That's a real-life example of having your head on a swivel. As exhilarating as it must be, it also must be exhausting to maintain that extreme level of concentration for any lengthy period of time where any lapse could potentially be fatal.
Not to be a Debbie Downer but it's all fun until something goes wrong. I've seen first hand when they go too low and crash without having time to eject. I responded to an F16 crash when I was EOD in the early 90's, both pilots died in the crash when flying at low levels like that. The pictures are etched in my mind of what high speed can do to two human bodies.
But, as long as you do not hit anything that is pretty cool.
Originally posted by FiveFiveSixFan: That's a real-life example of having your head on a swivel. As exhilarating as it must be, it also must be exhausting to maintain that extreme level of concentration for any lengthy period of time where any lapse could potentially be fatal.
No, it's not exhausting. In fact it's not until after a low level flight, ACM, etc. flight that you even realize you're tired. It's amazing how comfortable you can become flying at low level. We lived below 200'. And while comfortable you could never be complacent.
Icarus flew too close to the sun, but at least he flew.
Posts: 6993 | Location: North Carolina | Registered: April 30, 2003
"I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak!" - Calvin, "Calvin & Hobbes"
Posts: 18495 | Location: Sonoma County, CA | Registered: April 09, 2004
Originally posted by FiveFiveSixFan: ^^^^ How long could you fly like that before getting fatigued?
It was more a limitation of fuel than fatigue as we'd burn through the JP5 pretty quick at low level, but low level routes of 20+ minutes weren't unusual.
Icarus flew too close to the sun, but at least he flew.
Posts: 6993 | Location: North Carolina | Registered: April 30, 2003
^^^^ I bet fuel management would be an issue below 200’. I think after 20 minutes I’d be ready to either climb to a much higher altitude or land. That type of flying must really focus the mind and the ability to concentrate.
It would be nice to know your aircraft has the performance to out climb any obstacle! I used to do a little mountain flying in my 1958 Cessna 175 but had to always always have an easy escape route and an emergency landing spot.
The sense of speed close to a surface is really fun. In the airliner we would sometimes reduce our rate of climb briefly as we came out of a cloud layer and enjoy the rush.
Posts: 11171 | Location: On the mountain off the grid | Registered: February 25, 2002
I imagine that will be some of the best memories of his career.Any stress being internally induced rather than externally induced. Feet flat flying. What a kick! Iv'e run canyons and rivers in a Supercub. Of course it's a bit different at 90mph. Slower. Louder. A lot of rudder work to keep things coordinated. Not tiring while you are doing it, but it gets to one later. OZ
