Bi-Plane Ride

TimNJ

Anybody ever gone up in one? My wife wanted to go for her b'day so I got a gift cert. for a ride for both of us. We both sit in the front seat and the pilot sits in the back. Seems sort of odd to sit like that.
This is what we will fly in www.BiplaneRidesOverNJB.com

skymaster

Tim; You are about to have the most awesome experience of your life
The only warning I can give ya is IF YOU ALLOW this to get into your blood be prepared for poverty LOL LOL.
I got quite a few hours in the air and trust me on the Poverty level.
JackM

TimNJ

The good thing is that it is open air
The pilot might want to sit in the front

dougchips

Go for it! I began taking lessons this past winter and then stuff came up. Ask if you can sit in the back with the controls and he can sit up front with your wife.

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joasis

What you are going for a ride in is a Stearman trainer, built by Boeing for initial pilot training. They are stable, high aspect wing loading, so they ride nice...will do 6+ and 3 - G's if you like the ultimate thrill ride and your pilot/tour guide is aerobatic qualified.....an absolute joy to fly. You will be surprised how it feels behind the fan up front and the 110 mph speed.....

The reason the pilot sits in the back, is this plane has been modified for passengers, and solo flight, with only a pilot aboard, must be from the rear cockpit. If it were still dual controlled, only one person could be up front.

For aviation purists, there is nothing like the sound and smells of a radial engine firing up...and the sound of the wind through the open struts.......enjoy the ride.....but take caution: You may be bitten by the bug, and aviation is the most expensive hobby you can engage in.....the plane you are getting a ride in probably is worth 200k or more, but, the flying lessons to go with it would be cheap at 5k or so....all in perspective.

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TimNJ

Large airliners are no problem, but I had a customer once that had a single engine overhead wing Cessna(?) and his wife asked me if I wanted to go up for a ride. I said sure! Well everything was fine until we started taxiing down the runway and it occured to me that thing was smaller than a VW Beetle. Once we got up she asked if I wanted to fly the plane. I grabbed the wheel and she told me not to worry because she would work the pedals. Then she starts messing around and making it go all kinds of sideways and up and down and that scared the heck out of me, and she was laughing the whole time.
I get motion sickness in a boat with all the bobbing up and down or on amusement park rides. As long as we fly pretty level I think I'll be OK.

joasis

Sad excuse for a pilot to scare a passenger.....I have taken dozens of people and some customers up, many for their first ride in an airplane...and I like to impress then with how smooth the ride is....now on the other hand, when I fly with a fellow pilot, or someone who enjoys the thrills, I give a full range of thrill.

Tall the pilot you would appreciate a straight and level flight, and I bet he will give you a great ride.

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skymaster

Joasis; My money is on the fact that straight and level is all Tim will get for his first trip. IMHO any pilot who takes a pax on first flight and and runs em thru the wringer should have his ticket removed and burned in front of his eyes.
Tim: "little Cessna's" are great ships, ask me of Joasis . Really tuff buggers.
JackM
SEL, Comm, Inst.

joasis

I learned in a Cessna 150, 1965 model...soloed on my 16th birthday. Multi/Commercial/Double I/Typed in several others, including 10 hours in a DC3/C47.....sweetest way to spend a few thousand I found. I also am rotor rated in the Bell 47 and turbine in the Jet Ranger. I was a 137B in the Army, so I can get a Huey up and down too.

Funny thing is I haven't flown now since '99, and don't miss it. Too expensive, and I just lost interest to other things in life. I asked one of my AF pilot buddies if he was checked out in a 172, and I would pay the time, so I could do some low pass pictures on some property I bought, and he said $140 an hour for the plane rental...for a 172! No wonder I don't fly anymore.

