This is a variation of the flying that was done by CAPT Dick Schram, better known as the Flying Professor. I saw the original show at Barksdale back in 67 or 68. CAPT Schram was killed flying an airshow in the Northeast in 1969 in a borrowed Cub and his son was actually there as the Narrator with the Blue Angels…
1. Crack throttle about one-quarter of an inch.
2. Battery on
3. Fuel boost on
4. Hit starter button (The four bladed 13′ 6′ pr
op will start a slow turn)5. Begin to bounce your finger on top of the primer button as you count 12 blades.
a. This act requires finesse and style. It is much like a ballet performance. The engine must be seduced and caressed into starting.
8. When the engine begins to “catch” on the primer. Move the mixture to full rich. The flames from the exhaust will stop and white smoke will come out. (Fire bottle guy relaxes a bit) You will hear a wonderful throaty roar that is like music to the ears.
9. Immediately check the oil pressure and hydraulic gages.
10. The entire aircraft is now shaking and shuttering from the torque of the engine and RPM of prop.
11. Close cowl flaps to warm up the engine for taxi.
12. Once you glance around at about 300 levers, gauges and gadgets, call the tower to taxi to the duty runway.
Take off in the AD-6
1. Check both magnetos
Flying with the round engine.
1. Once your reach altitude which isn’t very high (about 8000 feet) you reduce the throttle and prop to cruise settings.
2. The next fun thing is to pull back the mixture control until the engine just about quits. Then ease it forward a bit and this is best mixture.
3. While cruising the engine sounds like it might blow or quit at any time. This keeps you occupied scanning engine gauges for the least hint of trouble.
4. Moving various levers around to coax a more consistent sound from the engine concentrates the mind wonderfully.
5. At night or over water a radial engine makes noises you have never heard before.
6. Looking out of the front of the cockpit the clouds are beautiful because they are slightly blurred from the oil on the cockpit canopy.
7. Seeing lightening the clouds ahead increases the pucker factor by about 10.
a. You can’t fly high enough to get over them and if you try and get under the clouds—-you will die in turbulence.
b. You tie down everything in the cockpit that isn’t already secured, get a good grip on the stick, turn on the deicers, tighten and lock your shoulder straps and hang on.
c. You then have a ride to exceed any “terror” ride in any amusement park ever built. You discover the plane can actually fly sidewise while inverted.
8. Once through the weather, you call ATC and in a calm deep voice advise them that there is slight turbulence on your route.
9. You then scan you aircraft to see if all the major parts are still attached. This includes any popped rivets.
10. Do the controls still work? Are the gauges and levers still in proper limits?
11. These being done you fumble for the relief tube, because you desperately need it. (Be careful with your lower flight suit zipper)
The jet engine and aircraft
1. Fuel boost on.
2. Hit the start button
3. When the TPT starts to move ease the throttle forward.
4. The fire bottle person is standing at the back of the plane and has no idea what is going on.
5. The engine lights off—and—
6. That’s about it.
Take off in the jet
1. Lower full flaps
2. Tell the tower you are ready for takeoff.
3. Roll on to the duty runway while adding 100% power.
4. Tricycle gear—no tail to drag—no torque to contend with.
5. At some exact airspeed you lift off the runway.
6. Gear up
7. Milk up the flaps and fly.
8. Leave the power at 100%
Flying the jet
1. Climb at 100%
2. Cruise at 100%
3. It is silent in the plane.
4. You can’t see clouds because you are so far above them.
5. You look down and see lighting in some clouds below and pity some poor fool that may have to fly through that mess.
6. The jet plane is air conditioned!! Round engines are definitely not. If you fly in tropical areas, this cannot be stressed enough.
7. There is not much to do in a jet, so you eat your flight lunch at your leisure.
8. Few gauges to look at and no levers to adjust. This leaves you doodling on your knee board.
9. Some call girl friends on their cell phones: “Guess where I am etc”
Some observed differences in round engines and jets
1. To be a real pilot you have to fly a tail dragger for an absolute minimum of 500 hours.
2. Large round engines smell of gasoline (115/145), rich oil, hydraulic fluid, man sweat and are not air-conditioned.
3. Engine failure to the jet pilot means something is wrong with his air conditioner.
4. When you take off in a jet there is no noise in the cockpit. (This does not create a macho feeling of doing something manly)
5. Landing a jet just requires a certain airspeed and altitude—at which you cut the power and drop like a rock to the runway. Landing a round engine tail dragger requires finesse, prayer, body English, pumping of rudder pedals and a lot of nerve.
