Warbird Adventure

Aviation engineers start to diagnose the cause of the cockpit oil leak that aborted my first flight attempt before take-off.
Problem found - a cracked compass container.
The aircraft in which I eventually flew aerobatics. The "failed" aircraft is in the background.
One of an eclectic mix of aircraft on display at Warbirds Adventures.

On Tuesday afternoon I drove south from Orlando to Kissimmee to see the Kissimmee Air Museum, which is the home of Warbird Adventures.

Once there I found one could, for a suitable fee, go aerobatic flying in what Americans call a T6 Texan, but what we in New Zealand and Australia call a North American Harvard. I had grown up with squadrons of Harvards flying about, and had many a time thrilled to their displays at air shows.

I just had to shell out my hard earned money for the experience. For an extra $50 the whole flight would be videoed and burnt to a DVD. And so, at 5:36 pm, a credit card transaction was made between Kissimmee and Australia!

My first surprise was during the safety briefing as I was harnessed into a parachute. If the pilot - John - called out "bail out, bail out" - I was not to delay, as he would already have slid back the canopy and be out of the aircraft.

The next surprise came as John started the engine - I was not a passenger, I was actually going to fly this monster. That made me a little nervous, as I was still suffering from severe lack of sleep, what with a two day flight to Florida followed by an overnight vigil for the space shuttle launch. I was quite sure I would not be able to remember the instructions.

John taxied the Harvard out to the runway, and then revved the engine. I noticed some oil leaking into the cockpit, and reported this to John. We taxied back to the hangar, and I thought my flight was going to be a non-event.

At the hangar John called a mechanic to look at the leak, while we climbed into another Harvard (they had two). This time the runway rev-up was successful, and John took off.

About 30 seconds after we were airborne John passed control of the aircraft to me and asked me to continue to climb to 3000 feet, as we headed west into central Florida.

Once we reached the aerobatic area, over lakes and woodlands, we began 20 minutes of exhilarating flying. John would take control, show me a manoeuvre, and then pass control back to me to repeat it.

We did rolls. loops, barrel rolls, and lots more. I then flew the Harvard back to Kissimmee, where we did a low level pass along the runway before doing a 360 degree turn to line up for finals.

At about 200 feet altitude John again took control and did the landing and taxi back to the hangar.

While the DVD was written I could have watched my flight on the TV monitor, but I chose to spend the time exploring the museum hangar, which was crammed with a wonderful array of aircraft. By now, at 6 pm, the museum was officially closed, so I had the place to myself.

Price chart for a flight.

That night I stayed in a motel in Kissimmee. Any one who loves those awful "big" models/sculptures that dot the Australian countryside would love this motel with its big alligator in the car park.

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