Budd has his routine down to a science.  He's a master of efficiency.  I guess when you've been doing the same thing for so long there's not really any other way to  do it. 

Once the doors were open, I got my first real look at Budd's Pitts S2A.  It's all red with black stripes, and gold pin stripes.  A nice looking bird to say the least.  After a few personal questions about my height, and a few jokes, and 3-4 cushions later, I was in the front hole of the Pitts.  It's called a hole because it's not much more than that.  The seat is tiny and the hole you climb in is just wider that your shoulders.  You really have to be careful getting in as there just isn't much room in any direction.   I got the Hooker harness figured out and was strapped into this little machine.  At this point, I was smiling ear to ear, having a pretty good idea of what I was about to be doing.  Not to say that I wasn't a bit overwhelmed too, but I figure if so many other people out there were able to learn how to master this machine, then I should be able to too.  It's this thoughts like this that kept me from getting too overloaded and stressed out about my training.

 

Budd climbed in the back and got the bird started.  He then let me take the controls and begin taxing between the hangars on my way out to runway 21.  When driving a car, the hangars seem very far apart.. But, when in the Pitts, and the fact that you can't see over the nose, and have to make a series of S turns to see what's in front of you, the space between the hangers quickly becomes very narrow.  We got out onto Taxiway Alpha and my closterphobic feeling went away.  But I had a lot of trouble taxing this silly little airplane down the taxiway  I kept holding the rudder in too long causing the plane to swing from one side to the other and get very close to those darn little taxi lights.    Bud grabbed the controls and said.. Here.. Do it like this… . And of course his movements were nothing short of controled and precise.  Almost as if he's been doing this for 5000 hours.  So.. Back to me and my 3 hours of total time in the Pitts, and you can see why I'm all over the place.

 

We got lined up on the runway and were ready to go.   Stick back, count, 1, 2, 3,  push stick forward… hold that right rudder in, keep it straight,..and soon enough we were up.  We climbed out at 90kts.   Lot's of right rudder… well right Pressure. This airplane is so sensitive that it just takes more pressure to hold the ball in the middle than it does a heavy foot.  We headed north of Scottsdale and he began to show me all the things this airplane does with just the power, and ailerons.   For example.. When you take your hands off the controls and give it full power  the plane pitches up, and the nose swings to the left.  When you pull the power off, the nose dives, and swings to the right.  You can turn the airplane by doing either one of these two actions.  All of which you need to bee keenly aware of anytime you change a power setting.  Something that will come back to haunt you if you don't pay attention to it.  By haunt, I mean you'll hear the words FEEL YOUR BUTT in your headset.

 

We then did a series of coordinated turns to further get the feel of the plane.  Primary goal to keep the ball from sliding all over the place.  VERY HARD to do…   I can see this alone taking a few more hours to master.   He had me learn to feel my butt by closing my eyes while he flew the airplane around with the stick and made me use the rudders to keep my CG centered.  No more pressure on one cheek than the other. 

 

We came back to the airport, and did a few touch and goes, or "low approaches"   We must have done about 6-10.. To be honest, I lost count, and didn't care, I just wanted to get better at it.  This is by far one of the most mentally and physically challenging thing I've done.  We did a debrief, and with that, the first day was done.   I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.