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TimNJ

She had me scared, but not...S C A R E D!!!
Like you guys are saying, she was just showing me how you could throw that thing around and how forgiving it was.
I classify myself as "frustrated pilot wanna be", if it wasn't for that whole motion sickness thing.
My wife's niece's husband is a helicopter pilot for the Coast Guard and he always got razzed about how he puked his way all the way through his flight training. He is fine now so maybe I just need some conditioning.

dougchips

The $140 an hour starts from when you "turn the key" and the motor starts, it is easy to blow 1/2 hour during warm up and taxing. I put my lessons on hold until I can save up for a commercial license. I have this idea about flying a banner as a business expense but you can not engage in a commercial activity with a normal license.

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joasis

Back 25 years ago, while I was "finding myself" I towed banners for a few weeks in Delaware...Rehobah Beech.....$7 an hour...probably one of the reasons army pay didn;t seem bad, and the meals were free!

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skymaster

Joasis: Impressive stats. I "timed" out at 3000 hrs I can no longer afford it either. I didnt bother to get my multi, however I do have a few hundred hrs in B55,B58, and Ye Ole Skysmasher LOL. Gotta tell ya I kinda like the concept of 337. My good friend who owns the B58 is Inst double I etc etc etc is a Dentist and I even hear him quietly "mention" the 700 bucks to "fill it" With Gami's really great fuel management :}:}:}:}:} still sucks up 25 gph.
that is an OW.
New 172 here in NJ runs 130 hr wet. :{:{ @ CDW as of last year Gee I remember paying 35 wet.

joasis

I quit with totals at 3950 civilian, 200 military or so, a lot of memories, and no desire to fly again....I refuse to even fly commercial, since as a pilot, I (we) get the special scrutiny since hypothetically, we could storm the cockpit and take over......I haven't had a current medical since '99, and once I had the thought that I wanted the ATP rating....but in this day and age, no way, no how, and no money for that silliness. Funny thing is my "last" year in aviation, I was at Oshkosh '99, and a member of the EAA, and thinking about building a plane. Sure changed interests fast.

Such a change....I bought my C-150 on payments....$3500...sold it a few hundred hours later for $4000....ruby red 100 octane was a buck a gallon, and I was too cheap for that, I got ethyl or hi-test (remember guys when the pumps said ethyl?) gas at the local gas station in 5 gallon cans for 55.9 cents a gallon, and flew a lot of time building hours. Even the airport is gone now.......

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Teetorbilt

I never realised that there were fellow pilots on the site.

I trained on a PA 140, stepped up to the 180 and then bought a LA-200 in '71. Dad crashed it Dec, 22 '73 coming back from Nassau, Bahamas. I also have a few hours in a Pitts, Citabria and Bonanza.

Mom, Ol'#1, and Ol#2 have limited my flight time since then. I still manage to sneak off a few times a year and catch some air time.

2600+ hours in the Lake, one minor crash due to hydraulic failure.

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DelW

I have a good customer who is a crop duster pilot, as soon as his season slows down enough, he's taking me up for a ride. I've seem him dusting the fields around here and I gotta tell ya, it looks like a roller coaster ride. I can't wait.
BTW the wife isn't to thrilled with the idea, she's seen him fly too

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skymaster

Teetor: "skymaster?" Glad to see I am not alone, you, Joasis, I feel better now. Seems many of us are suffering from the dreaded, uncureable Italians Disease! MUHFUNDSALOW !!!!
JackM

TimNJ

The wife and I finally took our ride this morning.........WHAT A BLAST!!! We were originally supposed to fly yesterday afternoon at 3:00 but the pilot said if we wanted we could fly this morning at 8:00am. He said the air would have been choppy yesterday (14knts) and this morning it was dead calm. Blue sky, sunrise over the ocean.
What a great time. If anybody is looking for one of those "unusual" gifts to give somebody this is it.
My wife and I sat in the front seat (kinda tight squeeze) and it felt great with the wind blowing by.

neolitic

That Stearman used to be the cropduster.
The guy who took me up bought his surplus
for about $500right after the war.
That guy could make you scream "Momma!"
But I had watched him do impossible stuff for
a couple of years before we flew.
Always have to wonder if the residue in the
front seat is why I am the way I am today.
Am today.
Em toady.
Toads eat me......

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