Dreams Take Flight

by Jim Dalton

  “Thank you so much, Gil. You won’t regret this decision.”

  “I know we won’t. Have a nice trip home.”

  Lucas smiled to himself all the way home. His future was developing as planned. This is actually happening, he thought to himself, almost in disbelief.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Engine Shutdown

  By Thursday evening, Lucas hadn’t spoken with Heather since his return from Dallas due to other commitments, and was anxious to fill her in on all the details as he knew them. Arriving at the airport as usual, just prior to leaving on a trip to Omaha, Lucas told Heather that when he got back he would have to make a quick trip to his apartment, get cleaned up, and go to school.

  Knowing Lucas wouldn’t be by that night, Heather set an alarm to go off thirty minutes before Lucas’s ETA. Her plan was to listen for Mike and Lucas to call the tower once they got near St. Louis. She wouldn’t see Lucas or talk with him, but hearing him would be comforting. Her portable radio was already set to the approach control and tower frequencies. When her alarm went off, she wouldn’t even need to get out of bed. Instead, she would be able to roll over and turn her radio on, and wait to hear that comforting voice.

  In the meantime, Mike and Lucas headed back to St. Louis. During their down time, they found opportunities to reminisce about their memorable experiences, recognizing that their time together was now limited. As they flew, each shared favorite memories, at times erupting in uncontrollable laughter.

  “Mike, look at the glow to the east. It won’t be long before we’ll need our sunglasses.”

  “Sure enough. I hate these late-night flights. Even if the flight itself is short, when you return with the sun coming up, it feels like you’ve been flying all night. You got school today?”

  “Sure do. Got an important final in one of my psychology classes.”

  “How are you going to take a test after flying all night?”

  “Good question. My plan is to go home, shower, and drink lots of coffee. Actually, I hope the shower tricks my body into thinking I just got out of bed.”

  “Some trick! If it works, let me know. Feel that vibration?”

  “A little. Let me turn the auto sync off and see what that does.”

  “Still there,” Mike confirmed. “I think it’s coming from the left engine.”

  “I don’t know, Mike; you can see the engines are in sync. You think it’s the left side?”

  “I can’t tell for sure, but I think so.”

  “Mike, I’m going to slowly adjust the RPM on the left engine—let’s see if the vibration changes.”

  “Stop! That’s making it worse!”

  “Yeah, now I can feel it in the controls. This isn’t good,” said Lucas.

  “Lucas, you focus on flying the plane and I’m going to go through the engine shutdown procedure on the left side. The plane is yours.”

  “Got it.”

  “OK. Here I go; ignore all the red lights for a second.”

  Over the next twenty or thirty seconds, Mike went through the engine shutdown checklist, which included shutting down and isolating various systems.

  “The left side is feathered and now it’s isolated. Lucas, you doing OK with one engine?”

  “I am. It sure got quieter, but at least that vibration went away.”

  “Yeah, I think we were about to throw a blade from the prop. That wouldn’t have had a happy ending. When you go to school this morning, I want you to be thankful that you aren’t the subject of someone’s news report.”

  “I hear ya. It sure is smoother, isn’t it, and slower? This is going to change our ETA.” Lucas began the process of amending their arrival time. “I’ll let Center know what’s going on.

  Lucas: “Kansas City Center, this is Convair thirty-seven-thirteen-papa.”

  Controller: “Convair three-seven-one-three-papa, Kansas City Center.”

  Lucas: “One-three-papa. Just want you to be aware that we have an engine shutdown and will be slowing down, but otherwise everything is OK. Will you tack on about twenty minutes to our ETA? Once we get things stabilized, I’ll give you a new speed.”

  Controller: “Understood, one-three-papa. Do you need priority handling?”

  Lucas: “Just let St. Louis Approach know that we prefer a straight in, and we don’t want any go-arounds?”

  Controller: “Roger, one-three-papa. Will notify St. Louis Approach, and don’t worry about reporting your speed; I can see it coming down on the radar.”

