2004 Cold Lake International Airshow

CF-18B Hornet Flight



Because of my nice new title, I was offered a back seat ride by the Aeroshell Aerobatic Team in Millville, NJ. That ride, although only about fifteen minutes, was a great ride, but it was also a test for what was to come in July. About a week before the big Rhode Island ANG Open House & Airshow I was offered a "scenic flight" in an L-39 Albatross by its owner, Dan McCue. That wasn't really a test, as far as G loads were concerned, as he took it easy for the duration of that flight, knowing I had a 4½ hour drive home afterwards. While both the T-6 and L-39 were great flights, they would not compare to what I had to go through with a CF-18.

I would like to clarify several things before moving forward with the flight log. Firstly, opportunities like this absolutely NEVER happen to civillians, so don't bother e-mailing me on how you can catch a backseat ride in a Hornet, or any military aircraft for that matter. Secondly, even if such an opportunity did pop up for that selected individual, it is not a "hey, cool, I'm going to get a ride in a military fighter... let's hop in!" situation. Thirdly, I want to really clarify that the aircraft I flew in WAS NOT an F-18 or F/A-18 like the United States Navy operates. Keep in mind that the aircraft I was in happened to be a CF-18. I will also list some things on this flight log for those individuals who are lucky to get on a military base, especially if you are doing a photo shoot.

Getting onto a military base during normal operations tempo is very difficult, no matter if the base is located in the United States, Canada, England, or any other major first-world country. You need a sponsor (a sponsor would be someone who would grant you access past the gates and usually this person would be your personal escort as you're on base, unless he/she selected someone to be your escort) to stay with you at all times while you're on the installation. The sponsor will make sure you have the proper identification (usually a visitor's pass accompanied by your photo ID - usually a driver's license) and will go over where you can go, where you can't go, what you can see and can't see, among other things. If you bring a camera, whether it is still or video, be sure you are aware of the restrictions with photography of any kind. While my dad and I were on 4 Wing, my dad was given a photo pass along with the visitor's pass, so he could photograph anything (within limits) in the restricted areas.

While a photo pass means one can take pictures freely whereever and whenever he/she feels, the best advice I can give is to ask your escort what is okay to photograph and what is not okay to photograph. As far as aircraft are concerned, the main restrictions for photography include any areas where panels on the aircraft are opened up and the cockpits of "hot aircraft" (aircraft with any kind of power supply attached). Those two restrictions were made aware to myself and my dad while we were on the ramp at 4 Wing. The reasons for the no photography were simple - sensitive equipment inside the aircraft and in the cockpit. I can understand the logic behind it because individuals who "accidently" take pictures of sensitive areas and post them online or in publications can find these pictures in the wrong hands, with disastrous results. As far as other areas of a base is concerned, the escort should tell you what is okay to photograph and what is not okay. If there is special communications equipment on site, don't take pictures of it. Try not to take pictures looking into aircraft hangars. Try not to take pictures of areas that are highly secure. In the end, it all boils down to common sense.

The "legend" behind my CF-18 ride dates back to December when I was given the Air Show Fan of the Year award by ICAS. The Chairman of the Cold Lake International Airshow, who had already learned that he was going to have his base host two jet teams in 2004 (along with a number of excellent performers), decided to write up a boarding pass on the back of a wine menu as a token of appreciation for the work I've put into the site. The folks at 4 Wing say that the Chairman "had a few too many drinks" when he offered me the ride. Heck, he jokingly admitted to it as well! So, by the time all the awards were given out that night, I found a lot of people begging me to give them the ride (and still did get it up to the very last minute before I hopped in), which I said I would go forward with. The one catch was that it was to take place in Cold Lake, Alberta. That posed a problem as I can't rent a car at my age and I did not want to drive across the United States and into Canada, which would have taken five days. My dad jumped on the idea of going to Cold Lake - not just because of my flight and the airshow, but also because of the fishing. After all, that big lake is called Cold Lake...

The plans were in stone very early in 2004 to arrive in Cold Lake on the evening of July 12 and leave on the 19th. The original intention was to go through training on the 13th to fly on the 14th, and attend media day on the 16th and the airshow on the 17th and 18th. Plans changed again, with my flight taking place either on the 13th or 14th, until finally settling on either the 14th or the 15th. Prior to going to Canada, I had to fill out and sign a medical waiver, releasing the Canadian Forces from any liabilities if something were to go wrong, even if it was a slight bump or bruise. A witness also had to sign it, as well as the Wing Commander. From what the Chairman of the airshow told me, he had to seriously persuade the Wing Commander to give a go-ahead for the flight. I got real lucky right there.

Tuesday, July 13 was the set date for training. My dad and I were greeted by Captain Ron "Lumpy" Willis, who was our personal escort for the next several days at 4 Wing. Lumpy had provided us with a visitor's pass (one per person) and a photo pass for my dad. I did have my camcorder with me but I did very little in terms of shooting video. The first phase of the day was to get checked out by a doctor, which I passed with flying colors. I figured it would be a military physical, but to make things short, it was a visit to make sure that I was breathing normally, had a pulse, and no irregular heartbeat. After the doc visit was the longest portion of the day - the ejection seat training.

