Flying

I have been taking flying lessons in a Cessna and over the holiday I got to fly my Dad's Pilatus PC-7 with an instructor. It's a high-performance turboprop used as a military jet trainer in many countries including the USA and for close air support by other countries. I believe this one came from the Angolan air force complete with hard mount points on the wing an non-functional triggers on the joy stick. If the Cessna is a scooter this is a 1,000 HP SL-C. Even at idle it taxis so fast that you need to keep on the brakes. On takeoff the engine generates so much p-factor you pretty much have to keep the right pedal to the floor. It's rate of climb is 2,150 ft/min so the throttle has a built in electric rudder trim so that you don't get fatigued holding right rudder in during climbs.

I got to do the majority of the flying so I was not able to take a lot of pictures. I didn't expect the scenery to make such a big difference, but WOW is it a lot more fun than flying back east. The tandem seating and bubble canopy provides a very different flying experience, especially when your upside down... yeah, the instructor had the stick during those maneuvers. I loved the military stick vs. yoke (aka control wheel) in the Cessna. It was so precise and intuitive. For example, the pitch trim is a thumb button the top of the stick. You just need to stay on top of things because everything happens much faster than in a Cessna and without realizing it you can be climbing or descending over 1,000 ft/min.

I got to fly through some canyons which was a total blast, especially since the instructor was sitting in front ensuring that I didn't get into trouble. I wish I had some pictures of those runs, but no way in hell was I going to even think about trying to take a picture. Canyon flying is particularly dangerous with a naturally aspirated engine because at these altitudes performance is sluggish and if you fly into a box canyon you won't be able to climb out. The PC-7 will climb all of the way to 33,000 ft so long as you have oxygen to keep you from passing out.