| Upon arrival at Red Baron Head Quarters, Bankstown, you will climb into a flight suit and prepare to board. Your pilot will strap you securely into the open air cockpit of the Pitts Special S2A aerobatic bi-plane and fasten your headphones and flight helmet. There will be plenty of time for your family and friends to take photographs of you as you prepare for your flight. You'll be able to hear all the calls to air traffic control and speak to your pilot through the intercom.
Once airborne head west towards the foothills of the Great Dividing Range. Over St Mary's in the designated training area- you'll climb to 3500ft-4000ft. You'll start with some basic maneuvers like loops, barrel rolls, wingovers and hammer head turns to get the feel of things. Your pilot may also treat you to some inverted flight flying upside down and to a hesitation roll, a four point roll where you pause and fly straight ahead at each quarter turn. Your pilot will explain each maneuver as you go through it.
Once you're comfortable with the basics you'll move onto some combination maneuvers; things like a Roll Off The Top, a half loop followed by a half roll and a Split S, the reverse of the Roll off the Top a half roll followed by a half loop. This may be followed by Cuban Eights and reverse Cuban Eights, which are three-dimensional figure eights. You'll experience G forces of anywhere between +6G and -3G, alternatively being pushed into your seat or pulled hard against your harness.
After a couple of spins to shake things out your pilot will put all these elements together into an adrenaline inducing sequence of the type used in competition, and while aerobatic maneuvers are all fun and games today don't forget they developed out of the serious business of WWI, where fighter pilots like Baron Von Richtoffen and other flying aces performed these complicated aerial moves to avoid being shot down in deadly dog fights. |