  Lucas: “Kansas City, one-three-papa, it looks like you need to clear the airspace below. I don’t think I can maintain this altitude.”

  Controller: “Roger, one-three-papa. I’ll clear the airspace for you, and in just a few miles I’m going to turn you over to St. Louis approach.”

  Lucas: “One-three-papa.”

  “Lucas,” Mike asked, “you doing OK or do you need some help?”

  “I’m fine for now.”

  Controller: “Convair three-seven-one-three-papa, contact St. Louis Approach on one-two-six-point-seven—have a safe arrival.”

  Lucas: “Roger, one-three-papa, we’ll be fine. Mike, why don’t you take over the radio so I can focus on flying the plane?”

  “You got it.”

  Mike: “St. Louis Approach, this is Convair three-seven-one-three-papa checking in with information delta, and we have our left engine shut down.”

  Not completely awake, Heather heard Mike’s voice calling approach control, but wasn’t sure what he’d said about an engine.

  Controller: “This is St. Louis Approach Control, one-three-papa, understand you have an engine shut down. Are you declaring an emergency?”

  Mike: “Negative, but we can’t do any go-arounds and we would like a straight in on one-two-right.”

  Controller: “One-three-papa, maintain your present heading and expect to intercept the final approach course in about twelve miles. How many souls on board?”

  Mike: “One-three-papa, there are two of us on board. Lucas, ya ever wonder when we became souls and not people?”

  “Rather impersonal, isn’t it?”

  “Still OK at the controls? You want to complete the landing?” asked Mike.

  “Sure, I’m doing fine; I’ll take it all the way in, but once we get it slowed down, you’ll have to take the steering.”

  “Right,” responded Mike.

  Controller: “One-three-papa, the tower has been advised of your situation and other traffic is being held. You should also expect equipment on the north taxi strip, awaiting your arrival.”

  Mike: “One-three-papa.”

  Heather was now fully aware of what was going on. “Equipment” was another word for fire trucks and other emergency vehicles. Panic took a grip on Heather. She’d flown enough to know that, based on his last position, Lucas would touch down in about fifteen minutes. If she left the apartment now, she would probably get there just in time for touchdown. Grabbing whatever she could find to put on, she dashed out the door with car keys in one hand and the radio in the other.

  “I’ll tell you this, Mike,” Lucas said, “at least it’s daylight. That should make this process a little easier.”

  “I agree. Still doing OK?”

  “I’m fine.”

  Controller: “Convair three-seven-one-three-papa, contact the tower on one-one-eight-point-five.”

  Mike: “Roger, one-three-papa.”

  Mike: “Tower, this is Convair three-seven-one-three-papa with you.”

  Controller: “Convair one-three-papa, you’re number one cleared to land on one-two right.”

  Mike: “Roger, one-three-papa. And one-three-papa won’t have the reversers—we’re going to need to let roll out, so clearing the runway may take a little time.”

  Controller: “Not a problem, one-three-papa. Take your time.”

  As Heather rushed to get to the airport, Lucas lined up the Convair with the runway. Ok, I can’t fuck this landing up. I have too much to do today to deal with
a bent airplane, Lucas thought to himself.

  Mike and Lucas landed without incident and limped to Gold Coast Aviation, where the Convair would spend the day getting a thorough checkup.

  As Lucas exited the plane, Heather rushed to him and leaped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms in a bear hug around his neck.

  “Hey, Heather! What’s up? Why are you here?” He gently lowered her to the ground.

  “I was listening to my monitor. I heard what was going on and couldn’t just sit there wondering how you were doing. I couldn’t stand the suspense, so I threw on whatever was lying around, and here I am.”

  “Well, everything is fine; we just had a little issue with one of the engines.”

  “I was so worried.”

  “You shouldn’t worry about this stuff. It worked out fine. Besides, coming here wouldn’t help the situation.”

  “I know, but I couldn’t just sit at home! Are you going home or to school?”

