Literally SHAKING before my 1st T6 Landing! 

The thing I really love about your videos is the pilots eye view of the journey you’re on, thank you!

If only everyone’s voice over the radio was as clear and well paced as that ATC lady. 👍

That last landing was sweet. It's as if the gear are reaching out for the runway, and pulling the ground up, rather than setting the airplane down. Blue skies and fair winds, Steve!

Steve, something I learned a long time ago, but I admit I still have problems with it today, is an acronym for the word FEAR. FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. You've been told over and over again how hard the Harvard is to fly and land, and the fact that your heartrate was over 200 proves that you are terrified of that airplane. But, there is no reason for you to be. That last landing was beautiful, a perfect landing, and you DID it. Now, I've been saying all along that you weren't going to have any problems, and so far, I would say that you haven't had a problem in the actual flying of the airplane, including your landings. Sure, you're learning a new airplane, but all of your education and experience is coming together to allow you to handle this airplane. By the way, a healthy dose of respect is NOT the same as being afraid, it's always good to respect the airplane and what it can do for you, but it shouldn't lead to shaking or pulse rates like you had. Keep it up, and you'll be signed off soon enough, and you'll be flying the airplane well. But, don't be fearful, because there is nothing to be fearful of. Sit back, take some time alone, and evaluate your concern over the airplane. Look at what you've been told, and sort out the False Evidence that you've digested, who has told you what, and does it apply to your own experience with the airplane. The Harvard isn't some snorting, bucking raging bull (I'm sure you'll find one of those to fly later on!), so anyone who has told you that is obviously not being truthful. Once you start to evaluate what you've been told, you can see what is real and what is 'False Evidence' and you can start to filter out that False Evidence, as it applies to you and the airplane. That last landing was pretty sweet, which just goes to show that you CAN DO THIS, as I've said all along! :D Good job! Nicely done.

Yesterday I flew my second solo in a glider, even though I feel like I know the fundamentals my nerves still settle in. It's good to know that even for experienced pilots, it's normal to feel nervous when flying something new!

That is an absolutely beautiful aircraft and awesome training footage! It really is true what they say, "Flying is the second greatest thrill known to man. The first is landing."

Flew the US Navy version SNJ for Basic Training. Did my solo 8 Feb 1956 in BuNo 51592 at NAAS Whiting Field, Milton, Florida. Great airplane however our cockpit/instrument panel was very basic compared with the shots of the Harvard. Went on to carrier quals on the USS Saipan in August. Great video, thanks!

Steve, your videos are always excellent! Thanks for taking us on your adventures!

Awesome video! I do love that engine start up sound! So vintage and distinct, it just screams "war bird coming to life"!

These videos keep getting better and better! As a video producer in a previous life, I can appreciate the work that goes into a top-quality end product. Keep up the great work, Chops!

Nice work and thanks for taking us along for the ride while you worked through the challenge. Congratulations on the achievement !

Steve, What a great episode. I love it. This weekend was the first time up in a fixed wing craft for me in 2.5 years. Shaking the rust off.

Great stuff and I love that underwing shot at the end.

Hey FlightChops! That was Awesome! Great job! Thanks for sharing.

Fantastic video, achievement and very generous donation all in one. Way to go!

I very much admire the dedication, and the time that it takes to not only just fly, but also to record it.

Chops, this really made me think back to T34 training. Lots going on while turning final. Get yourself a T34 turbo mentor ride. Best little truck of a trainer Great videos thanks.

I love following your journey. Nice greased 3-pointer at the end! ❤️

Your fulfilling my dream of flying the AT-6. A lot to learn and your mastering it. Appreciate the camera angles too. Thank you and keep flying safe.

Thank you for taking us all along for the ride, Chops! My brother has an SNJ-2 based in Texas, wonderful plane! You did great.

Another great video. Thanks Flight Chops.

I still enjoy that after all of this experience something rattles you and you share it. I feel the same feelings on a number of flights.

Great job Steve ! The dream is now a reality and you're well on your way. I agree you are probably overthinking things a lot, but one can't fly these precious old birds without a healthy dose of respect for the situations they can get you into. Hats off to you sir for doing what you love and sharing with the world. Much appreciated!

That sound is awesome

This. More of this.

Nice job staying calm and making it look easy.

Awesome stuff Steve - another great video. I'd love to fly something like this one day.

It's interesting how sometimes what we need is that distraction (confirming landing clearance on short final) to get us out of our own heads and make us stop overthinking things. Good job.

Simply awesome. Talk about gritty reality. Thanks.

Awesome Steve!!! way to go Bro !!!!!

Well done and welcome to the Texan Drivers Community! Greetings from Switzerland!

nice job! that was impressive!!!

I always enjoy watching a true aviator, well done'

That was a sweet landing at the end!

Beautiful! Great Job!

