I just swapped the strap back to buffalo from the new Croco I got for my birthday. The reason is that this Friday morning, I am invited to fly half an hour in a "Extra 330 LT", also known as "Speed Demon"!
Needless to say, I will report back to you after the flight, probably later in the evening.
Kind regards,
Clemens
For those interested in the plane here is a link:
Kind regards,
Clemens
Safe travels.
Clemens, ENJOY yourself, that looks like a really cool experience.
Safe travels my friend,
Kevin
Sound like an exciting travel experience, Clemen. We are waiting for your upcoming report and photos
Clemens,
"Nad-Shot" from the cockpit please...
Andy
Very cool. Others likely already know the answer to this, are you piloting the plane or going for a ride? Either way, be safe.
Sometime I'll have to show photos from the coolest bit of "swag" I've received. When I bought a watch earlier this year (not an IWC, sorry), the owner of the AD (which is also an IWC AD) who is a pilot, took me for a flight in his 1939 open cockpit biplane. Great experience.
Fly safe and take lots of photos!
Clemens,
Control the intake of food & drink before the take off... ;-)
I hope you'll enjoy yourself tremendously!
Happy trails, Clemens! Be safe and enjoy the experience!
Awaiting anxiously for you to have your feet safely back on the ground, and to see the photos!
so that's what the plane on facebook is for ! enjoy, enjoy !
A great experience. Enjoy yourself.
Looks great on brown leather strap!
Pics of event please.
Cheers
Bas Dekkers
It was an experience that I won't forget! It's incredible how sensitive the plane is to the stick, moving it just a few mm is enough to throw the watch into a turn!
Here are a few pictures of the plane:
This plane is extremely light and powerful, with a Lycoming AEIO-580-B1A six cilinder engine, providing 315 HP out of 583 cubic inches (9.56 liter)! Fuel consumption is about 50 liters per hour.
And here I am, with the parachute strapped on, just before entering the cockpit:
I wasn't allowed to take anything with me in the cockpit so I had to leave the phone/camera behind so unfortunately I don't have a cockpit NAD shot to share. Here is a shot next to the plane though:
I attended the event with two colleagues and I was the first to take off. Since the plane has a tail wheel, it is very tilted to the back when you are on the ground. This makes it impossible to see the ground straight ahead so when we taxied to the runway, the pilot had to zigzag a bit to keep a clear view.
At the runway, we waited a minute or so to let a Chessna take off first. Our plane was so fast that we overtook it in less than a minute! We climbed to 3500 ft and there we did a looping, pulling 4.5 G. Everything was very smooth and so we did a roll. This felt a bit strange but nothing to be scared of. We also had the plane stall, reducing speed to about 60 knots. When the plane started to fall, it just needed a tiny bit of throttle to get it back on track!
After these manoeuvres, I was allowed to steer for about 10 to 15 minutes. It's a great feeling to be so free. We saw a few nice yachts passing below and even a big three-master. Everything looks so small from 1000 ft in the sky!
When we landed after half an hour or so, I was very glad that I didn't eat or drink before the flight. The human body isn't exactly used to this kind of movements and I think it needs more than just once in a lifetime to get used to this stuff! After a glass of water and a bit of a rest, I was feeling great again. In the meantime, number two had entered the cockpit and was off for a similar experience. I was glad to see that they looked as pale (green?) as I did when they stepped out of the plane afterwards!
Later at lunch, a second pilot arrived and I immediately noticed his IWC, a 378601 Ceramic Doppelchrono LE! What else could I do than take this wrist shot?
We stayed another half hour to chat about watches, cars (Cinquecento Sporting, their AUDI's, BMW E30's (circuit prepped)) and sailing.
All in all, a day to remember for the rest of my life!
Kind regards,
Clemens
Oh, before i forget: the plane was equipped with 3 cameras: one on the wing, one just in front of me filming my face and one at the pilot's seat. We will receive a movie and other pictures taken at the event later on, I will keep you posted about this!
Kind regards,
Clemens
Wow - what a phenomenal experience !
Chocks away Clemens.
What can I say "I'm green with envy" of your turning green experience.
And it's great seeing real pilots wearing IWC Pilot watches!