Afterburner Takeoff

This posting is to give more detail to something I alluded to in an earlier posting - your first takeoff in an afterburner-powered jet. Well, you wish.

When I went through USAF pilot training, the sequence was that we would spend three months in the T-41, which is the military version of a Cessna-172 (no back seat, painted grey), then three months in the T-37 (the "Tweet," worth several postings on its own), a twin-seat side-by-side, twin engine jet, not much larger than the T-41, then six months training in the T-38, a supersonic jet that I've heard more than one person decribe as various flavors of appealing.

Here's what it looks like: you can make your own evaluation of the jet's appeal:

By the time you get to T-38s in pilot training, you've already gone through six months of training, and you've soloed in two other aircraft (a military version of a Cessna 172, and a slower twin-engine jet, the T-37).

By now, you're starting to feel like at least a semi-capable pilot, and you are EXCITED! This is IT! This is your first ride (they call it the "Cherry Ride") in that sleek, hot jet you've been drooling over for the last six months.

Believe me, the adrenalin is pumping! You are sitting in the front seat, the IP (instructor pilot) is in the back seat, and he has let YOU taxi it out onto the end of the runway! You can hear his voice on the interphone as he runs through the pre-takeoff checks, "Aileron check," you look out to the wings as the IP waggles the stick left and right and see the ailerons on the trailing edges of the wings go up and down; "Stabilator check," you crane your head around and look at the horizontal tail as the IP waggles the stick fore and aft, and you see the entire tail plane pivoting up and down, and he quickly goes through the rest of the checks.

"Okay," he says, "Brakes on!" and you mash your toes down on the rudder pedals as hard as you can; "Runup!" and you follow with your hand on the throttles as the IP pushes them forward to the first stop. "Engines check," you look at the gauges, "RPM - 100%. EGT (exhaust gast temperature) - in the green; oil - in the green, hydraulics - in the green; fuel - still full. Let's GO!"

And with that, you release your toe pressure on the brakes, and the aircraft starts to roll forward, at about the rate of a car accelerating from a stop sign.

"Afterburners, NOW!" And your hand on the throttles feels them shoved forward over the MAX detent, all the way "to the wall."

Your heart is racing, your mouth is dry. Then, even though you were expecting it, it still catches you by surprise - the massive sudden acceleration of two afterburners lighting, only 20 feet behind your back.

It is all you can do to keep from screaming "YEEEE_HAAAA!" out loud, as the plane passes 100 knots (about 112 mph) in about five seconds, and two seconds later, the IP says "Rotate!" The stick eases back into your lap, and the nose of the aircraft lifts off the runway, followed a mere second later by a final thump then silence as the main gear leaves the ground.

"Gear up," says the IP, and you grab the gear handle and manhandle it to the UP position. Three green lights go out, then three indicators say "Up" on the gear panel.

"Three up and locked," you say.

"Flaps!" says the IP, and you move the flap lever to the fully retract position and wait two seconds while the flaps move to be streamlined with the wings.

"Climbout," says the IP, and with him, you rotate the nose to 25° nose up. That's really not very high, but to you it feels like you're going straight up, and you're STILL ACCELERATING!

What a rush!

You hit two thousand feet in just a couple of pounding heartbeats, and the IP says, "Burners."

Reluctantly, you pull the throttles back off the wall, over the detent (actually, it's a hump) to the 100% power setting, and settle in for
the rest of your Cherry Ride.

I've gotta tell you, there's nothing like that first afterburner takeoff, and you never really get over the thrill of it on subsequent rides.

I've heard guys compare it to ... other things (okay, sex), but I can't. It's just in a class by itself.

Hopefully, this has helped you get a better picture of what it's like to experience your first takeoff in an afterburner-powered jet.