>>>>I was too busy squeezing my cheeks...<<<<
Which ones?........................😜
The original definition of “pucker factor”.
On our maiden test flight (which qualified me for the Mach 2 pin), we returned with most of the honeycomb from the stabilator missing. It was worse than any battle damage suffered in Vietnam. Seems the plane was washed coming out of Maintenance and the water collected in the stabilator. We took the bird up to altitude, wrung it through its paces and landed. Water from the wash bay had frozen under the skin, expanded and popped it off at speed.
Every test hop after that, I was waiting for the plane to rip apart. But the thrill of going from Thunderbolt, Georgia to MCAS Beaufort in under 8 minutes made it worth it.