First Flight:  An hour of T-6 time.

Forgive me any errors that I may have entered into the record, but while this event stands out in my mind, the details upon recall become a bit more difficult to obtain.

The day was perfect for flying.  An early December afternoon, calm air, and 10/10 visibility.  I can say now I was as excited as a new schoolboy getting ready for that all-important first day.  Oh no, I had been up before, and I had even been allowed to touch the stick before.  But only for a moment.  This was a chance to see if I could hack it like the pros.  As the time wound down, I put on my flight suit and paced.  Would I be able to keep it stable, or would I hear a thousand berations from the front seat.

Time is up, walk out to the T-6.  Jack is one of Air Power West’s senior pilots, and completely qualified.  I put down the nervousness and listen to the preflight briefing.  Climb on in, and strap in as directed.  First put on the parachute.  Ensure that it is tight…not too tight to cut off circulation, but if you have to use it, you don’t want to get jerked around, or slip out.  My only thought is “Wow this is serious business.  Let’s get hot”, Strap the airplane on, and adjust the seat.  Time to review very quickly, and memorize the instrument and equipment layout.  This is a refurbished T-6G, and I am in the back seat.  Engine start after a quick radio check.  Set your altimeter for the Centennial Airport altitude, and check in with the tower.  We are directed to the first taxi checkpoint, and required then to check in again once we reach it.  Once there, a few engine checks and ensure all is running as it should.  The tower directs us to the runway, and to hold once we are in position to once again await further instructions.  A few minutes waiting, and another radio check, tighten up the seat and parachute belts one last time, and we pull onto the active runway.  Run up the engine, and bring it back to idle.  Then open it up, and off we go.

After the climb-out, Jack indicates that I can take the stick.  I do, and he then directs me to climb to appx. 9300 ft AGL.  By this time my eyes are totally glued to the instrument panel, and I am sitting in amazement to the absolute light touch of the T-6.  I could adjust my climb by hundreds of feet per minute up or down almost merely by finger pressure alone.  Toe pressure was about all I needed to keep it on course.  As I relaxed I occasionally took my eyes off the panel long enough to keep my bearings, and was able on cue to be able to report in at the KOA tower south of Denver/Englewood.  At this point I was instructed to take it up to 10,000 feet.  I did so immediately.  Even a moderate rate of climb of 200 feet a minute was noticeable to a neophyte like myself was noticeable to.  Once away from the traffic and in a clear air space, Jack called from the front seat.  "Would you like to learn to do a roll? (Does a Bear, well you know, in the woods?!)  So after explaining the procedure, he said to have me follow him through the motions and coordination of the stick and rudder.  First thing s first though.  We had to build up some airspeed.  In order to get to the required (If I recall correctly) 225 knot IAS (indicated airspeed) we would dive at approximately 30 degrees, then pull up to about a 45 degree angle, and kick the rudder and stick over sharply.  Then you bring the stick back to center at the end of the roll, while your feet on the pedals have already come back to a neutral position almost immediately after the roll begins.  Funny on a protractor 30 degrees is not a lot of slope, but 30 degrees in an aircraft rapidly building speed seems like going STRAIGHT DOWN!!!!    After doing this a few times, I pretty well understood how to do a roll, snap roll, and a combat roll.  Again, my impression is that the T-6 is a fairly forgiving aircraft, and I can now see why it was so successful in training America's finest over World War II, and Korea.  In order to turn the aircraft, one needed only to move the pedals very gently with minimum pressure (I was using toe pressure), and move the stick over in the same direction.  Bring the stick back to a neutral position, and hold the rudder pedals in the direction of the turn for as long as you need.

After a time, I felt comfortable enough to actually look out the canopy, and take in the incredible view.  This is something you will never have in any airliner ever.  About this time I was instructed to come to a heading of 60 degrees.  That would have been well and fine, except the compass and the gyro were locked down in the back seat!  It took me a second to figure that out, and for a moment, the panic mounted.  Remember that the only stupid question is the one not asked.  Finally after deciding my question of how I was to know my heading wasn't too stupid, we worked it out.  Now the bonus round of the flight.  During the turn the Airpower West/Wings over the Rockies Museum DC-3A had taken off for a short hop.  As it passed under us, we continued our turn, and radioed them that we would join up.  This particular DC-3 has been traced to be one of the first DC-3s produced, and was utilized during World War Two, by General Marshall, Vice President Truman, and yes, even FDR.  So essentially this aircraft may have been the first Air Force One.  I was allowed to come up from behind the DC-3, and for a moment had the perfect G-T picture (That would be Gun site to Target picture for those who don't speak artillery).  I found that getting this site picture was easier than any simulator on a PC I have tried.  The T-6 is an incredibly stable aircraft, yet still able to perform some great Air Combat Maneuvering.  The other impression I came away from the flight was as we pulled into temporary formation, I suddenly realized just how bloody big a DC-3 really is!  Funny they look so much smaller in the hangar or on the tarmac.

Sadly it was all over too quickly, with the exception of a call from the tower that caused a minor commotion with aircraft near the airport.  They had announced that there was a Cessna in the vicinity of the Denver Tech Center, which is essentially adjacent to the airport area.  That is all well and fine, but they did not specify where in the "DTC AREA" it was.  Suddenly I could imagine that everyone was doing the same thing we were: Looking for that dammed airplane!  It sure got MY attention.  Immediately after we got a call from the tower that said that if we did a short base leg they would take us before some other traffic in the pattern.  Jack performed a beautiful carrier approach, and brought us in high and fast.  I was fortunate enough to be allowed to once again follow through on the stick and rudder maneuvers.  It is essentially a motion of a fairly sharp short turn followed by a 30 to 40 degree dive, which seemed from my view point to again almost be straight down.  As we approached, he cut speed, dropped flaps and gear, and flared out in a perfect 3-point landing.   The summary to all this?  How was it? Better than…a roller- coaster?  Well it was great.  I know I will have to go up again for another hour in the logbook.