Flying a Vintage SNJ
So it was October 14, about 3 PM, and the Great Georgia Airshow had concluded. The crowds were moving en masse towards the buses that would take them back to the parking area. I, however, was not part of this mass exodus, as my day wasn’t over yet. Jim Buckley, of the CAF’s Dixie Wing, was going to be taking me up for a hop in his SNJ. As much as I love to watch air shows and take lots of photos, under the enjoyment of my day had been the anticipation of this flight. But first there was still some waiting for me- there were a few people ahead of me for flights.
The SNJ was the Navy’s variant of the prolific North American AT-6 Texan. This aircraft served as an advanced trainer for Allied pilots during World War II. This airplane was the last step for many pilots before stepping up to the high-performance fighters of the day, planes like the classic P-51 Mustang. All told, AT-6 variants trained several hundred thousand pilots in 34 countries, and 15,495 of them were manufactured. These planes remain popular warbirds to this day, and over 350 are still airworthy.
I headed back to the CAF tent after the show’s end and chatted with some of the other members there until Jim showed up. I hadn’t met him before, so I was introduced, and found that he had three other rides that would be going before me. So I had roughly two hours worth of waiting, which I used by helping the CAF guys take down their tent and pack up all their stuff. That still didn’t take up all the time, so I wandered back to the show line and started shooting the last few planes departing, as well as the Dixie Wing’s P-51 Mustang, which was also doing some rides for folks. In the process, I got to speak with the families of the two folks going up with Jim before me, and one man whose name I forget was nice enough to volunteer to snap some photos of me in the SNJ with my camera before we went up. Since I had traveled alone to the show, this was a great gesture for me.
Finally, the wait was over. Getting into the rear cockpit was a bit interesting, although being a tall guy with long legs helped. You step up onto the wing, and then there’s a teeny little step on the fuselage aft of the wing that’s a bit of a stretch. Swing over the side, slide down into the seat, and get acquainted with the harness. Supposedly there was a seat height adjustment lever, but I was never able to find it, and a quick check of the canopy in the closed position showed that I wasn’t going to hit my head. Meanwhile Jim had moved into the front seat and was getting himself secured. On with the headsets, a quick check that we could hear each other, and it was time to bring the big old radial to life. Suddenly it got very windy in the cockpit. It seems that North American didn’t think that side armrests were a necessary feature, so I was just resting my arms on the canopy rails, watching my T-shirt sleeves flap wildly in the man-made breeze.
Now, prior to this, I’d had a bit of flight time in the right seat of a Cessna 172, as well as a discovery flight in the left seat of a C152. So having found myself in a taildragger, I had a whole new view on things. Visibility out the front while taxiing was quite limited; I can only imagine what it’s like in a Mustang with that long nose. (though I’d love to find out!) On the other hand, I was in the back seat, with a rollover hoop right in front of me, which didn’t help matters any. In any case, we were soon in the runup area, and Jim pushed the throttles up and I started to get a feeling for the power in the nose of this machine. Feeling the plane quiver and shake and beg to be released was like watching a dog commanded to stay after its owner has thrown a stick.
And then we were out on the runway and rolling- and then there was that wonderful transition between rolling and flying. I absolutely love the sensation as the bumps in the runway get softer and then vanish as the plane starts climbing, and this was no exception. Before long I heard what may have been the greatest words of my life at that point: “OK, we’re at 2300 feet- let me get us trimmed and you can do some flying.” Yes, please. Just like that, I was flying an airplane that had trained untold numbers of fighter pilots- of my grandfather’s generation. A great feeling, to be sure. Now, with my limited flight experience, the maneuvers I executed were quite limited; turns with varying degrees of bank, up to about 45 degrees. I was pleased to find that despite looking somewhat like a big beast, the SNJ was very light on the controls and an absolute pussycat to fly. I suppose it’s not all that surprising, since it is a trainer. I was even more pleased when Jim complemented me on my flying. He even offered to sign off on the dual time if I got myself a logbook and came back down to see him sometime.
After about ten minutes of grin-inducing flight, Jim took the controls back to demonstrate a few maneuvers. First was a few lazy eights, one of many figures I’d not experienced. Then I had my first experience with some G-forces as Jim put us into a nice 2-G turn- that was a sensation that was not at all like I had expected, and I actually felt a small shred of sympathy for those folks who get incentive rides in Blue Angel #7 and find themselves on Youtube making funny faces and taking naps. We also made a low pass over a local grass strip, which helped to give me a nice sensation of how fast we were going- much more noticeable at 500 feet than 2300.
Alas, about this time the sun was almost at the horizon, so it was time to head back to FFC. Given the backseat visibility, I was amazed that anyone could safely land this thing from back there. It certainly wasn’t a job for a novice like me. Back on the ground, we taxied down to the CAF hangar, shut down, and I thanked Jim profusely for an awesome experience. During the ride back up to Chattanooga, I decided that I’d definitely attend this show next year- and this time, I’d save up the necessary money to go up in the P-51D. Now I’ve just got to get myself a logbook and go back down to see Jim. I’d love to have my first-ever logged dual time be in an SNJ.