My Other Vehicle Was a Spacecraft
Now that the space shuttle has retired, astronauts are rediscovering the joys of flying airplanes.
- By Phil Scott
- Photographs by Robert Seale
- Air & Space magazine, July 2012
Courtesy Ed Lu
For a few years, Ed Lu owned a Van’s RV-4 homebuilt aerobatic two-seater, which he kept in Galveston, Texas. Then in September 2008, Hurricane Ike blew through, “and it died an untimely death, so I no longer own an aircraft,” he says. When Lu’s wife noticed him getting grumpier and grumpier, she found a pilot who wanted his Yak-52 in the air a little more. They worked out a deal where she would pay part of the aircraft’s insurance in exchange for access to the airplane, and she gave the flying time to Lu as a present. Now he flies it maybe twice a month.
The Yak is not the first Russian craft Lu has flown. In May 1997, he orbited Earth aboard Mir for a few days, and in 2003, he and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko rode a Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station (where they spent 185 days). Mir, Soyuz, and the Yak all have similarities, says Lu: “It’s sort of the same basic design. Keep it simple, and that makes it strong, more robust.”
Like most Russian craft, the Yak-52 is designed for cold weather. It doesn’t come with an electric starter: The engine starts with compressed air, which also powers the brakes and flaps. “It’s a trainer,” says Lu. “It has a 360-horsepower supercharged radial engine and retractable gear. It’s a strong airplane, built for heavy aerobatic use.”
Although trained as an astrophysicist, Lu has joined a group of ex-military pilots who get together to fly formation and dogfight. “The idea is to become better pilots—and have fun,” he says.
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Comments (2)
I am proud to be mentioned in the article as "one other owner."
Posted by Steven Faber on May 24,2012 | 07:28 PM
To fly is to fly, be it in the world's largest, heaviest glider (not counting the Canadian DC-10 'Gimley Glider', eh?). Going up and in orbit the shuttle was just a reaction-thrust powered containment vessel. Coming back into the atmosphere it was reborn as an airplane. Pilots NEED to fly, it is like breath, and indeed we do get 'grumpy' when grounded. Those 'little airplanes' aren't a comedown they are a reconnection to the basics of simple flight, and all of them a lot of fun. Oh, and those Grmmans, damn good simple, fun and effecient airplanes. I owned one in the past, and wish it was here with me now that I've retired myself.
Posted by Smitty on July 6,2012 | 02:35 PM