Military Officer - May 2006 - (Page 55)

as the brieﬁng proceeded, it became clear that both Carmine and I would be doing the high-performance stuff. Mo used model aircraft to demonstrate the twists and turns we’d be making to get at each other’s six o’clock. High-speed and low-speed “yo-yo” maneuvers were the main ingredients. Barnstorming Adventures’ mission is to avoid having a real mission statement, or, God forbid, wear pantyhose. In the end, our mission is just like everyone else’s — Get Cookie. Eat Cookie. Get More Cookies. Fifteen minutes later, I was strapping into the rear cockpit of our Varga when Jed stopped by and thumbed toward my competitor in the other plane, “Go easy on him.” Was that a request or a threat? “No problem,” I blurted. Indeed, Carmine was going to be a clear winner in this dust up. Soon we were taxiing onto the runway for a formation takeoff. Suddenly, I was back two decades as we zoomed into the air with Jed tucked tight on our wing, climbing into a sunlit sky, out above a low coastal fog, and into the offshore training area. Glorious! After a few minutes of hands-on ﬂying to get the feel of the machine, Mo directed me south while our opponents headed north. Then we did 180-degree turns and came full-power toward each other with enough lateral spacing to keep from smacking head-on. As our wingtips passed, Jed transmitted, “Fight’s on!” I banked, but kept the plane level to see how Carmine handled the “yo-yo.” The Varga is a dream to ﬂy and turns so tight you feel like you’re doing it inside your garage. Carmine did just ﬁne and after about two full circles was inside gun range behind us. “Rat-atat-tat,” Jed radioed. We split up again, and now my ego took hold. As we reversed, then passed wings, I rolled high into a notch-cutter of a turn and within 30 seconds was camped behind Carmine. One quick adjustment to set the nose for a gun shot, and Mo made the “rat-a-tat-tat” call. On our third go at it, I decided to let Carmine reclaim his chops. Soon, he was working his way behind our wing line. Mo called over the intercom, “Stretch this one out a little.” With that, I pulled the nose up and tightened the turn. Carmine crossed behind our tail. “Let’s see how he handles a reversal,” I said to Mo, then rolled the other way. I guess that tumbled Carmine’s internal gyro, because the resulting scissor-like maneuver spit him out front, and Jed cried “Knock it off.” Bananas, anyone? On our way home, Mo let me ﬂy formation on Jed’s wing. The old sensations came rushing back as I used delicate stick and throttle movement to maintain position. After holding for a few minutes, we were cleared to land. Mo then made a greaser of a touchdown, and the adventure ended. Afterwards, Kate wanted to know how I felt about the whole thing. If we did something that made you mad please call Phil at 1-760438-7680. There’s no one here by that name, but that way we’ll know why you’re calling. Complain? Hey, I got home in one piece! MO RESOURCES ■ Visit Barnstorming Adventures online at www.barnstorming.com or call (800) 759-5667. M AY 2 0 0 6 MILITARY OFFICER 55 http://www.barnstorming.com

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Military Officer - May 2006 Contents From the Editor President's Page Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Raising Iraq Dogfight Fun Caring For Our Own Pages of History Information Exchange MOAA Scholarship Donors Member Books Advertising Index MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - May 2006

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