I forget exactly where this was done, but I believe it was in a building adjacent to several of the hangars. My dad says it was in 410 Squadron's hangar, but I think it wasn't anywhere near 410. The seat training took over an hour and a half. My instructor (I forget his name, but he was an excellent instructor) went over the features of the CF-18 ejection seat and how its operated. I got strapped into the seat (which is incredibly uncomfortable!) and went over what switch is where and when to use it. The majority of the time was spent learning what to do in those worst-care scenarios, like having to eject, surviving in a barren area with only the survival pack under your butt, and even the emergency ground egress procedures. I went over it several times in the room and during the night before the flight and the morning before the flight. If you're curious, it's a five-step procedure (listed the way I remember it, although the wording might be a little off):

1. Safe your seat.

2. Undo your mask and intercom from your helmet.

3. Remove your survival pack connection and AMS strap.

4. Pull the parachute handle all the way out and take your hands under your shoulder straps and push them away and out from you.

5. Hold the manual override.

If it wasn't bad enough, you had to have all of this done in less than twenty seconds. It took a lot of tries to get it down, but I got it and was approved for that portion of the training. It took me about 30 seconds, but that was okay. As long as I knew what to do in what order and knowing that I would be out of harm's way, that was all I needed.

The next phase of the day was to go pick up a flight suit and boots from the supply shop on the base. When I mean boots, I mean boots. These were very heavy boots, costing about CDN $130, and the flight suit was the right size for me. Only problem was that it got hot while I was wearing it. It made me wonder how all these pilots wear their flight suits in blazing hot days. After I got the flight suit and boots on (I did have gloves also but didn't use them), it was off to 410 Squadron's hangar for the G-suit fitting. Putting the G-suit on was no problem, but it had to be custom fitted for my body. On the back of the G-suit are very long laces that had to be woven on both thighs and once they were all laced up, they had to be braided and tucked into an area before being closed up by Velcro. The same had to be done for the area on the upper part of the G-suit, which would lie near the small of my back. Lacing and braiding the laces (there probably is a better term but I'm using laces as they remind me of very lengthy shoelaces) on the G-suit was a very time-consuming process.

After I had the G-suit fitted, it was time to get the shoulder gear fitted, which took virtually no time when you compare it to the G-suit. The helmet was next, which included a pullover before the helmet went on. The oxygen mask was next and I will say that it was the most uncomfortable thing I had to wear. Testing the mask for leaks involved wearing the mask, breathing in, and holding in that air while a shot of pure oxygen was thrown into my face. I nearly passed out, but I somehow made it. I put all of the gear in a locker that was temporarily assigned to me. I got out of the flight suit and into "civilian clothes" and proceeded to the observation area outside of the gates at 4 Wing to watch some CF-18s and CT-155 Hawks take off and land, along with AETE's CH-146 Griffon. The flight was scheduled for Wednesday at 3:00 PM with Major Doug "Dewey" Clements as my pilot.

If that name sounds familiar to you, it should. Dewey flew the CF-18 Hornet demonstrations in 2002, back when there were still two CF-18 demo teams. Dewey flew the demonstrations for the West Coast Demo Team, which was based out of 4 Wing Cold Lake. The aircraft was the same for 2002 and 2003 (CF-18A 188720) but it wore two different paint schemes in 2002 and 2003 (actually three different paint schemes - the regular Hornet paint job that you see most CF-18s in, the 2002 demo paint scheme, and the Tiger Meet of the Americas paint scheme in 2003). Dewey was also in charge of the aerial events for the Cold Lake International Airshow.

Wednesday morning was spent at the Cold Lake Museum, which was a good time-filler, as I needed to be at 4 Wing in the afternoon to get ready for that big flight. Yes, I was nervous. I know what it feels like to pull a few Gs but that was in a T-6 but I was told pulling a few Gs in a Hornet would be a lot different. Once again, Lumpy was our escort on the base, and by this time, Chimp (the Chairman of the Cold Lake International Airshow) had given us the airshow passes for the weekend and we had used those to get into the restricted areas (and my dad had the photo pass at that time as well). Almost two hours before I was due to go up, a Hornet pilot whose callsign is Shep came up to me and mentioned if I wanted to see a CF-18 up close and possibly get a cockpit familiarization. I had known from other people about a certain CF-18 that I really wanted to see and I did get to see it up close and climbed into it. That particular CF-18 was 188720 - the Tiger. All I have to say is that is one hell of a paint job on that aircraft. I met the guy who came up with the paint scheme, Jim Bellievue, who is a very nice guy (actually, all of the folks I met at 4 Wing were nice guys!).

Shep shows me what control does what action... Beautiful paint job, eh?

