What great moment in aviation would you like to relive?

[Big Pratt]

OK so if you had a chance to go back in time (not necessarily) and witness, fly or experience a moment, what would it be?


Some of the things that would float my boat:

Cross the Atlantic in a Zeppelin. Flew in blimps twice but it must have been an altogether different experience to cruise low over the ocean, see icebergs, whales, etc. all that while enjoying gourmet meals... with real metal knives...

Grease it on the numbers at Kai Tak

Cross the Pacific in the Pan Am Clipper's Boeing 314


Waiting to hear your ideas.

[Rudderless]

Not exactly great moments in aviation but:

1. Fly around the icebergs in the arctic
2. Fly onto Antarctica
3. See the A380 land at LHR (missed it by 24 hours)
4. Fly the SR71
5. Fly the Spruce Goose

for starters.

[Pratt X 3]

I would like to travel back to Kittyhawk that fateful morning just before the first powered flight took place, walk up to Orville and Wilbur and...
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...SLIT THEIR THROATS SO THEY COULD NOT UNLEASH THE DREADFUL DISEASE THAT HAS INFECTED US ALL!!!

Just kidding, of course. Talk like that won't get me hired at Air Canada.

[rsandor]

instead of the past, I look to the future:

I'd love to be flying, or at least onboard, one of the first commerical passenger flights into space, or to the international space station.

I'd also like to be the GM of the first hotel ever in space. That would be awsome.

[Falken]

Breaking the sound barrier

(and a little outside the realm of aviation, but first manned mission to Mars.. that should happen soon)

[Snowgoose]

I think I'd have to go with some war time flying.

Love to be in a Lancaster or B17 on June 6, 1944 in formation with about 1000 others. Flying fighter escort in a P51, P47 or Spitfire on that day would be pretty cool as well.

Some WW1 dog fighting with von Richthofen, Rickenbacker, or Bishop on a busy day.

Some dog fighting over SE Asia in an F86 or F4. Maybe a bomb run in an A6.

A hop in an SR71 wouldn't offend me either.

Notable substitutes

A space shuttle mission, (someone want to lend me 20mil?)

A moon landing mission

[Hedley]

How about an X-15 flight:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Amer ... s.E2.80.A0

and, flying a Wildcat at Henderson field during Guadalcanal:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_ ... a_defenses

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cactus_Air ... Operations

[Crazymax]

OK so if you had a chance to go back in time (not necessarily) and witness, fly or experience a moment, what would it be?

That first Afterburner take off in the backseat of the Hornet. Better than sex!

Max

[sigmet77]

deleted due finger stupidity.

[sigmet77]

I'd hop in an AVRO arrow and never bring it back, fcuking stupid government.

[saucer_driver]

I wouldl have liked to have been around when . broke the sound barrier.

Also would have loved to be the first to land on a carrier. Being around when you got a float job not because you had 200 hours on floats but because you had the balls to fly into nowhere with only your wit to help you woul dhave been awesome too (before the days when insurance started to matter more then someones ability and willingness)

I have always also wanted to learn astro navigation so it would have been wicked to be on those early trans atlantic flights with an astro lab and four crew.

One last one, I would love to have flown in an A-6 intruder off a carrier....that would have been awesome......with out all the shooting and bombing of course!

[Big Pratt]

Whether . was the first one to do it is open to discussion...

In September, 1947, the F-86 project moved to the Muroc test facility (now Edwards AFB, California), the same base at which the Bell X-1 was being developed. North American was instructed by Secretary of the Air Force Stuart Symington that they were not, under any circumstances, to break the sound barrier before the X-1 achieved this milestone. However, Welch disregarded this order, and during a test flight on October 1, 1947 he entered a steep dive from 35,000 ft. During the dive, Welch observed symptoms compatible with Mach jump, and according to some, a sonic boom was heard at the base. However, due to problems with the landing gear, further full-speed flights were delayed. On October 14, the same day that Yeager was to attempt supersonic flight, Welch reputedly performed a second supersonic dive. This time he started from 37,000 ft, and executed a full-power 4g pullout, greatly increasing the power of his apparent sonic boom. Yeager broke the sound barrier approximately 30 minutes later.

To justify the investment in the X-1 program, the Pentagon allegedly ordered the results of Welch's flights classified and did not allow North American to publicly announce that the XP-86 had gone supersonic until almost a year later. The Air Force still denies that Welch broke the sound barrier first. Welch's flights were unofficial and not tracked by NACA measuring equipment, making verification impossible (pitot tubes of the day suffered from compressibility effects near the speed of sound).

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Welch_%28pilot%29

Also read this: http://home.att.net/~historyzone/Welch2.html

Me thinks it was a political decsion but who knows...

I wouldl have liked to have been around when . broke the sound barrier.

But I'd like to hear those first booms as well!

[. ._]

I would like to travel back to Kittyhawk that fateful morning just before the first powered flight took place, walk up to Orville and Wilbur and...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...SLIT THEIR THROATS SO THEY COULD NOT UNLEASH THE DREADFUL DISEASE THAT HAS INFECTED US ALL!!!

Just kidding, of course. Talk like that won't get me hired at Air Canada.

ROTFLMFAO!

There are so many to choose from! I can't for the life of me figure out which one.

-istp