ArticlesManeuvering
Room Thick mist billows in its wake like vaporized oil from a smoke system as the Niagara River tumbles over its namesake escarpment in a breathtaking aqueous Lomcevak. I catch occasional glimpses of the famed falls’ plume as we mimic its thunderous mayhem a few miles and an ever-oscillating number of thousands of feet of altitude to the south. This must be what it's like going over the falls in a barrel—if the barrel had a radial engine and a big prop and pulled a lot of positive and negative G’s. We're rolling and tumbling in a 1994 Sukhoi Su-29, the two-place trainer from the celebrated line of Russian aerobatic aircraft. Rick Volker (rvairshows.com), who flies a one-place Su-26 and a Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1X on the air show circuit, is demonstrating some of the qualities that brand Sukhois—in his opinion and by world aerobatic gold medal count — “the number-one unlimited category aircraft.” Kerry J. Newstead Interview: Rick Volker Rick Volker is an unlimited category International Aerobatic Club pilot and has competed in aerobatic competitions for many years in high performance aircraft such as the Pitts and Sukhoi. Rick has won numerous regional aerobatic events. He is a former competitive swimmer, speed skater, bicycle racer, cross-country skier, and body builder. Such is the type of conditioning required to fly at this level, as Rick alternates between plus 11 and minus 6 Gs, often in the same maneuver. |
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