Need to Get To The Contest Fast?

Transportation that will get you to any contest at the last minute!

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Let's see now - I guess you would need a letter of authorization to be legal PIC - no type rating on civilian-registered military birds, right? So, how do you get an LOA for a single seat jet fighter that is the only one in civilian garb??!!

>Let's see now - I guess you would need a letter of
>authorization to be legal PIC - no type rating on
>civilian-registered military birds, right? So, how do you
>get an LOA for a single seat jet fighter that is the only
>one in civilian garb??!!

Microsoft Flight Simulator?

Kirk

Or, you can start NOW! Steve

I don't need to buy another fast airplane to get to contests. I already have one.

Bob Smiley
A Lancair 360 builder/pilot trying to be a modeler

Bob,

I think the F-18 may be a knot or two faster than the Lancair 360.
Storage area for 62" span planes might be a problem though.

Military guys can get them. Not sure otherwise. The microsoft thing may not be as crazy as you think. Type ratings are given out in simulators. In fact, all airline training is done in simulators. The first time you ever fly the bird you've got revenue paying passengers aboard. Not usually part of the welcome aboard announcement!

"Ladies and gents, welcome aboard Brand X flight ABC service to somewhere. I'm the captain and my co pilot is Tools, he's never flown one of these planes before..."

By the way, a take a part plane is recommended, the glove box is kind of small.

Tools

And a PIC in the left seat I'm sure.

I actually find this difficult to believe. Yes ALOT of simulator training involved, but..

Just me.

An old simulator technician.

It all depends. First of all, the Class D sims used by the airlines are a quantum leap ahead of the Microsoft sim. Plus, if you are getting a type rating and your ATP rating, you will have to go out and make three takeoffs and landings in the subject aircraft. That's one of the reasons a B-737 rating costs $12,000 or so. The cheapest rating I've seen advertised is the Citation rating for $7995.

There are some FA 18's with dual controls. Don't know if a civilian can get to them, though.

I'll stick with my BE-35. It's got more baggage room anyway.

Ron King

Locating a CFI to get you checked out might be a little tricky.

Only $850,000 cheaper than some WWII iron. At one time a man in Houston had his own F-104 which he flew. Wonder what the delivery cost is per mile?

Some contests are near small airfields, how do you land this on a 3000 ft grass field?

A good rope and a few stakes for the tailhook

There is a set protocol to get a type rating in Experimental Category jets or propeller driven piston airplanes over 800 hp. The FAA is now instituting a change from LOA's( Letter of Authorization) for each individual airplane to Type Ratings.

The traditional way of issuing an LOA for a single seat airplane was to give an oral exam as you would any other rating, and then observe the pilot demonstrate three take offs and landings to the examiners satisfaction. The FAA has not issued anything I've seen to change this.

Some airplanes require a letter if they are Experimental, but do not if they are Limited or Restricted. There would be no requirement for an FAA exam. Mustangs, Kingcobra's and Lightning's are examples of airplanes sometimes registered under Limited Catogory. One Bearcat I know is in Restricted. One reason they are not certified Normal is they stall power off, landing configuration at more than 61 KTS. However, to complicate this still, Steve Hinton's Mustang complies with the obscure but available Trans-Florida Aviation (Cavalier) certification criteria for the F-51D in Normal Category. Not all Mustangs will be able to comply as an exacting component and equipment list must be adhered to, but your life insurance exemption for Experimental aircraft is now circumvented!

Airplanes with a gross weight of over 12,500 pounds that are in the Limited or Restricted category require a Type Rating under the old rules. A P-38 is a great example of a single seat fighter with which a Type Rating is required.

For the practical side of civilians getting Types in supersonic fighters, my acquantance with an Norwiegen CF-104G two seater had NASA test pilot Joe Schnieder give him dual instruction at Mojave and Edwards before setting off on his own. He was very low time without a Commercial or Instrument Rating as well.

I imagine the person with the bucks for an F-18 would enjoy both simulator and dual instruction if he so desired. Within the Jet Warbird community there are many influential persons whom would be able to contact the right people to make this so!

BTW, military trained F-18 pilots must conform and demonstrate the same as civilian pilots, if it is a civilian registered airplane. Also a military pilot must convert his licenses to civilian before flying civilian airplanes. No big thing but it's the rules. There is no magic to being military trained.

Much like flying stunt, if you study the materials and set out on a logical, building block program you will be successful in moving to high performance airplanes.

For that amount of money, I could build a terrific flying site and all "youse cats" could come to my place to fly.
Or get those false fuel tanks the Navy used as carriers for baggage. They opened from the top and wre piano hinged on one side. Air crew/pilots could put there personal gear in them.

No problem. Join the Texas Air National Guard, manage to have a jet fighter assigned to you, then go AWOL for a year (with the jet, of course). Then you can use the jet go go darn near anyplace you like.