Take Your Wife to Work Day!

Pretending to fly

Monday marked our squadron’s first Spouse Taxi Day, something most flying squadrons do annually, since you can’t stop in and see your husband in his office any day.  These events provide an opportunity for them to share their work environment and the cool stuff they do.

Posing in the static display

I knew that we were going to wear flight suits(even smallest borrowed ones are dangerously large--I was shuffling all over the place) and explore the plane a bit and taxi.  Sort of like taking a guided trail walk on a horse instead of galloping across a field.  Not that exciting. At least, you hope it doesn’t become more exciting than it’s supposed to be.

Imagine my surprise when I learned we’d be making radio calls!  The pressure was on!  The most easily ridiculed pilots are those who constantly mess up their radio calls!

Sorry for blurriness!  Listening to a crew member explain some onboard equipment.

After we climbed around the static display, they separated us from our husbands like baby birds being kicked out of the nest and forced to get in the plane with engines running to show the waiting IP(instructor pilot) our stuff.  I was first in my group to clamber into the pilot seat and half-heartedly listen to the IP explain how to adjust the seat and what the pedals and switches and buttons did, thinking he was saying this stuff for fun.  So, again, imagine my surprise when he prompted me to put my feet on the rudder pedals and steer us around the taxiways, making difficult maneuvers like left and right turns, applying brakes, and making radio calls, all while trying to keep the plane on a little yellow line!  With some coaching and some influence from the IP’s twin instructor controls, we made it to the runway, did a “high speed taxi” down the runway--sort of like a takeoff fake-out, looped around, and let the other spouses try.

My action shot!  Concentrating hard at the controls.