AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2020 - 31

where Markzon seemed intent on diminishing my already short stature with level
"warm up" turns of 5 Gs in one direction
and 7 in the other.
Despite the sudden and sustained
increase in induced drag, however, the airspeed indicator barely budged. Markzon
would start a turn at 450 KIAS and end it
at roughly the same speed without changing the power setting.
"That's a hallmark of the F-16," he said.
"It holds its energy like nothing else."
At about 450 KIAS at an altitude of
5,000 feet, Markzon pulled up into a series
of vertical rolls, then leveled off at about
15,000 feet. Frankly, I have no idea how
many rolls he did, and he treated them
as something of an instrument maneuver since he focused on the HUD and
its flight path marker. I found the vertical rolls particularly disorienting because
the reclined seat makes it feel as though
the airplane is beyond vertical when the
nose is straight up. Markzon was merciful in the sustained, high-G turn. Even
though the airplane can hold maximum
Gs for multiple turns, he subjected us to 9
Gs only momentarily during a 180-degree,
level turn. Even with the G-suit squeezing
my legs like a rogue blood pressure cuff, I
could feel my senses fading. Blood pooled
in my arms just above the elbows, and they felt almost too heavy
to move.
At the conclusion of the maneuver, I noted that the analog G
meter in the rear cockpit only reached 8.5 Gs, not the full 9. But
Markzon said the more accurate digital one showed 9.1 Gs.
"That's the limit," he said.
ONE GLORIOUS HOUR

Markzon asked me if I wanted to fly, and that was something I
couldn't possibly turn down. A barrel roll, loop, point roll, and
a series of aileron rolls gave an immediate sense of airplane's
unique handling and its pioneering fly-by-wire system. The sidestick moves slightly but there's no tactile feedback from the stick
itself. It feels exactly the same regardless of the airplane's speed
or its flight attitude. You use the stick to tell the airplane what
you want it to do, and it responds instantly, but the communication is a one-way street. The stick doesn't tell the pilot anything.
Only the airframe and instruments do that. Also, there's almost
no correlation between the airplane's attitude and its airspeed. It
can go really fast straight up, and it can be pointed at the ground
going relatively slow. To a piston pilot like me, that's unnatural.

AOPA EDITOR AT LARGE

Dave Hirschman took
one for the team, flying with U.S. Air Force
Thunderbird pilot Maj.
Jason Markzon (below,
the taller of the two) in
an F-16D around a North
Carolina restricted area.
Hirschman waves his
empty airsickness bag
(left) at the triumphant
conclusion of his flight.

After one glorious, enlightening, exhausting hour, we returned
to the airport where Markzon flew an overhead break starting at
about 400 KIAS, lowered the landing gear and smoothly decelerated to about 150 KIAS on final. Markzon let the airplane cool down
after pulling into its tie-down spot, and the Thunderbird ground
crew quickly surrounded us.
I triumphantly held up a pair of empty airsickness bags that the
crew chief had strapped to my leg at the beginning of the flight, and
he smiled, gave an enthusiastic thumbs up, and pantomimed wiping sweat from his brow. No one would have to clean up the cockpit
with a mop and bucket. I thanked Markson for the flight of a lifetime
and the ground crew for their patriotism, professionalism, humor,
and friendliness.
Afterward, I couldn't wait to call my brother and let him know
that his musty old VFA-151 Hornet T-shirt-one that he had worn
on dozens of demanding flights around the world-had had made
its way into a U.S. military fighter one more time.
EMAIL dave.hirschman@aopa.org

TO SEE THE VIDEO FOOTAGE OF HIRSCHMAN'S FLIGHT, GO ONLINE

aopa.org/pilot/thunderbirdflight

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2020