Up, Up & Away
“You couldn’t ask for a better day, Rodney.” Lauren was indeed correct. I put in a “special order” for great weather and a great time and got both. The ride in the Aero L39 fighter jet was more than I could have ever imagined. Heck! You couldn’t get the grin off my face even with a power washer.
From the time I arrived at the airport, to the time I was getting in the truck to head home, the day was totally unbelievable. Adrian popped over of the golf cart to pick me up and off we went to the hanger. I started filling up the memory card in the camera as soon as I got out of the golf cart. What an amazing machine. There was not a spot on the jet. Mike, the pilot and owner, gave me an overview of the jet and a little history lesson. Once he got the jet out of the hanger, things started happening pretty quickly.
Nora and David, Roger and his wife from Texas Adaptive Aquatics, Hal and his wife from the radio station, and others started arriving on the scene. You could hear the shutters of the cameras going off all over the place. Mike did a pre-flight review and up I went into the cockpit. I was in the back seat or instructor’s position. He went over all the instrumentation and the “what I could touch and not touch list”. You know important stuff like the ejection seat controls (yes they were hot/charged ejection seats), landing gear override and such. The left strap went over the shoulder, then the right, then the leg straps. It’s a four point harness that keeps you butt in close contact with that seat. Once I was strapped in, Mike hopped in the front spot. I put on the helmet, jacked in the intercom, and down came the canopy.
I watched as the lights started lighting up the instrumentation then Mike started bringing the jet to life. He called out everything he was doing as I felt the turbine spinning up. Yes I am still in full grin mode as everything is happening. I see the throttle inch forward as we head out to taxi to the runway. As we’re rolling, I’m hearing Mike in contact with air traffic control in preparation for takeoff. He is also feeding me information on everything he is doing as were approaching the runway. There we are in position for takeoff and I see the throttle moving forward. The next thing you know we’re rolling and the air speed indicator is clicking along rapidly. We nose up and away we go. Mike is on the radio again requesting a low level fly by. The tower grants it, and we bank left to come around for the approach. With the runway in sight, he noses down the jet and starts picking up speed then he hits the smoke trail. The next thing you know, we’re blistering the runway at I would guess close to 300 mph at about 50’ or so. I look over to see Teri, Lauren, Nora, David, Hal, Adrian and others on the sidelines of the runway snapping pics and me flashing them the “hang loose” sign (that’s my new Facebook profile photo in fact). That’s indeed what I was doing. I was strapped in tighter than hell but was so relaxed and felt like I belonged in that seat with those close to me watching me blow by.
With the runway blistering complete, we bank left begin climbing and heading out west. That’s where the barrel role came in. What a rush. Mike is on the radio with air traffic control requesting a climb to 10,000 feet. There was a lot of traffic in the area so we couldn’t make the hard climb. They stair stepped us up to 9,600 feet. We pass over Lake Conroe on our way to Brenham. No we didn’t stop for some Blue Bell ice cream. The airport was closed, dang it. As we’re tooling along at 320 knots (about 350 mph), Mike starts doing some maneuvers. We climb up then he pulls the stick left, and we are at 90 degrees to the ground. He drops in from there like you would if you were coming up on the tail of an enemy plane for the shot. We do a few more hard banks and turns then keep heading out toward Brenham. We pull some nice G’s and even a few zero G’s.
The airport was really closed. They were re-topping the runways. As there was no traffic in the area, Mike requested another low level fly by, and the tower granted it. He we go again dropping in on a low level approach and picking up speed. He hits the smoke again and leaves a nice trail. He calls to the tower and asked how it looked. The controller said: “if you could do another pass like that, you could dry that asphalt for us.” We pulled up, banked right and Mike said: “do you want to fly it?” That would be yet another large grin moment. I was amazed how easily and quick the jet responded to the slightest movement. I made some pretty decent turns, climbed up and then down and just had fun with it. I didn’t do any barrel roles or loops, but I was indeed thinking about it. I gave the stick back to Mike, and he banked right and started following the Brazos River. It was a neat feeling getting pushed into the seat as he made the turns. We lifted up and started heading back to Conroe.
