Flying Upside Down

Three days down, ninety-seven to go. Memory 4/100:

During the summers, midshipmen have practical training out in the Fleet, the real Navy. Two months of training, one month of leave. The training varies, but most people have similar schedules. Incoming second-class have what is called PROTRAMID (I think it stands for professional training, midshipmen.) During this one-month course, I spent one week with Marines in North Carolina, carrying packs, camping in the field, getting shot by paintball simulation rounds (super fun, by the way,) and waking up early to stand in line waiting for the chow hall to open. Another week was at a submarine base, learning what they could tell us that wasn’t classified. Another week was back at the Naval Academy learning about anti-terrorism force protection and community service. Then there was aviation week.

It was held in Oceana, Virginia. I loved it because I could hear F-18 Hornets flying over my room every day. Even when they’d wake me at night, I’d enjoy their roaring thunder. I toured hangars and saw all of the great aircraft that the Navy flies.

At this point in my time as a midshipman, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to choose submarines or aviation. Sub week was actually somewhat fun, and learning about nuclear reactors seemed like good job security.

One morning during aviation week, we all had the opportunity to fly in a T-34 trainer, (one of the airplanes used to teach incoming pilots how to fly.) My confidence waned as they strapped me into my parachute and showed me how to pop off the canopy if I needed to bail out. I recalled Top Gun.

As we taxied down the runway, the pilot asked me if I wanted to become a pilot. I told him I was thinking about submarines. He chuckled, “Let’s see if I can’t change your mind.”

We took off, and he pulled up hard. I felt my helmet tugging my head down toward my knees. My eyelids felt heavy, and I forced myself to sit up straight. By the time I’d acclimated to the climb, I looked down and realized how high we were! No use being afraid, I remember thinking. I was only used to flying in large commercial airliners. This small single-prop felt like a floating chair.

We went to straight and level flight, and the pilot said he was about to do some maneuvers. I responded, “Ok,” and didn’t know what to expect. Next thing I knew, we were upside down! I looked up to see the fields and cities above, and I searched downward to see the horizon—only it was ground over blue. It was at this point, I began to smile, and it did not leave my face until well after landing. We did aileron rolls, barrel rolls, loops, and other fun aerobatics.

When the runway was in sight, and all we had to do was land, the pilot asked, “So do you still want to be a submariner?”