Testing the T-65B X-wing Starfighter

T-65B X-wing Starfighter was easy to fly. Much of it depends on your thoughts and a bit of hand-eye coordination.

Having only taken aeronautics in my Freshman year of high school and failing miserably because of a lack of math skills, I never dreamed that one day I would have the opportunity to strap my backside into an advanced aircraft, taking it for a spin. Don’t get me wrong, when asked if I wanted to fly one, I jumped at the chance, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t nervous.

Thankfully, I got some hands-on practice using a simulator. The taking off is the second painless part of the program, what the sim-flights are called, with the actual aerial work being effortless.

Landing, on the other hand, especially since we would be landing on an aircraft carrier, was the hard part. I cannot begin to number the times I crashed into the fantail, overshot the ball, or guide lights, bounced off the deck, missed the wire, jumped the net, or dropped into the ocean.

After nearly 40 hours of working with the program, I finally got the hang of landing on a “floating postage stamp.” The trick I learned was not to overthink the process, and with the automated systems aboard T-65B X-wing Starfighter, to allow it to do the “heavy lifting.”

Pushing my helmet back into the seat’s headrest, I waited for the signal to take my feet off the brake. Yes, my feet, not my foot, because the Starfighter is that powerful.

Receiving a salute followed by the wave, I shot down the short runway and blasted into the sky. I joined a pilot already in the air, and we were soon followed by a third and fourth.

There is a video of us doing a fly-by on the carrier, but I have yet to find it.

We were air bound for 20 minutes before it was time to return to the deck. Sadly, I missed my first approach because I overshot the ball and had to wait for the two fliers behind me to land.

I overthought the process, and rather than concentrating on guiding the craft to the deck, I allowed myself to get caught up in the moment and the distraction of headphone chatter.

On my second time around, I slid in like warm butter. Then catastrophe, my forward gear rotated counterclockwise and threw me and the aircraft starboard, leaving me hanging off the side of the deck.

Flight crews rushed in, some risking their lives doing their job, to pull me from the wounded fighter and haul me to the deck. Then these crews set about recovering the aircraft, preventing a multi-million dollar loss.

It was truly a dream to have “test flown” the T-65B X-wing Starfighter.