Sounds like flying a motorcycle. Excellent video as usual!

This video is golden

Great video, loved every second of it!

Nice job Steve!!!!!!

Well done Steve! The Harvard rules, it is one of most demanding aircraft and you have to be prepared for it, ever. But this equals to the most fun and it is a most rewarding aircraft when you master it. Keep it up! I soloed a T6 last year in South Africa. A dream came true and a memory to behold. Next week I return again to fly it, hopefully for some formation flying. Last month I flew a T6 in San Francisco. And in between T6 flights, I fly my own Chipmunk. Best days yeah! I am looking forward to your next movies. Thanks for all the videos full of good solid information.

Haha I was sweating with you there. I know you've been building to moments like this so the jitters are understandable! Nice one! Congrats :)

Loved that. Awesome.

Love ya, brother... this path takes a lot of guts, as does sharing it. I'm in line... although I'm not going down the road as far as you, I'm just waiting for Dave's call... and I'll be nervous too. Maybe the wing cam is the Golden Ticket...!

I have about 50 hours in the T6 and still have a hard time holding it off long enough to transition into a true 3 point. Tail low wheel landings are the way to go for me :) Looking great

Great video . I loved it Oh and can u do more soaring videos if u can

Well done!

outstanding!

T6 is a legend!

Great job! Looks hard to land! I will stick with my ASW-24 (always a full-stop landings). :-)

OMG JP!!!

I can relate to the nervousness you had. Totally different animal, but I had the same feeling at age 13, knowing that in just a few years I'd be getting my driver's license. Ever since I was real young I had always watched my mom and dad drive, and tried to imagine how the controls felt, namely the steering - I always sensed a vagueness there ... like the wheel wasn't directly connected to the road (which was true, but not to the extent that I had imagined), so then, how was it possible to keep the vehicle between the lines so precisely? Then there was the anxiety about driving a manual transmission. I got the concept, since I had been riding dirt bikes and ATVs for a long time, but, "How do you clutch with your FEET?" lol. After all those years of watching, I finally got to drive on my own, and quite a few of the things I had imagined were simply not true, or were blown way out of proportion. Guess it's just like anything - given enough experience, all these things become second nature. I haven't really given automobile controls much thought in nearly 30 years! Brain just goes on autopilot, and knows what to do. You can blow things WAY out of proportion just by over-thinking them. Psychology is a HUGE part of ANY task! This all just shows us you're human, Steve - I was beginning to wonder there for a bit, with all the different aircraft you master in each vid! 😁 Another great one - thanks for bringing us along, and for your honesty. 👍

Dude thank you very much for the sound and reality appreciate of how hard this is really is :) don't ask me what these the smart pilots are doing :) All I know is that the USMC pilots are Awesome !!!!!!!!!

definitely noticed a little confusion transferring the controls on that go around. scary stuff! great video steve, thanks for showing us everything- warts and all

i was about 30 hours into learning to fly and landed a PA-28 sideways in a really hostile xwind and baby those knees were shakin' bad bad.

Congratulations on your landings. I'm a freshly minted pilot and still a bit skittish for the same reason you quoted: fear the airplane will fall out of the sky. Although I keep my speeds within scope for the c172, it's hard to shake that feeling. So I can relate to how you feel. But to my rookie eyes, you did great.

And to think Ive been in that museum countless times!

You should do a video with Rob Holland and an air racing video with Kirby Chambliss

Radials are the best sounding aircraft engines.

Great video....

OK Chops, sorry, I'm new at your channel, I see you've been soaring. I'll quiet myself and go watch those vids. My enthusiasm gets me looking foolish at times. You are doing almost every type of flying, indeed. How great. I know you are turning a lot of people on to flying and that's a legacy all by it's self.

It may be me, but your instructor seems condesending; nice job...great looking aircraft. Take care.

Well done. I know how you feel about being "afraid" of the airplane. I'm wanting to get my taildragger rating in the future but I rrad a lot of stories from experienced pilots and all the ways they can bite you. It's not going to stop me but I do have a lot of respect for those who fly "real" airplanes and make it look easy! Also I think I'm correct in saying the CHA Harvard you were flying has the centre flap section fixed in the up position? (As in only the flap sections on the wings are capable of selection.) All the Harvards flying here in New Zealand don't have this done but I understand with the centre flap fixed up you get a bit more rudder authority in the landing phase.

Can you do a video of the thatcher cx5? It's one of the most affordable new planes to build at 25K

Great job. Still scary with that much weight and power .

Totally inspired by your channel thank you steve. coincidentally steve is an excellent name

I'm enjoying the hell outa these Harvard/Texan episodes. One question... S taxi?

