I started to post on it when I first stumbled on Lex’s blog a couple of years ago, but didn’t since it was already an old thread. SO hear goes…..

I had an “overstress” event in the skies of South Florida, likely in the same time frame. In the mid 80′s we would take to the skies meeting up over the Everglades at a then “abandoned” runway, complete with the crashed carcus of a drug hauling DC3. Usually it was a Pitts S2A, and T34 painted up in USAF colors, but sometimes it was 3 Pitts, a pair of T34′s, and a British Chipmonk. This particular time, it was only the S2 and a single T34. We joined up, flew to the airfield (I think Dade-Collier??) head farther out along a canal. At some point away from any civization (I seem to remember 25 miles DME, don’t remember the radial, or anything else ) one aircraft would wait. The other would fly out a minute or so along the canal, call “fights on” on 123.45, and reverse back along the canal.
This time I was in the Pitts as the BSO (sitting in the front as the Beer Systems Officer) with the prime function of Mark One Nekid Eyeball Enemy Aircraft tracking device. Again from the fog of time, I think we would be 25squared, or 2500RPM/25inches, hauling balls for a receip prop. I see the silver dot of the T34 straight ahead, not moving. It morphs into a dot with wings, we slam knife edge, canopy to canopy merge, I slam my head over my right shoulder, cranked way back, staining against the harness (which was tight because the aircraft commander at some point in the flight would practice a Cobra roll or two and work me loose in the harness. Then at some other point in the flight would come inverted flight practice, which since the S2 had inverted fuel system could go on awhile ). Any way, just as I get my head cranked back over my shoulder, the AC commander lays on 6G+ INSTANTLY. The Pitts can ROLL, and TURNNNNNNNN, and my head is STUCK. At least I can see the top planform of the T34, and we are closing in. I key the intercom, tell’m we are closing….closing….closing….closing…Meanwhile we are trading altitude for airspeed, so my chin is still glued to my shoulder….closing……….WTF….. we are straight and level, I can see my crotch, no T34 insight, and there is an annoying voice in my head saying something about the barrf bag….WTF…the horizon is nice and level…Blue sky is up….green/blue Everglades is down there….

Long story short, the pilot was listening to me, flying the bird, getting max perf out of the turn (which wasn’t very fair, we were all over the T34 regardless of the pilot in a turning fight). Suddenly he sees me disappear from view as I slump over, no more BSO chatter, he unloads the plane, just as he gets straight and level I pop back up. HE don’t want no chunks in the plane so keys up the intercom, and starts yelling get the barrf bag out from wherever the barrf bag was kept. In hindsight he did get greying, but no tunnel vision. Any rate, I got “overstressed” but had a blast doing IT!

Great site Lex
Jerry