Martijn
- Sep 22, 2020
- 2 min read

Indianapolis (a.k.a. Indy or Circle City)

So... what do you know about Indianapolis?

I myself knew nothing, except maybe some vague association with Formula One races.

And indeed, the first thing Alex saw from the air was the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indianapolis 500 and the United States Grand Prix

And the motor racing heritage is illustrated by this 1930 Bowes Seal Fast Special that welcomes you at the airport (never heard of that car before of course).

We ended up in Indianapolis because of our interest in doing some flight training in a "full motion simulator with CAPS", or more simply said: in a fake aircraft that is very similar to ours, allowing to practice emergency situations such as engine failures right after take-off or situations that require pulling CAPS, which is the unique parachute system which our airplane is equipped with. To activate the parachute, you need to pull a handle inside the cockpit. That action in itself is quite easy but once you pull it, the parachute needs to be replaced which is a lengthy and expensive venture, especially in our case where the parachute needs to be imported from the USA. You could compare it with testing the airbags in your car just to see if they work ... hence the advantage of a simulator. This particular type of machine is made by Redbird and there is one in Zionsville, Indiana, close to Indianapolis. Never heard of Zionsville either by the way.

Alex in the Redbird

And me after activating the fake parachute. Immediately after activation, the airplane dives down and then starts descending slowly, hanging under the parachute.

Between our successful "flights", Alex and I visited the city. My apologies to the readers from Indianapolis, but to me, it is best described by the word provincial. It features a handful of famous landmarks, a nice zoo and park. Unless you have any business there, are into Formula One or Redbirds, there is really no need for a detour.... but since we were there, we made the best of it, and Alex even got a haircut in a real old-fashioned barbershop.

Sidewalk dinner on "Mass" avenue