(Submitted by Rat)
Rat came into my office one day with look of total bewilderment on his face. He had just flown with a Tweet (T-37) IP from across the base, who was on his way to F-16s. Sitting down with a cup of coffee he went on to share his recent experience.
He said the guy was a ‘pretty nice fellow’ and had been given a couple “fast mover” orientation rides in the ’38 before heading off to LIFT (Lead In Fighter Training) at Holloman AFB, NM. During the debriefing Rat asked him how he felt about the flight and if he had any question.s Here is where it got kind of “hinky.”
The guy reported that he felt relatively stable in “tilt,” but was somewhat uncomfortable in “bounce.” What? It took a minute but Rat finally figured out that the IP was referring to “pitch and roll!” The T-38 could indeed, be somewhat sensitive in ‘pitch’ but was fairly stable in ‘roll.’ But,”Bounce and Tilt?” YGBSM! Bounce and Tilt? Neither of us had ever heard of those terms in reference to pitch and roll…
Rat said it was kind of like taking a “guy off the street for a ride!” He went on to say that he thought that the guy was really going to struggle in F-16s – that he had a “tenuous” grip on the concept powered flight!
He must have done okay because we never heard anything more about him…
Bounce and Tilt…