Is it alot harder to transition into something like the T28 or Douglas AD1 Skyraider. The birds in that low 300 MPH range from the same era. Wasn't sure on limitations, etc. The T28 was a Navy trainer also wasn't it

Hi flight chops

Great video; I just subscribed to your channel.

Awesome.

Pretty sure I was in the circuit at the same time as these guys, I was in FROP, Romero Oscar papa. The CHAA guys are always awesome. I want to take on of their planes up eventually. Looks awesome

I shared the stress on your landing 😅, excellent work. I have a 360 camera action,: some shots on the Harvard would be incredible, I like to lend it to you so you can do it, I'm in Windsor if you're interested. Excellent channel congratulations.

Oh man that engine.... Reminds me of the 109.

I’d be shaking too!

I’m curious what the second mic is for on your instructor’s headset?

GREAT!!!!

That last landing made my pants tighter. Jokes aside, nice work! I hope I can work on becoming a pilot in about 5-10 years.

Curious... at what point are you considered proficient with landing this ? a certain number of unguided / unaided touchdowns ?

Every day or so I come here looking for you to solo the Harvard, but no, nada, nothing. I'm jonesing to see it. Being from Reno Nevada I've had friends with AT-6s and my solo only had one bounce in 3 landings. I think you will be fine but I want to see it. When are you going for it?

You really let this bird get to you and I was surprised considering your experience.Just goes to show that it can happen to the best of us. I dont know what had you off your game but it was like you were too emotionally invested somehow. It honestly looked like a case of "get there'itis " to get checked out in the plane. If I was your instructor I'd have made you leave the cameras at home for a flight or two after the first sign of trouble too. I know you can just set and forget them etc considering the problems you where having just to be safe

Really awesome video. Can anyone help me understand the issues regarding “.... warbirds falling out of the sky ? “ comment he made What a vicarious thrill it is to see you growing , learning and constantly challenging yourself. What really is interesting is the History. Lots of teenage farm boys learned to fly these very complex A/C in a short period of time and then quickly went into Combat. Wow

Nice NICE!

Hey Steve - Come on man - you had your lucky Sketchers on, nothing could go wrong? (Except maybe the laces - haha ) Seriously though, I also really like them for flying with the thin yet functional soles. #OCDPILOTHANGUPS should be a hashtag!

OH-ho-ho, STEVEN!!!

Funny a farm boy in 1942 who has never been in an airplane prior to entering the Air Corps fly's 10 hours in a Stearman than jumps into one of these fly's another 10 hours and than is off to a P-47 or B-25 flying missions in the War a few months later. It's funny to see how the modern day pilot has turned this into a very overly complex undertaking. I started my war bird progression in a Super Cub than transitioned into a 300hp Stearman and than the T-6 in the late 90's. It was a lot of fun and I don't remember it begin as tense as your making it out to be. These planes were built for high school educated no time pilots. There not F-16's. I used to fly with a WW 2 pilot who told me he had a total of 42 hours in his log book when he flew his first P-51 mission over Germany in 1944.

Hey Steve, a question not about the Harvard but for the PT 17, can the Stearman make 3 point landings?

Is that at the Windsor airport? I see downtown Detroit off on the horizon.

nice!!!

Great, great stuff. You have me shaking just watching you go through this experience. I see you make Dave think with your questions. He seems like a very good instructor. Oh, yes.......Sailplanes, dude. Get your glider add on and go to a place like Minden,Nevada where you have super conditions. I mean easily, flights over 30,000 ft. in wave and 14, to 18,000 ft in thermals. Flights beyond 5 hours isn't difficult. It makes you a better power pilot.. It makes anyone a better power pilot. I have a CFIG and all the Power ratings so I've experienced firsthand the transfer of knowledge and skills between the power and no power flight. My glider add on students will tell you how it vastly improves your power flying in ways you'd never think. Just say'n..........

With your flight experience hahahaha!! You were amazing, imagine the stress levels on the rookies that had to learn flying them from zero to hero!!

Funny... this reminds me of horse ridding. You start out with ponies, then move up to "Big, Fast, and Pissed". Thing is.. the horse *knows* your scared.. and they will 'F with you. Seems like you built this plane up in your mind so much, it disabled you to a degree. Hey.. Your a PILOT.. a REAL ONE. You landed a freaking DC-3, and LITERALLY blew the doors off a cub for Pete's sake! Anyway.. Great vid.

How is your Harvard flying doing now? Have a bunch more time?

Was this recorded in Windsor? Looked like the skyscrapers of Detroit in the distance...

On that last landing, the right oleo literally did NOT move. Might wanna have that looked at. By the way, good job.

Great. When are you completing your instrument

I wonder how many people have actually pulled the gear up on the ground? That's crazy.

I'M SO PUMPED FOR YOU.

Remember , what ever else is going on " fly the airplane "

Is that a Spitfire stick? I never saw a round stick in a T-6.

I TOLD you you had this!