Groundschool that is.  I’m probably crazy for this but I signed up to take a pilot course for the T-33 Silver Star jet trainer put on by the Jet Aircraft Museum.  The course is compulsory for pilots wishing to fly the museum’s jets but is also available to others who plan on riding the backseat or are just interested. 

I fall into the last 2 categories which is why I’m willing to subject myself to studying all the documentation, writing 2 exams and attending 2 days of instruction next weekend.

I will never fly one of these on my own – I dropped out of my training for the Private Pilot License but they say any learning is good and this certainly qualifies as something different.

What’s a CT-133 Silver Star you ask?  They look something like this

(of course most are either silver or grey)

That’s a term used to suggest that you sit back and enjoy something instead of spending time picking holes in the content.  It’s most often heard in regards to movies or TV shows.

Case in point.  Pan Am is now showing on North American TV on Sunday nights.  I’ve watched parts of a couple of episodes and have real trouble suspending my disbelief.  Why?  Let me show you.

Here we have a publicity shot of a Pan Am 747 crew.

Seasoned crew.  Very proud, very professional.

Now let’s jump to the land of make believe.

Really?  This is the crew that flies a Boeing 707 on international routes?  Seeing that most line officers came to the airlines from the military, I think the Captain must have lied about his age when he dropped in to see the recruiter.  Or maybe the numbers were down that month.  The FO I can almost buy.  The FA’s look a little on the young side but certainly wear the uniform well.

Of course, there is some “historical” precedence for this.  I give you Leonardo DiCaprio in “Catch Me If You Can” from 2002.

Perhaps the producers of Pan Am went back into the archives but not quite far enough.

Suspend disbelief?  Sorry can’t quite do it.

For the last few years I’ve been running into a fellow on the airshow circuit named Manfred Radius.  He just happens to pilot an aerobatic glider.  He also happens to be a heck of a nice guy and we’ve hit it off together.

I sent him a few pictures that I’ve taken this year of him in flight, he liked them and asked what I wanted as payment.  How about a ride?  Which explains why yours truly is standing in front of an ASK21 glider at the York Soaring Association in Arthur Ontario.

After a long wait (soaring takes patience) a Piper Pawnee towed us up to 2000 feet and then the magic began.

Soaring is so different than flying a piston aircraft. The lack of engine noise is an obvious difference but the view without that powerplant in front of you is amazing.  Manfred flew from the rear seat leaving me a panoramic view of countryside.

Circling over the field, Manfred felt out the thermals like an eagle hunting.  He coaxed lift out of a day that didn’t look promising and we climbed and wheeled along with other aircraft that were all trying to get those last rides in before the weather changes and the ground cools down.

At one point three of us were circling in the same thermal rising and falling in a ballet of awesome.  The only down side is that looking through a viewfinder tends to bring on that queasy feeling reminding you that you had pizza for lunch.

Too soon it was time to land.  From a starting altitude of 2000′ AGL we stayed aloft for 47 minutes and Manfred could have extended it farther than that with no problem at all. The tall fat guy was starting to feel a little uncomfortable so it was in for a bumpy landing to put the exclamation point on a perfect day.

Thanks Manfred Radius.  Check out his website. If you see his name in an airshow lineup, do yourself a big favor and go see him.  If you get a chance to go gliding (or soaring or whatever they want to call it) jump at it!  You won’t be disappointed.

More pictures available at Flickr click for slideshow.