G Force!
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: UK
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G Force!
Hi,
I aspire to become a commercial pilot one day!
I am in the Air Training Corps and i went for my first AEF (Air Experience Flight) on Saturday. I have to say it was such an amazing time, my pilot was ex-tornado!
I had great fun with controlling the plane, however my pilot then decided to show me G Force and i didnt think it would be too bad. However i particularly disliked 0 G where things start to float! I didnt mind positive g so much as we only went up to 3 G.
This experience has certainly not put me off wanting to become a commercial pilot. However my question is if i dislike lots of g force then will it effect my chances of becoming an airline pilot? I loved flying the plane while we were on 1 G. I understand that military flying is probably a little more extreme and harder on the pilot, but does commercial flying expect you to be able to tolerate lots of G?
Thanks
Arpan
I aspire to become a commercial pilot one day!
I am in the Air Training Corps and i went for my first AEF (Air Experience Flight) on Saturday. I have to say it was such an amazing time, my pilot was ex-tornado!
I had great fun with controlling the plane, however my pilot then decided to show me G Force and i didnt think it would be too bad. However i particularly disliked 0 G where things start to float! I didnt mind positive g so much as we only went up to 3 G.
This experience has certainly not put me off wanting to become a commercial pilot. However my question is if i dislike lots of g force then will it effect my chances of becoming an airline pilot? I loved flying the plane while we were on 1 G. I understand that military flying is probably a little more extreme and harder on the pilot, but does commercial flying expect you to be able to tolerate lots of G?
Thanks
Arpan
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arpansingla
20 years ago I was an Air Cadet and didn't much like the "g" either. In fact I threw up virtually every time I flew an AEF Chipmunk, so much that my ATC nick name was "pukebag".
I perservered though, because I loved aircraft, and ended up with a Gliding Cert and quite a few real RAF hours upside down in Bulldogs - I still spewed occasionally.
Now, coming back into aviation after 15 years or so, I'm a PPL doing a CPL hoping to be a part time FIC. Those Airline wannabes I know never ever do more than the minimum positive 2 g required for a steep rate turn. For a CPL you will need to spin, but this is a momentary stomach churn and in some modern training aircraft (T67M, Grob115D) a bit of an anticlimax compared to the drop in a C152.
So don't worry about "g". Believe me - you build up a level of resitance and you will not need this in airline work anyway.
FYI - to prove something to myself I did the AOPA Aerobatics certificate and now frequently hire the club's Grob's and throw some basic manoevres. I'll now regularly pull 4g to make my rolls crisp - and guess what - no puking!
gugnunc
20 years ago I was an Air Cadet and didn't much like the "g" either. In fact I threw up virtually every time I flew an AEF Chipmunk, so much that my ATC nick name was "pukebag".
I perservered though, because I loved aircraft, and ended up with a Gliding Cert and quite a few real RAF hours upside down in Bulldogs - I still spewed occasionally.
Now, coming back into aviation after 15 years or so, I'm a PPL doing a CPL hoping to be a part time FIC. Those Airline wannabes I know never ever do more than the minimum positive 2 g required for a steep rate turn. For a CPL you will need to spin, but this is a momentary stomach churn and in some modern training aircraft (T67M, Grob115D) a bit of an anticlimax compared to the drop in a C152.
So don't worry about "g". Believe me - you build up a level of resitance and you will not need this in airline work anyway.
FYI - to prove something to myself I did the AOPA Aerobatics certificate and now frequently hire the club's Grob's and throw some basic manoevres. I'll now regularly pull 4g to make my rolls crisp - and guess what - no puking!
gugnunc
Join Date: Dec 1997
Location: Suffolk UK
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Arpan, most large aircraft are not stressed to take excessive accelerations ('G'). No airliner I know is certificated to 3G; 2.5G or less is the normal structural limit, with -0G being the negative limit. No passenger would ever thank us for exploring these limits! They're there to allow for the stresses of extreme turbulence, not for daily use.
I don't know whether you've ever flown on an airliner, but if you have you should know that we try to keep things as smooth as possible. I'd hate to spill my coffee, let alone the G&Ts in Upper Class!
I hope you ejoy the Air Cadets and get flying as often as possible. You'll get used to the G. Who knows, you may even get to enjoy it, as I did, and consider learning aerobatics or even becoming a military pilot - where large aircraft can and do pull G!
Scroggs
I don't know whether you've ever flown on an airliner, but if you have you should know that we try to keep things as smooth as possible. I'd hate to spill my coffee, let alone the G&Ts in Upper Class!
I hope you ejoy the Air Cadets and get flying as often as possible. You'll get used to the G. Who knows, you may even get to enjoy it, as I did, and consider learning aerobatics or even becoming a military pilot - where large aircraft can and do pull G!
Scroggs
