`Play pilot' wows now with stunts
CHERIE HOWIE
When Auckland aerobatic ace Doug Brooker first began aerial stunts 20 years ago he struggled to pull off more than a couple of loops.
However, at the Classic Fighters Airshow at Omaka on the weekend, he repeatedly wowed a crowd of thousands with a masterly aerobatic display.
Mr Brooker used his MX-2 plane to pull off stunts with names like the flat spin, waterfall and torque roll.
However, the self-described "play pilot" said that, as with anything, his airborne skills developed over time.
"When I first started doing aerobatics I thought `jeez, why am I doing this ?' because I'd do two loops and I'd start to sweat all down my back.
"But, then I could do three and you sort of build up."
A qualified pilot since the mid-1970s, the move into stunt flying came as he sought to keep challenging himself.
"It's like anything when you can do something and you find it easy then you try to find something more difficult ... it's the same with flying."
During the stunts, which could create g-force levels as high as eight, he'd use anti g-force manoeuvres to stop himself from blacking out, Mr Brooker said.
"It's basically squeezing all the lower part of your body so the blood can't drain away from your head."
Other challenges include manipulating the aircraft, particularly with stunts like the waterfall, which involves tossing the plane end over end while descending.
"Technically it's very difficult to achieve because the airplane doesn't want to do it.
"Its natural stability is trying to fight it all the way ... you've got to coax it along."
His toughest stunt is the flat spin, as "getting out of it is quite a difficult task".
There had been the odd hairy moment during his stunt career, the father-of-two said.
"A couple of times I've thought `that was a bit fortunate'."
He likes to be alone in the hour before a stunt performance and admitted to some anxiety."I get a bit nervous beforehand, but then you do it and you feel all elated afterwards."
His stomach, however, had long since hardened to the rigours of stunt flying and he no longer worried what he put in it before taking to the air.
Mr Brooker's wife Anna said she used to cover her eyes during her husband's stunts. She now watched and gave feedback on crowd reaction.
"It's been interesting watching somebody keep challenging themselves, which he has done, not just with flying but in business as well."
Mr Brooker ran his own IT company before retiring.
However, Mrs Brooker said she was not keen on filling the MX-2's passenger seat her stomach was not up to it.
When asked if her husband took it easier on her than other passengers, she was coy.
"No comment," she replied with a smile.
- The Marlborough Express
