What aircraft have you owned/flown?

**snapper** · 14 Oct 11,, 16:11

Flying is easy - anyone can jump off a cliff - you do need a landing plan. My bro' has a plane which I was once alowed to have a go at - a Warrior or something... a plane for me.

**Albany Rifles** · 14 Oct 11,, 16:35

Originally Posted by Repatriated Canuck

Ha that's funny.

I've always wanted to try skydiving.

It wasn't sky diving. It usually included anywhere from 5 to 163 of my closest friends! (6 men out of UH-1 through 164 out of a C-141B)

And lots and lots of gear!

**Repatriated Canuck** · 14 Oct 11,, 17:38

Oh cool!

Was it fun?

**Albany Rifles** · 14 Oct 11,, 18:02

Originally Posted by Repatriated Canuck

Oh cool!

Was it fun?

When I was finished....

**Parihaka** · 14 Oct 11,, 22:46

Flown a hang glider more than a few times when I was in Dunedin, flown various Cessna's with nervous friends/pilots looking on and once got to do a take-off, circuit and landing in a Cessna with an amazingly laid back instructor. Now I am unhitched I plan to reacquaint myself with the hang gliders: I still dream of running down a hill with a pack on my back only to have a big hand of god reach down and pluck me off the earth.

**Aussiegunner** · 17 Oct 11,, 03:32

Originally Posted by Chogy

Owned: I've only owned one airplane in my life, a pretty little blue Grumman AA-1B two seater. Wife got pregnant. Plane sold.

Reminds me of the old saying "my wife said I had a choice between her and the aeroplane... gee I miss her" ;-).

Originally Posted by Chogy

The gliders were great fun, and something I really miss. It's a very pure form of flight. The Germans had the right idea, starting their Luftwaffe guys in gliders in the 1930's.

When I get back into aviation one day I'm going to do gliding. It's relatively safe and cheap, it's challenging to learn to thermal, you can do tricks, compete in events and if you are worried about the environment, it has a low emissions intensity.

**Aussiegunner** · 17 Oct 11,, 03:35

Originally Posted by Parihaka

Flown a hang glider more than a few times when I was in Dunedin, flown various Cessna's with nervous friends/pilots looking on and once got to do a take-off, circuit and landing in a Cessna with an amazingly laid back instructor. Now I am unhitched I plan to reacquaint myself with the hang gliders: I still dream of running down a hill with a pack on my back only to have a big hand of god reach down and pluck me off the earth.

I looked into paragliding as it is fun, cheap and convenient, but don't like the idea of a broken back if I get blown over the hill and into rotary turbulence so gave the idea a miss. Hang gliding is probably a better bet, at least if you fly into the ground head first you just end up dead, rather than disabled for life.

**Parihaka** · 17 Oct 11,, 04:45

Originally Posted by Aussiegunner

I looked into paragliding as it is fun, cheap and convenient, but don't like the idea of a broken back if I get blown over the hill and into rotary turbulence so gave the idea a miss. Hang gliding is probably a better bet, at least if you fly into the ground head first you just end up dead, rather than disabled for life.

Yeah there was a guy I knew in Dunedin that paraglided into a rockface. Effectively wiped his face off but still managed to land. Although it's probably totally false I like to feel you've got more control in a hang glider

**Aussiegunner** · 18 Oct 11,, 03:40

Originally Posted by Parihaka

Yeah there was a guy I knew in Dunedin that paraglided into a rockface. Effectively wiped his face off but still managed to land. Although it's probably totally false I like to feel you've got more control in a hang glider

It is false, paragliders have a better safety record because they are much slower. You would have seen how quickly your hanglider flies towards a hill when you turn it away from the wind? There is much less time to react.

However, a heavy landing in a paraglider can either break your ankles or your back ... the later being an injury that would completely wreak my life, so I'm not doing it.