Halloween is over, but there’s still one sure-fire way to scare the living daylights out of anyone, it’s called a “Slip.”
The idea is simple. You crank the rudder one direction and the ailerons the other. You’ll end up dropping like a rock and flying sideways all at the same time. It’s an effective maneuver for dropping altitude fast and for loosening the bowels of anyone else in the plane. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out some people prefer it to Exlax.
Here’s what you’ll see in the airplane: Everything looks fine straight out the windshield until the windshield starts pointing about 10 degress to the right (as you’re still traveling in the original direction). You’ll also notice that the plane is dropping like a brick. If you haven’t made out your will yet, you’ll have a sudden urge to write one on the back of your hand, right next to the note you’ve already written that says “buy new pants.”
Here’s what you’ll see from the ground: A hobbled plane nose diving at an awkward angle.
What you’ll smell in the airplane or on the ground: The passengers. And whatever they ate for lunch.
This was all part of my first flight since going solo last week. So we went out to the practice area and went over some of the manuevers I haven’t practiced for a while, like flying ultra slow, stalls, steep turns, engine failures, emergency landings and making fun of people’s roofs. I was a little rusty, but Kevin didn’t immediately jump out of the plane and kiss the ground once we landed, which is a good sign.