As we got closer to the lake, he made comment about the rules over water being a little different, which meant he could fly lower. As we bank right and start coming in over the lake, he makes a little joke: “I’m gonna get low but will not be flying under the power lines.” We continue getting lower and lower. We’re so close to the water you could see the TX numbers on the boat. He hits the smoke again and kicks up the throttle a little more. We bank right and start our approach for the airport. As we taxi up to the hanger, everyone starts coming out to the jet. They wanted to see the look on my face. Again, you couldn’t get the grin off my face even with a power washer. All I could hear were the camera shutters going off from all angles. After a few 100 pictures, Mike loaded up the other rider and off they went. The rest of us watched them do a fly by then headed back to the hanger for a burger and cold beverage.
We hung out for a few hours just shooting the breeze and enjoying the day and company. At one point, I was standing in the hanger just looking around at all the people. Lauren was laying down getting some sun. Teri and Nora were sitting outside chatting it up with Roger and his wife. David was snapping some shots, and Mike, Adrian and the others were inside lounging and talking. Another smile appeared but this one did not have to do with the flight. It was all about how yet again I was surrounded by four people (Teri, Lauren, Nora and David) that mean the world to me along with a new set of friends that I will indeed see again.
This whole adventure started with a text to Lauren: “If you see something at the auction that you think I will like, bid on it for me.” Thank you, Teri and Lauren for connecting me to Texas Adaptive Aquatics. Thank you, Adrian for connecting Mike to Texas Adaptive Aquatics for the donation of the jet time. Thank you, Nora and David for being there with me for this very special event. Thanks to the good Lord for placing wonderful people in my life.
“You have one life and only one life. Love it, live it, and surround yourself with wonderful people and experiences. It does indeed make a difference.” – Rodney Williams
“You couldn’t ask for a better day, Rodney.” Lauren was indeed correct. I put in a “special order” for great weather and a great time and got both. The ride in the Aero L39 fighter jet was more than I could have ever imagined. Heck! You couldn’t get the grin off my face even with a power washer.
From the time I arrived at the airport, to the time I was getting in the truck to head home, the day was totally unbelievable. Adrian popped over of the golf cart to pick me up and off we went to the hanger. I started filling up the memory card in the camera as soon as I got out of the golf cart. What an amazing machine. There was not a spot on the jet. Mike, the pilot and owner, gave me an overview of the jet and a little history lesson. Once he got the jet out of the hanger, things started happening pretty quickly.
Nora and David, Roger and his wife from Texas Adaptive Aquatics, Hal and his wife from the radio station, and others started arriving on the scene. You could hear the shutters of the cameras going off all over the place. Mike did a pre-flight review and up I went into the cockpit. I was in the back seat or instructor’s position. He went over all the instrumentation and the “what I could touch and not touch list”. You know important stuff like the ejection seat controls (yes they were hot/charged ejection seats), landing gear override and such. The left strap went over the shoulder, then the right, then the leg straps. It’s a four point harness that keeps you butt in close contact with that seat. Once I was strapped in, Mike hopped in the front spot. I put on the helmet, jacked in the intercom, and down came the canopy.
I watched as the lights started lighting up the instrumentation then Mike started bringing the jet to life. He called out everything he was doing as I felt the turbine spinning up. Yes I am still in full grin mode as everything is happening. I see the throttle inch forward as we head out to taxi to the runway. As we’re rolling, I’m hearing Mike in contact with air traffic control in preparation for takeoff. He is also feeding me information on everything he is doing as were approaching the runway. There we are in position for takeoff and I see the throttle moving forward. The next thing you know we’re rolling and the air speed indicator is clicking along rapidly. We nose up and away we go. Mike is on the radio again requesting a low level fly by. The tower grants it, and we bank left to come around for the approach. With the runway in sight, he noses down the jet and starts picking up speed then he hits the smoke trail. The next thing you know, we’re blistering the runway at I would guess close to 300 mph at about 50’ or so. I look over to see Teri, Lauren, Nora, David, Hal, Adrian and others on the sidelines of the runway snapping pics and me flashing them the “hang loose” sign (that’s my new Facebook profile photo in fact). That’s indeed what I was doing. I was strapped in tighter than hell but was so relaxed and felt like I belonged in that seat with those close to me watching me blow by.
