Flight Plan (FLIGHT series #01)

Flight 40 - Load Factor

Load Factor

Load Factor is simply the ratio of the lift provided by the lifting surfaces divided by the total weight of the aircraft, and often expressed as "g" or "G force". In a straight and level flight, the load factor is 1g; meaning that the lift being provided by the lifting surfaces (and the aircraft's attitude) is just sufficient to keep the aircraft from descending.
Hence, this Gs is the force of acceleration experienced by pilots equivalent to many times the force of gravity. Postivive g's make you feel your body is heavier than usual, while negative g's make you feel your body is lighter than usual.
Did you know that a normal human can withstand no more than 9 g's, and even that for only a few seconds. When undergoing an acceleration of 9 g's, your body feels nine times heavier than usual, blood rushes to the feet, and the heart can't pump hard enough to bring this heavier blood to the brain. Astronauts normally experience a maximum g-force of around 3 g's during a rocket launch, while fighter pilots can handle g forces up to 8 or 9 g's; with both of such professions wearing anti-G suits.

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Hindi naman nagkatagpo ang flight schedule namin ni Nikolai the following day. First flight 'yong sa kanya, and 'yong sa akin is before noon, which is 'yong second flight. And noong nakasalubong ko si Capt. Del in regards sa flight plan namin, wala naman siyang naging comment if talaga bang nagkausap kami ni Nikolai and also, sinabihan niya lamang ako na naubusan raw ng fuel sa Iba, so lahat ng eroplano ay kailangan pumunta muna ng Subic para makapagpa-refuel.

There goes my excitement na makapunta na rin ng Vigan. But with the circumstanaces and sa naka-allot na time sa lessons namin, sinabihan ako ni Capt na ang magiging route namin is RPUI-RPLB-RPUS-RPUG-RPUI. So Iba to Subic to La Union to Lingayen and back to Iba.

Sana at hindi na naging awkward pa ang text message namin ni Nikolai at 'yong magiging route lang din pala namin ngayon ay something na pwede ko itanong kay Rylie o 'di kaya kay Ange and kay Christine. In the end, parang sinampal pa ako ng katotohanan na kailangan talaga namin maayos ni Nikolai kung ano man ang problema namin sa isa't isa.

Pero hindi ko hinayaan na guluhin ako ng mga iyon during flight. Of course, better be a professional in times like this. Hindi dapat ako maging affected sa lipad if ever may problema ako sa personal life. And for the previous days naman din na may flight schedule ako, 'yong mga bagong sights and tinuturo na techniques naman ang nagpapa-busy sa akin upang hindi tuluyan maisip ang mga bagay-bagay na iyon.

But then, kagaya lang din ni Capt. Cantillo, itong si Capt. Del, pagkatapos masigurado na kaya ko ang papunta mula Subic hanggang Dagupan ay tinulugan ako. I mean, after refueling namin sa Subic then mga ten minutes after airborne, just after tulungan ako sa tamang pag-lelean ng mixture and approaching San Marcelino, ay siyang napansin ko na kakausapin ko na lamang ang sarili ko at makikinig sa radio frequency. Of course, gagawin ko pa rin 'yong mga reporting, and nasanay na rin ako na hindi lang sa CTAF nagsasalita, maging sa Whiskey Alpha rin.

If sa CTAF ang sinasabi ay: "Traffic advisory, RP-C3481, departed Subic, now east of San Marcelino. 4500 ft. Destination San Fernando, La Union via east of San Felipe. Any traffic enroute please advise. We're tracking over land." Though pwede rin na 'di na sabihin 'yong "La Union", since hindi naman iisipin ng iba na sa "San Fernando, Pampanga" ka pupunta dahil wala namang airport doon, and also out of the way, and sa Clark Approach 'yon at hindi sa CTAF.

Anyway, sa Whiskey Alpha naman na siyang unang pag-rereportan ay: "Whiskey Alpha, RP-C3481, approaching east of San Marcelino. 4500 ft. Proceeding east of San Felipe. ETA to San Felipe is zero-fower-two-niner Zulu." Since kailangan Zulu time ang gamit, and also hindi lang basta-basta kung anu-anong oras. Of course, current time plus doon sa ilang minutes ang nakasaad sa nav log regarding sa ETA. Just as I've earlier said regarding flying, mental basic math.