“I take it you are not a pilot.”
Factually, was learning when the money ran out. My father had an instrument ticket and my mother was licensed. I worked with some, what can only be called, aerobatic aircraft, when I was younger when I was flagging and loading stearman for crop dusting in the central valley of California out of what used to be Green Acres Airport. The owner, Arnold Whisman, was a fighter pilot from WWII and Korea and flew a drunk act in an air circus. He was the instructor my parents used. I couldn’t finish. Both my brother and I worked for him in the 60’s. I did a lot of right hand seat with my father when he was practicing under the hood in our beechcraft.
Kind of rough to have some of your history taken down, but time goes on.
The Bonanza my parents owned was a four seater. When they purchased, it had that shimmy and they added tip tanks and it cut it to almost nothing. And with the addition of a Mitchell Autopilot, it was comfortable. Not going to challenge many speed records, but it was a grinder and good for most of the flying it was used for between Visalia, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Airspace then was covered by Lemoore Naval Air Station and not Fresno. I had it up a few times, duel. But my experience was nothing compared to Arnold. He was a very good pilot. One of those that always seemed to correct a problem 15 minutes ago.
Why do you make that comment, however?
rwood
“Why do you make that comment, however?”
Because you said the pilot executed a clean immelmann. Not even close!
“I did a lot of right hand seat with my father when he was practicing under the hood in our beechcraft.”
But you said you weren’t a licensed pilot ...
Not a fight, just lighthearted banter.
Interesting factoid: Military pilots graduate pilot training after about a year, and have about 200hrs total.
They are rated to fly under weather conditions spanning VFR to IMC, and with an additional hundred hours or so, can fly single seat jets to war.
(Some jets have a red switch labeled “nuke”—yikes!).
For civilians, last I checked, 200hrs and you can basically get paid for flying and 250hrs to get an instrument rating.
Bonanza, cool aircraft, was it a V-tail? Were your dad or mother a dentist? You do know the Bonanza was called a “dentist killer?” (It’s an old joke).
Cheers. . .have a good day. . .
Comment about the aircraft being a “dentist killer.”
Old folklore I picked up in high school in the 70’s when pumping AC gas at a small municipal airport. You see, dentists apparently made good money and they all seemed to buy the V-tail because it was a comfortable solid ride, and given their confidence (arrogance), they would go out and fly the darned thing into bad weather and such and ‘SPLAT’ they went.
That was the folklore. It was a joke, I know that now but when 17-yes old, you’d believe pretty much anything. Just asking if your dad or mom was a dentist and if so they survived the temptations that got a lot of dentists.
Did you know a Gary Bakewell when in Alaska?