6. After landing, a jet just goes straight down the runway.
7. A radial tail dragger is like a wild mustang—it might decide to go anywhere. Gusting winds help this behavior a lot.
8. You cannot fill your Zippo lighter with jet fuel.
9. Starting a jet is like turning on a light switch—a little click and it is on.
10. Starting a round engine is an artistic endeavor requiring prayer (holy curse words) and sometimes meditation.
11. Jet engines don’t break, spill oil or catch on fire very often which leads to boredom and complacency.
12. The round engine may blow an oil seal ring, burst into flame, splutter for no apparent reason or just quit. This results in heightened pilot awareness at all times.
13. Jets smell like a kerosene lantern at a scout camp out.
14. Round engines smell like God intended engines to smell and the tail dragger is the way God intended for man to fly
I saw someone else do a very similar routine in a bright yellow (is there ANY other color?) J3 Cub at either El Toro or Chino.
Pretty amazing considering how sloooow he’s flying!
What, no helichoppers?
Sheesh!!
1. Bend over, kiss butt goodbye.
2. Pray
3. OMGILIVEDANOTHERDAY!
Skul
drjim- It is… 🙂 and it’s either YELLOW or RED for J-3s 🙂
Skul- Just the fact that a collection of spare parts in loose formation makes it into the air is a MIRACLE 🙂
I have never flown.But I sure enjoy your stories.
All that reminds me of how I used to have to start my 1982 BMW R100RT; fuel on, crack throttle slightly once, cinch down leather helmet, pull down goggles, thrust scarf under jacket, clutch in, right foot on brake, right thumb to push starter, yell “CONTACT” in manly voice, then hope the opposed and offset pistons catch, shudder and thump to life. After that, watch mirrors buzz.
BZ
And darn — ! The video wouldn’t work!
BZ
WOW
RE Helicopters. Always hated getting on one knowing the pilot had to be crazier than me. Really interesting diring German winters.
Fuzzy- Thx
BZ- Good thing it wasn’t a Harley…LOL
DiMw- Yeah, it IS impressive 🙂
WSF- 450 helo hours as a crewman, only 2 autorotations… 🙂 the rest were ‘minor’ problems…
When I was in “A” school in Memphis, They gave each of us the opportunity to crank and start a 3350 on a retired AD-1. These things were the reason I joined the Navy in the first place and I was in heaven sitting in the cockpit felling the power of that bird resonating through your whole body! Over the ensuing 20 yrs., I changed many a Stromberg Injection Carb PD12K18 cause some novice pilot had backfired it and lifted it off the crankcase!
Then they took us over to an old Shooting Star and let us fire it up. Man what a let down! Push a button, move a lever around the horn and the “queer machine” is in operation. Queer machine you ask? Thats ’cause it sucks on one end and blows on the other! You can keep ’em!!
thank you for your service!
Ev- Amen Brother… My first time starting the 3350s on the Connie I was scared @&*(…
Woman- thank you.
I remember hearing stories of the EC-121 Warning Star and the R3350’s that powered it. One of my favorites was that when MiGs got too close on their six, they’d crack open all four throttles, and blast the MiG with the clouds of oil and crud that blew out of the exhaust.
Seems the engines would load up ‘just a bit’ when cruising, and when you firewalled the throttles, it could lay down a pretty good smokescreen clearing its throat!
DrJim: WOW, does THAT bring back memories! When I was a kid near McClellan AFB in Sacramento, CA, I would see the RC-121 Connie radar picket planes all the time, loving to hear those big radials rumbling over my head as they lined up to land over Fulton Avenue!
Then, speaking of SMOKE, we later moved to Wright-Patterson AFB and I used to sit at the west end of the runway and watch the B-52s line up to take off; watch them crush the throttles to full military power and be consumed by the MASSIVE clouds of foul smoke that, actually, I LOVED to smell! It smelled like FREEDOM!!
BZ
Had a buddy who did his MOS training at Chanute AFB in Rantoul. He told me the same about the 52’s. He said the most impressive sight was when he was stationed at Clark AFB, and the RB-47 weather aircraft would take off using water injection and JATO.
Said it just about woke up the whole base on early morning deployments!
To borrow a quote from the Internet: “Radial engines don’t leak oil. They are merely marking their territory.”
Okay, I am impressed.
Trained as an NFO in T-34’s, but had 2 T-28 flights and I’ll never forget it. Right on the money. Flew in T-2’s, A-4’s and F-14’s, the T-28 was far and away the most manly.