I was 14 years old when I joined the "Air Training Core". I should have been 16 but I lied about my age. After the first year, we where ask if we could go away for a weeks training on an airfield. We jumped at that!



On this trip they showed us an aeroplane, and very old one at that. A two winged one, where you sit in the open, one behind the other.

They ask us, "Who wants a go?" Do I want a go! So my hand shot up. We all stood in line waiting for our turn, my friend was in front of me, so he went first.

He came back looking all green and sick looking and he was the toughest in our class at school, now it's my turn. As I got in the back seat (Seat well we sat on our Parachute that was the seat) the pilot said to me "when I stick my thumb up, you take over the flying of the plane".

As we took off and went high in the sky. I was busy looking around at the scenery to noticed he had put his thumb up. So he turned round and pointed at the controls. I knew it was my turn to fly, I grabbed the stick and moved it one way then the other then found I was leaving the wheel marks in a cornfield. So pulled back the stick as a haystack was coming up fast. The next thing I knew was the world was on top of me, well that's what it looks like to me. "How did it get up there?" I shouted to the pilot.

The pilot then took over from me, soon after that we landed safely. I had the time of my life. Later that same day a jet plane landed, as it was taxiing along its front wheel came off, as we were watching it. The tail shot up in the air. Luckily he was only going slowly and only bruised his head.

I did have another go at flying about 15 years later, but this time I had to pay for it. It did have a seat and it was covered in. When the pilot showed me all the new things to help you fly it. He then put in a spin and said "get out of that" as the ground was getting closer (in was a freshly ploughed field) I did get out of the spin in time only just!

Second on my list. Go in a submarine:

I got to do this on holiday in Spain. We were passing this dock that had an open day, so my wife and I thought we would look around. There was a group of people looking over the side of the quay, so we went over to see what's up. There was a Spanish Sub.

These Spanish sailors ask us if we would like a go. My wife said "no way" but me well second on my list is about to be tick off. As I went down in the sub the fieling of tight space started to panic me. (How do those sailors do it?) So I made for the next exit just to get my feet on sollid ground.

My wife said I was a wimp! May be she's right; give us a plane any day.

Third was riding a horse:

I was about 22 years old when a group of my friends ask me to go horse riding with them. One of them owned a stable with about six horses.

When we got there all the horses were saddled up, I picked this nice looking one and got on it. "So what do you do now" I ask them. But they just went off without me. So I said "giddy up" and stuck my feet in its side. The horse started to run not controlled by me. I seemed like a mile then it stopped dead and started eating the grass. By this time I had let go of the reigns, so I grabbed hold of his main. Pointed him homeward and off he went again straight past the stable and stopped about 20 yards away.

About 20 minuets later my friends came back from their ride. The women that owned the stable came over to me, I was still sitting on the horse, she lead me back. As I got off the horse it kicked back and left two horseshoe marks on her backside. Later that day they told me that was the first time that horse had a saddle on. I have not been on a horse since that day.

Copyright (c) 2007 David Pearce