Sled Driver

at one time or another, helpless at slowing the aircraft any quicker. After taking on
fuel, we would climb back to altitude to continue our mission or cruise back to the
base.
I pulled the throttles out of afterburner to military power as soon as we reached
the planned descent point. Once the afterburners were disengaged there was no
choice; the jet was definitely coming down. A steep angle of descent was required
to keep an adequate amount of air flowing through the engines. Bringing the jet
down from altitude was not as hectic as taking it up, but it required every bit as
much attention. The SR didn't slow down easily. No drag devices like flaps, spoilers
or air brakes existed, so it cut through the air like a sharp knife. A senior crew told us
one technique (flying this airplane seemed like just one big collection of techniques)
for slowing the plane down: fully open one air bypass door and spill engine air
overboard. This caused drag and helped slow the aircraft down. I tried it and it
worked. With the dumping of air from the bypass doors and the forward
movements of the spikes as the airspeed slowed, the jet made noises that weren't
heard any other time. I felt as if she hated coming down.
Once subsonic, the jet was again like a big fighter, with its inlet system operating
much like that of other airplanes. Normally, training flights were planned to give the
pilot extra fuel to practice some landing patterns. Pilots appreciated this because
they knew they wouldn't get much landing practice during real missions. RSOs
weren't too thrilled with numerous patterns though. There wasn't much for them to
do except notice just how hot their space suits became at low altitude.
The jet was stable on final approach, but required the pilot to plan ahead. At close
to 200 knots approach speed, there was not much opportunity to make last minute
corrections. After cruising in clear skies at altitude for most of the flight, coming back
to bad weather for landing could be a jolt to a fatigued body. In the landing pattern,
the jet was surprisingly agile for its size, and when it was low on fuel, it responded
rapidly to changes in power settings, even at low airspeed. We never pressed the
fuel, which meant we never tried to squeeze in one more pattern if we had a little
xtra gas. The airplane guzzled gas at an alarming rate at low altitudes.
Our sim instructors warned us about the opening shock of the large drag chute on
landing, and it was every bit as strong as advertised. The drag chute was nice to
have, because it shortened our landing roll. It was especially handy when we were
forced to land at an emergency airfield along our route. Not all airports built their
runways as long as those in Strategic Air Command. After landing I looked through
the periscope to determine if the chute were still inflated before jettisoning it. If the
chute had deflated before I released it, the buckle connecting the chute to the
airplane might hit the tail.