Fast forward to a hot July Saturday (2006) and we are now in Rockland Maine, home of the Owls Head Transportation Museum for their 30th annual Airshow. It is a small venue, no big crowds, only one major star (Rob Holland, 2006 AWAC participant) and good people all around, the perfect venue for me to try my newly minted SAC card (Statement of Aerobatic Competency, formerly known as an ACE card).
I wasn't nearly as nervous as I had expected, probably because of the familiar faces of the other performers (Charlie Lynch, Dan McCue and Jim Parker just to name a few). The whole atmosphere was quite relaxed from the FAA briefing to the scheduling of performer with the Flyboy ( a.k.a. Airboss). I guess the small numbers of performers (Rob Holland, Jim Parker and I were the only aerobatic performer, the "box" being too small to allow the Corsair and the L39 to fully perform) made it even easier for me to adjust to this new environment. We (Charlie and I) are scheduled in 2nd right after Jim goes through the basics manoeuvres with the crown from the cockpit of his Decathlon.
Show time. Charlie straps in his newly acquired Yak-52TW while I do the same in my CJ6A. Jim has landed now, and we start our engines in unison. We call up the Airboss for taxi only to be told" Yaks Yaks, the airport is yours". I smile, it's not everyday you hear the FAA "offering" you an airport.
I am getting more and more relax as Charlie leads me through a series of Banana passes in front of show center. After about 5 minutes of beating the field, we split right in front of the crowd and the time has come for me to loose my Virginity so to speak.
I review my routine as I climb to my starting altitude. Engine instruments in the green, Seat belts tighten, RPM set 85%, MP set 800mm, cockpit check, guess I'm ready to go. I click the mic "Red Yak's coming in" as I dive my CJ trading altitude for airspeed.
My routine is quite simple. It's basically a combination of loops, rolls, Cuban 8, reverse Cuban 8, four point rolls and even a short inverted pass. There are a few more manoeuvres I could do with the CJ but since I wanted to keep the F*** Up factor to a minimum, I kept to the basics. The size of the "box" provided me with little time to breath between manoeuvres. "Man this box looks small from 800ft" but in the end I managed to stay in my playground. I was told by other performers not to worry, the box would get bigger as I gain experience.
After 9 intense minutes (intense for me, I am sure some other performers would have fallen asleep in my back seat…) of having all eyes on my Red CJ, Charlie rejoins on me for me to drag him through a few Banana passes and the traditional pitch out break. Parked right at show center, we exit our airplanes waving at the crowd as Dan McCue fires up the Collins Foundation's Corsair. In all, we used up nearly 20 minutes of show time and the crowd is happy.
Me, I am quite happy with my performance, as always there is room for improvement, but still I am happy. Most of all, I have finally moved to the other side of the fence. Look for that bright Red CJ at your next airshow, for I have now joined the circus.
Dan
Good for you fouga! We should all be so lucky as to live our dream!
