I flew in a JET

I sure hope that isn't your pilot/trainer in the corner, he looks a bit wooden...

Scott Gartner

Very good Destin. This sounds like a great video. Can't wait to see it!

Hal Stead

I like this idea. Do a review of the plane in the traditional sense - like a new car review. Very few of us have the opportunity to come see something like a T-38 in person, so the video could take on the same sort of value as a review of a Lamborgini.

I think this would be a great opportunity to address the reason why jet engines are specified in units of force and not horsepower. You have a way of explaining engineering "gotcha's" like that, and I haven't found a good explanation online aside from the simplistic "engines spin shafts with torque and jets push".

I participated in launching aircraft from the flight deck of the USS Oriskany for more than 3 years. I got rides on prop driven aircraft but never a jet. In those days it was F-8's, A-4's, A-7's

How were you able to get to have this opportunity? What would I have to do to get a ride in a T-38?

Paul Friz

Were you allowed any stick time, and if so, was it much more difficult to control compared with the GA aircraft you've flown?

Can't wait to see it! Technically, the T-38 is not a fighter, though, right?

Michael Kobb

Besides dealing with Gs what else about flying jets is useful for training astronauts?

T-38s have an hour or less of useful fuel, unless really trying to push it with endurance power settings. However, for the old men / poor planners, there are piddle packs. Just a bag to pee in that congeals like a diaper

How diffrent do they fly versus the single prop that you often show in your snapchat?

Really interesting idea, but I think there are a lot of problems with it. Still a fun thought experiment. Here is what I came up with: You have already identified the extra weight and possibility of shorting controls. Water is really corrosive (salt water even more so), so it would likely reduce the useful life of the aircraft. You would have to create a watertight compartment that could withstand the rigors of fighter jet flight (which means more weight). You would have to have a backup system if it sprang a leak. You would have to rethink all the emergency ejection mechanics (how do you have a reliably watertight seal, but still eject quickly). Water refracts light differently than air, distorting your depth perception and making it difficult to hit small controls. Any contaminate (oil leak) in the water will create additional vision problems. Water doesn't compress, so shock waves are not mitigated the same - a big deal when you're hit by a missile. If your mask starts leaking you probably could clear it similar to how scuba divers do, but if you're in the middle of a dog fight, you really don't have time for that. There are likely a number of additional safety issues with being submerged in water you can't breath.

What percentage of time your eyes are looking forward vs anywhere else

Michael T

I concur! That's a solid place to learn elementary concepts.

Kristy

I'd love to know, honestly, how many top gun references did you make while flying it because if the answer is 0 then I feel like I have misunderestimated you.

Kevin

I can't wait, you've been talking about this for awhile! Did the pilot abuse you and try to make you pass out? As a pilot was it more enjoyable to control a jet versus a standard aircraft? Which one would you want to fly every day? Would you trade your rotors for afterburners?

Adam Willcox

How do you go to the bathroom during extended flights? Did you get to control it?

Epic Dabble (Jesse Moody)

The physics surrounding and ejection event vs. their ratings and capabilities. I think that some are rated for 0 kts and 0 altitude, which would be much different that ejecting at supersonic speeds and 50,000 feet in altitude.

Standard question for anyone that gets a ride in a military fighter jet - did your bags come back full or empty ;)

J Passmore

What would be the acceleration if you ever get ejected from a fighter? How well can your body handle that g force? Will you have enough time to use the parachute to slow down?

Ekoms

Fighters have become more maneuverable and flight suits have had to compensate, there are certain barriers the human body will not be able to cross on a practical level. If the future lends favourably for mostly unmanned craft, what role will remain for human pilots in a cockpit?

How do pilots, performing acrobatics or aerial maneuvers, keep up and down orientation straight? The effects of gravitational​ forces would likely confuse the senses of humans evolved to live on the ground. Visual senses might not help at night or in the clouds.

From an educators perspective, talking about "G's" and their effects would be interesting.

I've wondered about G-force suites and techniques to combat blacking out. At the risk of sounding silly and proposing to add much weight to a cockpit, I've wondered, why not essentially fill the cockpit with salt water to the same density as the human body. Then the pilot (or diver?) would have near perfect hydrostatic pressure compensation during high-G-Force turns. There may be a few minor little problems with shorting out control panels and the added weight, and there are limits to the compensation given how lungs and bones have very different densities, but It would be interesting to see the idea discussed. Or perhaps more likely, how historically the idea was considered and rejected. Keep up the great work!

What type of conditions did you fly in? If they were sub optimal did you ever have spacial disorientation? If so how did you realize which way was up?

Greg Mort

Overview of the ground personel and what their roles are.

Jon Krape

There are a ton of controls for fighters in the pics I've seen. (Never been in one.) How many are mostly irrelevant - set once and forget? And how many are actually used in typical flying or dog-fighting?

Patrick W. Gilmore

I'm always interested in the ergonomics of things...do the controls make the clicky sounds (like the FreqGen in your Instagram video) The shape/coatings on buttons, HUD, the ejection seat belts/adjustments...etc

Jon Krape