3rd Flight is the Charm, or is it?

ITEM: Vanna's 3rd Hornet flight
DATE: Tuesday, 24-Jan-2006
TIME: 1200-1500 Eastern Standard Time
LOCATION: Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland
EVENT: Safety Chase Plane SD 423 for a Hi-Alpha test flight in SD 420
CREW:
LtCol Gray (Haze) / Mr. Pat Svatek (Vanna) [SD423]
Mr. Wallace (Sting) / MAJ Taylor (Opie) [SD420]

AIRCRAFT: F/A-18D (no aft cockpit stick tho)

The plan for the flight was briefed as 1200. SD420 would be the flight lead and test aircraft. Today's testing would include high angle-of-attack test points with the new flight control software. SD423 would act as a safety chase aircraft and provide assistance where needed. My duties were simple.... if I see something that does look right, seem right, or feel right, speak up and Haze know. Otherwise, take pictures. The flight tests were scheduled to take 3 hours. In order to accomplish this, there was a C-130 tanker waiting for us. SWEET! I'll get my first in-flight refueling ride!

We briefed the flight and walked to the paraloft to get geared up. This was my first flight wearing a drysuit. Way uncomfortable wearing all that flight gear. Part of the drysuit procedure involves using a shopvac to suck all the air out of the suit. When that happens, the suit feels likes its crushing you... it literally molds itself to your body contour, which severely restricts mobility (as you will hear about later).

Once I was geared up, I walked out to the jet. Haze was already there doing a thorough preflight. I walked up to the boarding ladder and attempted to board. Remember that restricted mobility? Well here is where it first shows up. I really can't lift my leg high enough to reach the first rung on the ladder! I did not want to ask for assistance boarding the plane so I put forth a huge effort (and nearly got a cramp doing it) to get my foot to the first rung. DAMN, I did it! Ok, three more rungs to go....

Once I sat down in the back seat, I realized the feared restricted mobility monster would show its face again. Now back in my first few blogs, I wrote about having to strap into the jet. Well, I could not reach the lower leg straps... I waved for the PC (that's plane captain) to come and help. She came over and proceeded to strap me completely into the jet. The only strap I did myself was the upper right parachute fitting. Thanks!!!!

Haze was in the front. Engine starts were smooth. He lowered the canopy and we taxied out to meet up with SD420 who was waiting for us. All systems go! We taxied to Runway 6.
SD420 took off first and we followed 10 seconds later. One airborne, we joined up to look each other over and make sure there were no visible issues with the aircraft. Looks good. As we proceeded out to the test area, we performed a G-warm. Right for 4Gs, then left for 6Gs. Man, that feels good! G-suit was definitely working! We began a formation climb up to 40,000-Ft.

We leveled off at 37,000-Ft while SD420 climbed. During this level-off we lost SD420 in the sun. In the process of doing this, we were climbing and descending, accelerating and decelerating. This gave me a check in the block for one of the things I'd like to have done before I die... the picture shows why. Look closely at the picture. Can you decipher what it is saying? Why would I be all excited about this?

Once we found SD420, he began his maneuvering. We lost sight of him again, but eventually found him and rejoined. He was having fuel imbalance issues, and those were preventing him from starting his high alpha tests. The guys on the ground monitoring the flight recommended putting G on the airplane to see if the fuel imbalance would correct.

We of course have to follow him, so we too are putting G on the airplane. After a few G maneuvers at 37,000-Ft, the test aircraft SD420 is still having issues. We decided to roll on his left (from the right, as you can see in the picture below). Shortly after we join, I heard a loud POP from behind my seat and a whoosh/whistling sound of air. My drysuit began to inflate. WAIT...only my G-SUIT has inflation capability. Why is my drysuit inflating?

"How are you feeling back there," asked Haze. "Well I'm beginning to feel inflated," I responded. "Kinda like the Michelin man?" Haze asked. "Well yeah, exactly like that! What happened?"

It was at that point my engineering brain began to work in physics mode. Less air pressure means trapped air expands. The air trapped in my drysuit (yeah even after all that shop vac suck the air out to form fit it to me scenario) was expanding and making me feel like the Michelin man because the outside (i.e. cockpit) pressure was less. I looked down at the cabin pressure gage at my lower left and it read 26,000-Ft. Not good. A normal reading should be about 8,000-Ft. "Pat, I think the pop we heard was us losing pressurization. Do you have you O2 mask on?" "Yep, its on." "Ok, we're gonna descend." Haze was right. The cabin pressure gauge confirmed it. The master caution light just reminded us we had a problem.

After Haze told SD420 we had a cabin pressure loss, we took lead and SD420 followed to inspect us. That was it. No tanker today. Airplane is down. We're headed back home.

As we descended, I could feel the outside air pressure increasing. My drysuit began to get uncomfortable again. When we reached 6000-Ft, it was giving me that crushing feeling again. The flight back to Pax gave me a good opportunity to snap a beautiful shot of Point Lookout, MD. It gave me the time to think about how I got here...what it took to be in this back seat...all the folks who have helped me get to this point in my life, and the road that lay ahead of me. What a cool feeling!

We returned to Pax and landed number 2 after SD420. Uneventful landing and roll-out. A short taxi back to the hangar and my 3rd hornet flight was done. The final number was a 0.8-hour flight. Hopefully I can get back up at least one more time before I start TPS in two weeks. Oh, one more thing. Did you figure out what was so special about that picture earlier? If not, here's what it is.... I can officially check off the block of things to do before I die... GO SUPERSONIC (or faster than the speed of sound). Look at the "M" in the picture. That is Mach number. We actually hit Mach 1.06, but by the time I could get the camera on and focused, we had slowed to exactly Mach 1.00. The interesting thing about flying through the sound barrier in the hornet is.... you don't know you've done it. I mean I felt a very slight and rapid bump, and didn't know exactly what it was. I was just looking over all the gauges and happened to see our Mach. Amazing isn't it? Only 60 years ago people were dying trying to get through the sound barrier and their airplanes would not let them do it. Now... you don't even know it!