MattHallRacing

That was an easy decision to pull out of the track. Time slowed down for me in this event, and I had very clear thoughts during the incident on what was happening, and what my options were. I thought there was a high possibility that I would end up staying in the water with a tumble, so all effort was about staying upright as long as possible. When I bounced, I took the opportunity to point away from the crowd, though was still expecting the engine to stop etc as I thought I had hit the prop on the water. As it turned out, i was able to fly home and land successfully. My wife....yep, got a talking to about that one!!

Using the correct aircraft is critical to both learning efficiently but also safety. If your son has outgrown the Citabria, he could start pushing it beyond its limits (not even deliberately, just through rolling harder and faster with more confidence). If he is dedicated to learning, and you trust his judgement to not be a show off and do something stupid, and E300L is a great plane. They are very safe when flown with consideration, and have great performance all the way through the aerobatic categories. The step up is not out of control (it is a step, but the aircraft is pleasant to fly). If you head in this direction, make sure he has an experienced instructor and mentor.

Getting back into flying should be able to achieved very safely with the correct mindset. The key is not how many times you fly, but more importantly, the time you give yourself to prepare before flight. Ideally you should aim to fly at least once per month, but sometimes you have no choice. Getting additional ratings always helps with competency. IFR, aerobatics etc. I think all pilots should learn to glide and do aerobatics, to increase feel for the aircraft, and also know what to do when things go wrong with the attitude of the aircraft (spiral dive, stalls, spins etc).

When I am not airborne, I love to be exercising, or growing out business at home to give great experiences to people. Best trick...winning!! But I love tumbling the planes too.

I love 350 ponies working in harmony in the race track!!