Come Fly This Thing!

Doin' a lot of reflecting on my life in retirement I'm acknowledging how blessed I have been.
Fifty-two years of looking up through a spinning wing. Fifty of those years trying to teach others to control that nearly uncontrollable machine and survive the experience.
The people who were not only interested in what I had to teach but also had the wherewithal to afford my services were... often interesting.

One of the guys that came to me wanting to learn to fly a helicopter was a man that owned his own "Learn to Fly" business. He owned several Cessna 172's and had a staff of instructors to teach people in them.
He also owned an FBO... a place on an airport where pilots could land and expect to refuel and get other services... charts, refreshments, a phone to call for weather and file a flight plan, and other incidental things.
A Certified Flight Instructor in Airplanes himself, he was a few years older than me with a LOT more letters following the "CFI" on his pilot's license.

Done with my "lesson/torture session" we had landed the helicopter and finished debriefing the lesson when one of his mechanics approached- "'***', the Hawker needs a post-maintenance test flight".
My student was the only person in the county qualified and current to fly the airplane so his services were required ASAP.
"Hey Greybeard, how'd you like to fly the Hawker?"
It took a fraction of a second for me to respond!

Checklist followed. Taxi to (and hold short) of the runway...
"I have to start the takeoff roll because I have directional control of the airplane with this little steering wheel until the rudder becomes effective. After that... YOU HAVE THE AIRPLANE!"

Your humble helicopter CFI did (most of) the takeoff, the climbout, and the level-off procedure. My student impressed me by demonstrating how this powerful airplane would press you against the seat when the throttles were pushed forward. (And my mind boggles at the power Fighter Pilots must feel!)
Test Flight complete, my student gave me hints about not killing the two of us as I landed the airplane, with him once again controlling the nose-wheel with his little steering wheel when I no longer had positive rudder control.

Yeah, it's a great memory... another in my book of reflections.
And after my student passed his Private Pilot Helicopter practical test he admitted-
"There is NO FLYING more fun than flying a helicopter."

I'm pleased to have flown that Hawker.
But I sure would not have wanted to fly one for a living.