With the runway blistering complete, we bank left begin climbing and heading out west. That’s where the barrel role came in. What a rush. Mike is on the radio with air traffic control requesting a climb to 10,000 feet. There was a lot of traffic in the area so we couldn’t make the hard climb. They stair stepped us up to 9,600 feet. We pass over Lake Conroe on our way to Brenham. No we didn’t stop for some Blue Bell ice cream. The airport was closed, dang it. As we’re tooling along at 320 knots (about 350 mph), Mike starts doing some maneuvers. We climb up then he pulls the stick left, and we are at 90 degrees to the ground. He drops in from there like you would if you were coming up on the tail of an enemy plane for the shot. We do a few more hard banks and turns then keep heading out toward Brenham. We pull some nice G’s and even a few zero G’s.
The airport was really closed. They were re-topping the runways. As there was no traffic in the area, Mike requested another low level fly by, and the tower granted it. He we go again dropping in on a low level approach and picking up speed. He hits the smoke again and leaves a nice trail. He calls to the tower and asked how it looked. The controller said: “if you could do another pass like that, you could dry that asphalt for us.” We pulled up, banked right and Mike said: “do you want to fly it?” That would be yet another large grin moment. I was amazed how easily and quick the jet responded to the slightest movement. I made some pretty decent turns, climbed up and then down and just had fun with it. I didn’t do any barrel roles or loops, but I was indeed thinking about it. I gave the stick back to Mike, and he banked right and started following the Brazos River. It was a neat feeling getting pushed into the seat as he made the turns. We lifted up and started heading back to Conroe.
As we got closer to the lake, he made comment about the rules over water being a little different, which meant he could fly lower. As we bank right and start coming in over the lake, he makes a little joke: “I’m gonna get low but will not be flying under the power lines.” We continue getting lower and lower. We’re so close to the water you could see the TX numbers on the boat. He hits the smoke again and kicks up the throttle a little more. We bank right and start our approach for the airport. As we taxi up to the hanger, everyone starts coming out to the jet. They wanted to see the look on my face. Again, you couldn’t get the grin off my face even with a power washer. All I could hear were the camera shutters going off from all angles. After a few 100 pictures, Mike loaded up the other rider and off they went. The rest of us watched them do a fly by then headed back to the hanger for a burger and cold beverage.
We hung out for a few hours just shooting the breeze and enjoying the day and company. At one point, I was standing in the hanger just looking around at all the people. Lauren was laying down getting some sun. Teri and Nora were sitting outside chatting it up with Roger and his wife. David was snapping some shots, and Mike, Adrian and the others were inside lounging and talking. Another smile appeared but this one did not have to do with the flight. It was all about how yet again I was surrounded by four people (Teri, Lauren, Nora and David) that mean the world to me along with a new set of friends that I will indeed see again.
This whole adventure started with a text to Lauren: “If you see something at the auction that you think I will like, bid on it for me.” Thank you, Teri and Lauren for connecting me to Texas Adaptive Aquatics. Thank you, Adrian for connecting Mike to Texas Adaptive Aquatics for the donation of the jet time. Thank you, Nora and David for being there with me for this very special event. Thanks to the good Lord for placing wonderful people in my life.
“You have one life and only one life. Love it, live it, and surround yourself with wonderful people and experiences. It does indeed make a difference.” – Rodney Williams
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