A few years ago I was talking with a co-worker who had just taken his instrument checkride in an Archer. When I asked him how it went he paused, and then replied, "Well..."
He had departed his home field in the Bay Area and was headed through Sunol Pass. Suddenly his plane was hit by a wake turbulence vortex from a commercial airliner that had passed just above his altitude a minute earlier. He found himself being rolled before he knew what hit him. He tried to stop the roll but was unable to fight the force of the vortex. His examiner suggested that he "follow through the roll;" fighting it clearly wasn't working. I'm sure it wasn't quite that simple, and probably not very pretty, but the Archer did roll out. He and the examiner not only survived the encounter, but the examiner insisted that they continue the checkride.
I think about this event from time to time, such as when I encounter turbulence near mountainous terrain, or when I'm in an area near large, slow aircraft with plenty of opportunity to hit wake turbulence. I wonder how I would respond in a similar situation. Would I have enough presence of mind, training, and experience to react as required? Or would I be so overwhelmed by the situation that I would end up in the "On The Record" section of Flying magazine?
I had often thought about obtaining specialized training in unusual attitudes, but had never found a combination of location, aircraft, instructor, and curriculum that really fit my needs or comfort level. Then recently I started noticing ads and articles about a course offered by Wayne Handley to "instill confidence" and make you "bulletproof in every conceivable unusual attitude." The course uses his Extra 300L and takes place above his own airport, Metz, near King City. Not only were the aircraft, location and curriculum what I was looking for, but I had absolute confidence that no matter how badly I might screw up, Wayne Handley had the experience to get me out of trouble. I had finally found my course and instructor!
For those of you who might not already be familiar with Wayne, he is a former naval aviator, ag pilot, aerobatic champion, and airshow performer. His web site, www.waynehandley.com, lists his awards, world records, flight experience, and other accomplishments, which are far too numerous to mention here. This site also contains details about his course and seminar series, including pricing and contact information.
The course syllabus is easily adapted to the individual pilot's needs but, in general, covers the basics (slow flight, steep turns, stalls, slips, skids), unusual attitudes (spins, extreme bank angles, inverted flight), and aerobatic maneuvers (various rolls, loops, Cuban Eights, Split-S, Immelman). It is complete and rigorous enough for a seasoned ag pilot, corporate/airline pilot, IAC competitor, airshow pilot, or military pilot, yet flexible enough for a typical general aviation pilot.
In my case, I had no prior aerobatic experience and only 2 hours in a tailwheel. In addition, I have a low tolerance for even simple maneuvers, such as stalls and spins. I was therefore a bit apprehensive about flying with someone who lives and breathes aerobatics. After discussing this with Wayne, he indicated that it shouldn't be a problem and that he would be happy to tailor the pace and content of the course to meet my needs.
I arranged with Wayne to fly with him on three consecutive days in the middle of September. I commuted by WVFC aircraft each day between Palo Alto and King City, where Wayne would meet me at the airport. Metz is unpaved, and therefore normally off-limits to WVFC aircraft. His course includes a total flying time of approximately 3 hours, spread out over 6 flights of approximately ½ hour each. He often works with more than one student at a time. This works out well since most of us do not have the same tolerance for extended exposure to such rigorous flight as Wayne. You get a welcome chance to rest and "recover" while he is flying with someone else. Briefings and debriefings are intermixed as appropriate.
My first day began with a briefing on the Extra and some key points about flight, G-forces, rudder, etc. We then headed out to the plane for familiarization before the flight. I knew that I was in for something different when he instructed me on the basics of parachute operation and fitting (parachutes are required when doing acrobatic maneuvers). We were soon strapped in and starting the engine.
It was clear, even while we were still on the runway, that the Extra was going to be very different compared to the aircraft I normally fly. The acceleration alone was impressive, pushing me back in my seat more than usual. Once airborne, the climb rate caught my attention; the Extra climbs so fast that you don't normally climb out using Vy. If you did you'd overshoot pattern altitude in about 15 seconds since you can climb at nearly 4,000 fpm! The other thing I noticed almost immediately was how responsive the Extra is. With my hand on the stick, about all I had to do was think about which direction I wanted to go and the plane responded instantly.
This first flight was my opportunity to play with the aircraft and get familiar with the controls, instrumentation, climbs, descents, steep turns, stalls, and slow flight. I was intrigued by extreme bank angles and experimented with them a bit. Wayne also demonstrated some maneuvers that I might be learning on future flights. If we had followed the syllabus closely I would have already learned a few aerobatic maneuvers by the end of the first lesson - aileron roll, loop, ½ Cuban Eight, spin recovery - but I probably would have also left my breakfast in his plane. My pace was clearly going to be slower than the syllabus, but that was fine with me and Wayne was very understanding and accommodating.
Like all flight instruction, in later flights we reviewed many maneuvers from previous lessons and then added new maneuvers and ideas. Once I was doing aileron rolls, I transitioned to 2-point rolls, 4-point rolls, and short-duration inverted flight. Later, we added loops, take-offs, landings, spins and spin recovery. Wayne also demonstrated some maneuvers for me, such as flat spins, that I wasn't quite ready to do myself. We made good use of my 3 hours.
It was never my goal to become an aerobatic pilot; I simply wanted to become more familiar, more comfortable, and more experienced with unusual attitudes, and to become a better pilot. This course was wildly successful in helping me achieve these goals. And, much to my surprise, I found that while I still became queasy at times, I actually enjoyed the aerobatics.
I would highly recommend this course to all pilots who want to improve their skills and expand their flying experience. Wayne is not only a very experienced pilot, but he is also a very good teacher and has a way of making even a "simple pilot" feel at ease, which further enhances the learning experience.
You might be wondering how my co-worker's instrument checkride turned out. Well, he passed. And you thought your checkride was stressful!
If you have any questions about my experience with Wayne I would be happy to respond to email sent to wirish@coyotehillconsulting.com.
The cost of this course is currently $1400. This includes a minimum of 3 hours of briefing and debriefing, approximately 3 hours of flight time, and the use of his Extra 300L. Wayne can be reached at wayne@waynehandley.com. For more details, check out his web site at www.waynehandley.com.