Page 22 - February 2015 Volume 19 Number 2

Jacobson, principal designer of the IFD540/440 systems and a decorated A-10 “Warthog” fighter jock who flew sorties in Iraq and Bosnia. His team is continually upgrading the software at no extra cost to pilots.“It’s an easy box to learn, and the FMS system is terrific. I’ve had experience with other FMS’s and it’s very sophisticated. I go to a lot of different places and routes so it’s really opened up what I do trip to trip. You can even practice in your living room by downloading an app on your iPad or computer.”He then shifted the discussion to a memorable F-16 flight in autumn 1987. Elliott had been going toe to toe with racing legend Dale Earnhardt all season when the folks at Dobbins Air Force base asked if he’d like to fly in an F-16 after winning the Atlanta Journal 500 race on Sunday, November 22.“I thought, ‘Man, that would be great.’ I tire tested on Monday, then went to Dobbins on Tuesday.The base commander said it would be neat if they could do some combat maneuvers. What did I know? We took off and went afterburners straight to 10,000 feet. It was unbelievable. I’d done some aerobatics but never experienced g-loads like that.“We were at 2,500 feet and did a couple of engagements chasing each other around. Then we went to 14,000 feet.An F-15 was crossing at 2 o’clock on the heads-up display. It was so close I couldn’t focus on it. We turned left and he turned left when our right wing went through his plane’s belly. He punched out while his plane went down.“We immediately went wings level and I lost communication when our intercom went out. I thought we were going to eject. This was right after the movie Top Gun and I figured I was Goose. You know, the guy who punches out, smacks his head on the canopy and dies.“The pilot had some control over the airplane and handed me a note. It said ‘I’m going to try and land but if we lose control we’ll have to eject.’ He had underlined ‘eject’ about three times.“We got down low and that thing has two big fuel tanks under the wings. The one on the left came off and the one on the right was so badly damaged it came off. We slowed down, dropped the gear and I saw three green. He eased down to about 180 knots and the plane started shuddering and breaking towards the bad wing. The aileron was stuck straight up and fuel was pouring out of the wing. I thought, ‘We aren’t going to make it,’ but he put that thing on the runway at 200 knots.“The funny thing is, I was at Daytona in 2007 or 2008 and met a guy who knew the F-16 pilot I flew with.Experience CountsServing General Aviation for Over 35 Years140 E. Town Street, Suite 1400, Columbus, Ohio 43215-5114(614) 221-5773 • Fax: (614) 221-2411 • email: info@scopeair.com • www.ScopeAir.com Member: National Aircraft Finance Assn • National Business Aviation Assn • Division of Park National Bank, Newark, OHScope Aircraft Finance Half Page4/C AdPhoto courtesy of Pilatus Business Aircraft LTD / Photo by Jon Youngblut Photography20 • TWIN & TURBINEFEBRUARY 2015