Checkride

¨Trim set¨
¨Mixture-rich¨
¨ Fuel-on¨
¨Flaps-set¨
¨Instruments-set¨
¨Hatches-closed¨
¨Harness-you strapped in sir?¨
¨Yup.¨
¨Controls-full and free.¨

She is doing her best to not forget any of her pre-takeoff checks as today is her big day, her aerobatics checkout and she wants to do everything well.
At age 17, she is young to be a pilot and feels excited with the prospect of one day taking to the sky in a hot little aerobatic machine, by herself. Todays flight will determine whether all her devotion to her training has paid off.
The examiner, now sitting next to her, will be expecting a well above average performance and though she fears failure, he once told her that an honest effort will achieve an honest result.

High above the Franklin countryside, he takes a moment to enjoy the cool air, the clear sky and the sensation of flight. Even after 30 years of professional aviation, it is still his passion to fly. From the silky smooth silence of high altitude jet flight to the low level rattly din of piston engined aerobatics, he loves it all.
Today is an aerobatic check with a young girl who has a promising future.
¨OK, make your lowest safe two thousand, its all yours.¨

Lowering the nose of the aircraft into a dive to gather energy, she adjusts the throttle to keep the propeller RPM within limits and waits for the entry speed of 150 Knots. With sufficient speed she firmly applies rearward pressure to the elevator control, raising the responsive little aircraft´s nose steadily towards the blue. There is the familiar and pressing feeling of ´G´ force and she tightens her muscles in anticipation while re-applying power as they pass through the horizon.

He has checked many young pilots and watches her loop entry as the multiplied force of gravity takes effect.
They usually show weakness here.
Loops are certainly the most spectacular of maneuver for a ground observer and the basic maneuver can easily be done with a big yank back on the stick, but to do it neatly requires skill and practice.
This one has something, she is remaining in perfect balance while her head is swiveling from the side to above to view her natural horizon. Her hands and feet are continually correcting the aircrafts flight path, as if she´s operating in automation, almost connected to the machine. Automation that not everyone has is allowing her to think quickly and to manage her machine with accuracy and creativity.

Over the top, she strains her head back to follow her vital ground references, she can hear, feel and just sense the airspeed over her flight controls. Like tying shoe laces in the dark, she keeps the aircraft balanced and off the stall by touch. She feels connected to this beautiful little machine, feels part of it, as if it´s an extension of her body and mind. It almost talks to her.
She lives for this, it´s her life and she thinks of nothing else, but flying.
Her older passenger appears relaxed, seems to be barely watching and has had an almost bored disposition though he briefly catches her eye and grins as they hang in their straps over the top.

This kid can fly.
A quick glance across at her reveals crystal clear and focused eyes, relaxed hands and feet on controls and a look of sheer joy as she neatly exits the loop with sufficient energy for a her next maneuver.
Yes this kid can really fly.

Exiting the loop she pulls the nose up high over the horizon into a vertical climb for the entry to a stall turn. She is already planning ahead, after the stall turn she will make a four point hesitation roll to the left followed by a snap roll to the right.
That should blow his socks off.

As the aircraft climbs vertically, he observes the normal airspeed decay, expecting her to start a conservative recovery at around sixty knots, he´s surprised that she´s letting it go slower, as it´s now rapidly decaying back through fourty! She seems to be still with it, still in control and nicely hanging the little plane on its prop. So he watches on.
Only two ways out of here young lady, an unpleasant spin or some clever tap dancing.
He instinctively tightens his lap harness and waits.

She savours the seconds of weightlessness with her hair spreading out above her head, while her mechanical friend hangs protestingly on his propellor!
She starts the recovery, booting in full left rudder, easing forward on the elevator and applying a little right aileron. As the nose starts to move left, she slowly starts closing the throttle.

He picks a reference point on the horizon just off the left wingtip and watches the nose, followed by the right wingtip pass exactly through same point. The aircraft rotates left about its vertical axis, right on the verge of a spin and then exits into a vertical dive.
Hmm, not bad!

During the recovery dive she is already looking out through the top canopy, looking for her next reference points in preparation for her next two creations. The hesitation roll goes well, though he appears to be more interested in observing something that is happening on the ground below them. Part way through the snap roll, with the world rapidly swirling around the out-side of her perspex, she gets his attention.
Gotcha there old fella!

The difficult four pointer is crisp and precise and with the minimum of height loss, however the snap roll catches him unaware.
Bloody hell!
While they are shaking and shuddering their way through a very tidy snap roll, he cant help but exclaim.
¨Jeez mate, where did all this come from?¨

¨My Dad¨

The approach back to Ardmore is neat and the landing is well done, but now it only seems like a means to an end. He´s more than mildly impressed.

In the debrief room, his appraisal is clinical and to the point, he offers her a few pointers and fills out the paperwork, then endorses her log-book. His demeanor is slightly guarded and reserved, she knows him well and recognizes his way of dealing with emotions.
The most precious thing to her at this moment has just been entered into her pilots logbook, it´s in her fathers own handwriting.

´Cleared for solo aerobatic flight´.