The ride begins with a tour of the aircraft and a thorough briefing. Next, we don our parachutes and saddle up for the ride of a lifetime. Once the engine is started, we will establish communication with each other over our headsets and taxi out. The whole time, I will be explaining what I’m doing and why. I happy to go into as much or as little detail as you like.
After we perform out pre takeoff checks, we launch! We will make a turn for the Salt River canyon and fly over the lakes and Superstition Mountains. The scenery is stunning for locals but if you’re not from around here, it’s truly like another planet.
Next up, if one so chooses, we will try some maneuvering flight. This will consist of making some turns and increasing the G-loading and seeing how that feels. Fighter pilots call this a G warmup and we do this every flight where we will be pulling Gs. If all is well, we will try some aerobatic maneuvers. Rolls, loops, hammerheads and various combinations are all crowd favorites. It should be mentioned here that this ride is for you; there is no specific script and every flight is instantly customizable to each individual.
After some roller coaster fun, it’s back to Falcon Field for a debrief and to review some footage of our flight!
I have been giving airplane rides for 30 years. Here are a few helpful hints to make you experience the best it can be:
- Be hydrated. This will help you cope with the G forces you’ll experience.
- Have a light snack, but not a big meal, beforehand. This will help keep your stomach settled during our flight.
- Communicate with me! We will be chatting the whole time and I’ll want to know how you’re doing as we fly. A flight like this is a new experience for most, and in the excitement it’s easy to have sensations creep up on us. Evaluating and communicating how you’re feeling is a key component to your enjoyment.
You’re going to be nervous, but do it anyway! I like to say that nerves are the road to excitement when trying new things. So be open to being nervous and watch that nervousness give way to excitement!