For the past few weeks the sky in the Lakeland has been filled with a wide variety of aircrafts participating in the annual Maple Flag training exercises.
Last week, I had the opportunity to go on the base and experience Maple Flag first hand.
The highlight (and lowlight) of my week was on Wednesday morning when I took a ride in a Griffon Helicopter.
I was extremely excited for the experience of getting to go up in a helicopter with the Air Force, having only been in a plane a few other times in my life – but never in a helicopter.
Unfortunately I wasn't completely prepared for the experience they offered me.
I was given the safety rundown (or pre-flight debrief as they called it), and then strapped into the side seat in the back of the chopper. It wasn't until the pilots were going through their pre-flight routine, hovering off the ground, checking to make sure everything was in order, that I realized what exactly I was in store for.
“Estimated time of flight: two hours, twenty minutes,” came through my headset.
Uh oh! I knew at that moment I was done for.
I'll admit, I get motion sickness more than most people. If I read in a car for too long, I get sick. On a boat too long, I get sick. Guess what happens on a long chopper ride?
I was prepared to handle a 30 to 40 minute ride, but over two hours. Nope not happening.
We took off and it was smooth. I could somewhat follow along to our location, as the pilots were chattering non-stop over the headsets. Noting rivers, lakes and other landmarks as we passed them.
For the first half hour I was enjoying every minute, snapping photos, and taking in all of my surroundings.
It was at this point that our joyful smooth helicopter ride turned into a practice tactical mission. The chopper started go up and down, banking left and right, weaving along a river. Since I was sitting sideways it made the turns worse. A left turns and I was lying back, a right turn and I was leaning forward, sometimes holding on with the side door wide open in front of me.
The crew members riding in the seats in front of me would often open the door to pick out target ranges or other landmarks they were looking for, after all we were on a practice mission.
It was roughly the one-hour mark of the trip when I gave up fighting and pushed the talk button.
“Hello? Anyone have a bag? I think I'm going to be sick?”
Immediately the crewmembers started scrounging around in the backpacks looking for something I could use.
The pilots offered up some advice on where to focus my sight lines. Note: trying to follow the horizon on turns does not help the situation.
I was fighting hard not to loose my breakfast. The only thing running through my mind at this time was what I was told during the debriefing: “If you are going to get sick, don't make a mess! And if you do make a mess, make sure you clean it up.”
I grabbed my camera bag and frantically started emptying out on the seat beside me. It was inevitable; I couldn't fight the nausea any longer. I need a place to catch my mess – and keep the chopper clean.
Right as I brought the camera bag onto my lap, I received a tap on the shoulder. I snatched the airsickness bag from the crewmember just in time. Camera bag saved!
I lasted about an hour and a half before eventually giving into the nausea and tossing my cookies. Although somewhat embarrassing, it made me feel so much better.
I was assured that it happened quite often and passed a couple gravol and a bottle of water. My stomach settled down and I enjoyed the rest of the trip.
We met up with a couple other choppers, swung over a target range, opened the side door and had finished the practice mission. (I still have no idea what they were trying to accomplish).
The flight back to the tarmac was pretty quick, confirming the fact that we had just been flying in circles around the range.
I can now say I rode in a helicopter on a practice mission.
It was definitely an experience of a lifetime...one that I will probably never do again.