I had met Dewey in the pilot's lounge about the same time I headed out to see the Tiger and after I got a look at the aircraft. Dewey went over with me what was going to happen during the flight and with the 3:00 scheduling, we would probably be able to intercept Thunderbird #8 in flight to do some formation flying. That did not happen because Capt. Haworth (Thunderbird #8) had arrived several minutes earlier than expected, but he did say that he saw me climb into my aircraft (CF-18B Hornet 188926). It goes to show that timing is everything. I was all ready to go - all my flight gear on me and in my hands ready to climb into 188926. Dewey explained to me one last time the procedures if something were to go wrong on the ground or in the air before climbing in. He also pointed out the intercom switch and if I had to use the barf bags, I would switch to "cold mike" and take care of what I needed to take care of.

Dewey explaining some emergency procedures...

It was at this time that several other CF-18 Hornets had taken to the skies and fly over to the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range. My aircraft, 188926, belonged to 410 Squadron, aptly named the Cougars. Our callsign was Cougar 12. After Dewey and I were strapped in, we were good to go. The weather had just broken into scattered clouds at various altitudes, just in time for the flight (it poured in the morning). We taxied down towards runway 31R and proceeded to a maximum performance takeoff and unrestricted vertical climb to about 13,000 feet. It was about a 4 G pull, and the G-suit did exactly what it was supposed to do - inflate when you pull Gs. Coming over the top of the climb we leveled out and headed out to a portion of airspace to where I logged my first few minutes of flying an airplane. After dipping the wings a little, I got a hang of it and did some gentle turns, while Dewey showed that the aircraft can really turn, pulling about four or five Gs, giving me control to level the aircraft out and passing it back to Dewey.

Dewey took the time to perform a high alpha maneuver, slowing the CF-18B down to about 115 miles an hour. I took the time to watch the airspeed and altitude indicators and what really surprises me was how he was keeping the aircraft at about the same altitude in such slow speeds. He also got a hold of another CF-18 to do some rejoining later on, but we needed to go supersonic. Before going supersonic, we performed an aileron roll while climbing to about 24,000 feet before heading slightly down and putting on full military power and afterburner. 188926 hit Mach 1.04 before we slowed down to perform a loop, which was about 4½ Gs. After the loop, we went on to contact 188920 (I think that's the Hornet... I remember it was a two-seater) for a rejoin and some formation flying.

The formation flying was the one thing I regret about the entire flight because I did not bring a camera with me for the flight. I wanted to get some great air-to-air pictures and video, but there wasn't any place for me to put any kind of camera inside the plane and I was being advised against bringing a camera for security and safety reasons. After a couple minutes of flying in formation with 188920, we broke away and I tried an aileron roll. Following the roll, I had to go cold mike and Dewey took over and made the rest of the flight a "scenic flight." I took whatever time I could trying to feel better as we spent the next five to ten minutes making our way back to 4 Wing.

Part of the trip back to the base included some low-level flying over Cold Lake at about 1,000 feet (I think). Cold Lake is a huge lake, encompassing land between two provinces: Alberta and Saskatchewan. The original plan was to make the way back to the base and perform some pattern work - basically touch-and-goes. I wasn't up for any pattern work because I wasn't feeling too good, so we decided to do a full stop landing. As we approached the base, we performed an overhead break before coming around to land on 31R.We taxied back to the hot ramp (technically the entire flight line around the hangars was a hot ramp that day, since normal operations were still taking place) and parked in the same spot as we boarded. After the emergency ground egress training, which is used to get out quickly on the ground, I had absolutely no idea how to get out in normal circumstances!

With help from one of the crew chiefs on the ground, I was out of the cockpit and posed for several pictures in front of 188926 with Dewey (I wish those pictures could be retaken because I wasn't wearing my retainers during the flight and for the photos on the ground...makes me look like I'm missing my two front teeth, which I am but the retainers have fake teeth built onto them so that it would appear I'm not missing teeth). Lumpy and Dewey presented me with a framed Certificate of Flight signed by Dewey. I still wasn't feeling too good after getting on the ground and having orange juice didn't help a lot, but a glass of water helped a lot more. I did not keep track of how long the flight lasted, but according to my dad, he said it was about forty minutes.

So, what did I think of it? Heck, it was an awesome flight! I would do it again, but maybe next time I should be more prepared to handle the G forces. Actually, there might not be a "next time", knowing how often opportunities like this happen.

I would like to send a huge thank you to the following people for their hospitality during my visits to 4 Wing, along with my ejection seat instructor, who crammed way too much information in my mind in such a short amount of time:

I would also like to thank everyone at 410 Squadron "Cougars" for taking time out to suit me up for the flight along with the ground crew and everyone involved in making the flight happen, along with those members of 4 Wing Cold Lake who were not directly involved with my flight, for providing great hospitality during the visits to the base before and during the airshow.

Dewey and I kneel down in front of 188926 after the flight.

I wish I had my retainers in for that picture and please disregard that bag to my left...

Back to Cold Lake International Airshow Report

© 2004 Steven Holzinger