Air sickness

I prided myself time and again for being able to take any maneuver a plane could be put through. Always it was with the instructors who had to practiced their aerobics. Cadets were kept in the cautious mode. They would receive stunt and tactics training at a more advanced school. Our Squadron CO took me up quite often when he had to put in extra time. It was always a relief to get up where to air was clean and cool.

This day he did every thing in the book and I loved it: Wing overs, Barrel rolls, Immillanns, Inside loops. He covered the complete known series including some he invented himself. Then he began an out side loop.

The loop is started at 12 o'clock and goes around the clock till its back at 12.

At position (1 o'clock) you know the plane is nosing down. At (3) you are diving straight down with the RPMs going crazy. He throttles back to save the engine. At (5) some thing is beginning to pull you from the plane by your shoulders, but he applies full throttle. At (6) you seriously wondering how these straps can possibly have the strength to over come the pulling force. (7) isn't any better, but by (9) the force begins to let up. At (10 o'clock) a strange sensation crept into the pit of my stomach.

Horror of horrors, was I about to be sick for the first time? At 12 o'clock my stomach settled back to normal and I said to that shoulder presence, "don't let him do it again or I will have to clean this crate when we land."

He didn't do it again. Was he also queezy? He had the front cockpit where the center of gravity was in his favor.

Cadets were forever cleaning the ship after a wild ride with an instructor. Again, the cadet always rode the rear seat.

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