Airplane Ride!
Hahaha what an experience!! 1943 Boeing N2S-3 Stearman; crazy cool getting to ride in such an iconic aircraft 🤩 When I learned that the Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum offers rides in their fleet of various historic aircraft, it seemed like something I definitely couldn't pass up while in the area. They fly everything from this old Navy pilot trainer all the way up to a B17 bomber. I had never actually been in a plane anywhere near this small before, much less an open cockpit, so the Stearman was a great opportunity. The wind up in the air wasn't nearly as violent as I had expected; the deflector does a pretty good job. The pilot gave me the stick for a couple minutes too, really neat getting to see how it reacts to inputs. These were built for training, so everything about it is dead basic but also highly responsive. I'm pretty into flight sims but yeah like I said had never been in a light aircraft in real life. Love that Continental R-670-4 radial engine too; all the raw sounds and smells I love about vintage car engines are just as awesome on a vintage plane! I was hoping to book a ride in their B17 as well, but it's currently down for annual inspections. Next time!
