anyoe have experience with one of the "air combat" companies???

[shooter13]

Looking at a little business idea. I am trying to shoot it down. Does anyone have any experience with the companies that do the "air combat" adventure flights?

Thanks.

[BobDDuck]

I got to know a few of the guys at Fighter Combat out of KIWA when I was instructing there. They do a lot of upset training and aerobatics, but they also do simulated combat flights. Good group of guys. Mostly ex military instructors. I got a ride in the Extra once. A whole bunch of fun and made the short approaches we were doing in the Cessna and PA44 look like straight in finals.

[frog_flyer]

i saw it on TLC once.

glad i could help shooter

[skyhawk39]

A few years ago, right after I had returned from my year in Korea with the 80th FW, those guys with the Marchetti's ( I can't remember if it was Fighter Combat Int'l but it might have been) were at an aviation event that my dad and I were at.

I was fresh off of a year of hard core flying, and my dad was/still is no slouch to pulling the g, he is a retired Navy O-5, A-6 driver. We took a hop with these two guys and it was fun. Both of the right seaters just let us have the A/C all to ourselves and admitted they were along for the ride. We basically worked each other over for 30 minutes and never achieved a definitive gun tracking call....finally had to bug out because the right seater in dad's plane started to turn green.

Nice bunch of guys, real agressive and they let us do what we wanted since we knew what we were doing....

[pilot602]

Originally Posted by BobDDuck

I got to know a few of the guys at Fighter Combat out of KIWA when I was instructing there. They do a lot of upset training and aerobatics, but they also do simulated combat flights. Good group of guys. Mostly ex military instructors. I got a ride in the Extra once. A whole bunch of fun and made the short approaches we were doing in the Cessna and PA44 look like straight in finals.

I thought they were pr**ks. They were out in the SE Practice area doing aerobatics and never talking on the radio. And, if they did talk on the radio it was always a reference to Rittenhouse (i.e. we're 20 miles east of Rittenhouse).

I was down there once for an FAA safety seminar and asked em if they used the aero box over the dump and they said no. So I asked 'em where their box was and they said "oh from here over to the mountains and way south." They essentially used the entire practice area but had no clue what the landmarks were.

Many times I'd be out doing slow flight or stalls or something and woosh there goes an extra.

Irritated the hell out of me.

[BobDDuck]

Yeah, I agree they tended to float all over the place. I very rarley was in tht area around Rittenhouse unless I was coming back from overflying Superior and the Superstitions Ridgeline. The only other time it was an issue was doing the right downwind instrument pattern for the approaches. I'm still suprised there hasn't been a mid air in the practice area yet. I had some disgustingly close calls and felt I was more headsup then a lot of others out there.

[MissedApproach]

Originally Posted by BobDDuck

I'm still suprised there hasn't been a mid air in the practice area yet. I had some disgustingly close calls and felt I was more headsup then a lot of others out there.

It just gets busier every day too... and now we have the "regional airline academy" guys to deal with as well. A few times I've been very glad to have had a TISB/TCAS on board. Makes me wonder how many close calls I was never even aware of.