Written by Mags O'Sullivan:
What an incredible adventure becoming the first Irish girl to
fly to the Edge of Space
in a MiG 29 Fulcrum.
In this flight we reached a height of 20,400m, Mach 1.94, speed
2,030km and pulled over 6 G's.
At 12 km Sergei Kara the chief test pilot of Nizhny Airbase
in Sokol began to build up speed while maintaining an altitude
of 12km. Within minutes supersonic speeds were reached and before
long we were at 1.94 Mach.
Once Mach 1.94 was reached Sergei the test pilot raised the needle
nose of the MiG and we headed straight to the Edge of Space into
the stratosphere. This was a pure adrenaline rush.
Within minutes we were at the Edge of Space soaring through the
stratosphere. Seeing the blackness and infinity of space against
the backdrop of the blueness of the atmosphere felt very humbling.
I was one of the fastest and highest human beings at that moment
in time. I was in heaven.
Like all good things in life the moment passed and before I knew
it we were heading back down into the atmsophere and soon settled
at an altitude of 8km.
There the chief test pilot began performing an array of thrilling
aerobatics. First he did a quick roll followed by steep angle
of bank flying. This was followed by a loop and then he asked
me if I would like to perform one myself. I didn't hesitate and
before I knew it I had control and I was pulling back the stick
until it passed 90 degrees. The loop was completed smoothly and
I was ecstatic.
The test pilot then perfomed rolls which were followed by several
over-wings and inverted flight.
This was then topped by a tail-slide which for me was the mother
of all manoeuvres.
Throughout the aerobactics and G-loading I felf the pressure
suit doing its work ensuring blood was pumped to my brain.
Shortly after this we then flew back to the airfield where he
finished his display by performing some more inverted turns over
the runway and a low altitude pass at 15m.
Soon after we landed and were back on the apron.
Thanks to Incredible Adventrues for organising this trip of a
lifetime for me and to Sergei Kara the test pilot and all the
staff at Nizhny airbase. http://www.incredible-adventures.com/migs/
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