Log # 28 : Racing machine ( Speedbowl attempts )
03 Dec 2018(Wettoast) Wanda Fersegi
GCRV 52424 After I caught wind of the "Speedbowl" event, I thought I would give it a try myself , something to pull me out of my usual detatchment from the galaxy at large and dread of hostile aliens. Pilot after pilot screaming towards the ground of a 5 g planet all in the name of securing a record, aiming to pass Bombelli prospect at as low an altitude as possible. Sounds fun, what can possibly go right ?
Going to try the first attempt in the krait mk2, don't know if I trust the krait phantom in this gravity . Speaking of which, sh** on a stick ! I'm being completely crushed into my seat ! Every small turn or moderately quick maneuver, my remlok's blackout warning starts to go off . Im getting nervous just thinking about turning off flight assist, as soon as its off the ship will start falling fast and eventually at hypersonic speeds.
As soon as I willed myself to power off flight assist I felt yanked straight towards the ceiling, and probably the worst redout I've experienced in my life. As soon as the blurry vision was gone I could see the readout indicating 1000+m/s . I knew that when it was time to pull up I would be blacking out, no doubt about it . I would have to let the ship take over and hope my brains don't end up in my feet.
I know the target was to pass just a thousand meters over the Bombelli prospect starport, but there's no chance this thing is pulling up in time at this gravity and speed. Closing in on the port at 4500 m/s and at 50km altitude ,I call it quits and pull up... While I'm not in a neckbrace right now, there's a chance I might need one. I blacked out just as predicted, and made the mistake of having my head even slightly forward . I'm going to try again, but first a change of racing machine is needed, as well as an x-ray or two ....
Attempt # 2
Same as before, Jolted towards the ceiling and plummeting towards the planet. With the mamba this time around being capable of close to 600m/s outside of this scenario, then we should be at 5000 + in no time. As the plummet took a more parallel path to the planet's surface, the speed gain became more gradual. The trick seemed to be to angle your nose at around 5-10 degrees below the horizon, and to make use of your underside thrusters to gain more speed. This time surpassing 6000m/s and still gaining speed. My approach to Bombelli prospect seemed better than last time, but knowing what would happen if I got this wrong got me to chicken out again. This was by far the worst blackout I've ever experienced, an indication probably being woken up on a strecther and someone shoving a flashlight in my face. Even after all that, I was proud of being able to rack up a speed of 6020 m/s .
Well, I can understand why not alot of pilots want to do this more than once. Maybe the ones that do just end up blacking out before they can get too scared . Brave or stupid? At this point my head hurts too much for me to care, I did the thing ok.... Where did I put those pain pills ...?
Wanda N. Fersegi , out.