  “I need to make a quick stop at home and then go to school, otherwise I’d love to have breakfast with you. Why don’t you go home and go back to bed, and I’ll swing by after school?”

  “If I have to. I just don’t want to let go.”

  “I’m OK and you will be too.”

  “If you insist.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Visibility Near Zero

  As usual, Lucas arrived at the airport around nine o’clock in the evening for an estimated ten thirty departure. Departure times were always an estimate, because no one ever knew exactly when the cargo would arrive at the airport, much less be loaded. On the way to the airport, it was obvious that things would be a little different, at least during departure. The fog was so thick, he could hardly see to drive and had to creep along at a blazing speed of twenty miles per hour.

  Once at the airport, everything was pretty much normal except that the cargo was late because of the fog. The same fog slowed down other flights and kept the lobby quiet. Mike had not yet arrived, but that wasn’t a big deal since the departure time had been pushed back. With nothing else to do, Lucas went ahead and performed the preflight, and completed all of the paperwork that could be completed without having the cargo weight and other documentation.

  Still without Mike or cargo, Lucas felt that the best way to pass the time would be to grab a cup of coffee and check in with Heather.

  “Hey, Heather,” he said, “where did all your customers go? Scare them away?”

  “This place has been dead all night. Mr. Lucas, I wouldn’t guess you’d want to try the closet again?”

  “I’m not so sure that was a good idea. How did things go with Autumn after I left? In fact, I’d almost forgotten about that.”

  “How could you forget about the closet?”

  “It wasn’t the closet I almost forgot about; it was our encounter with Autumn.”

  “Oh, so want to step into my closet? Autumn won’t be in until late; she already called.”

  “I’m still not so sure that is a good idea.”

  “Come here, big boy.” Heather used her index finger to bring him closer, and walked to the end of the counter.

  “Heather, what are you up to? Have you always been this horny?”

  “Why do you ask? Besides, you’re the one who makes me horny. Come over here! Let’s see what we can get you up to.”

  “I don’t know that we should be fooling around, Heather.”

  “Come on, no one is here. What would it hurt?”

  “The problem is we’re expecting people. Besides, you never answered my question.”

  “What was the question?”

  “How did you and Autumn make out when we had that little encounter?”

  “Autumn and I didn’t make out; that was you and me. And it wasn’t a little encounter. As I recall, it was distinctly large.”

  “Heather, will you knock it off? You know what I mean. You sure seem to be in a playful mood tonight.”

  “That’s because I can’t get enough of the little general.”

  “Well, I see more of the little general in your future. Now tell me about Autumn.”

  “She asked a lot of questions, and I answered a few. I think she has a thing for you. The way she asked questions suggested there was more there than just curiosity. Anyway, the conversation just died and I left. Now are you going to come over here or not?”

  Lucas was standing at the edge of the counter, directly in front of Heather.

  “Now you’re mine,” said Heather.

  As soon as she said those words, Mike pulled in right behind the cargo truck.

  “Sorry, Heather,” Lucas said. “Next time.”

  As Mike walked through the door, Lucas announced that everything was ready to go, except for a few entries on the flight manifest. Not wanting to delay the flight any longer, they both proceeded to the plane. Mike went straight to the cockpit and got their clearance. Lucas normally took care of that, but he wanted to make sure the cargo was properly loaded and secured. Convinced that everything in back was secured, Lucas proceeded to the cockpit. Once there, he found that Mike was waiting for him and had everything ready to go. Lucas buckled in, grabbed the checklist from the sunshield, and began his routine

  “Mike, do you have the Alton approach plate for our emergency alternate? If not I’ll get mine out.”

  “No need; I have it. The visibility there is running around a half mile. At least we can get in there is we do have an emergency. I wouldn’t even want to try to get back in here.”

  “Mike, I don’t mind telling you I don’t like this shit!”

  “No kidding—getting out will be our biggest problem, though. This fog is only a few hundred feet thick. Lucas, you ready to start on the right?”

  “Sure, let’s do it. I’ll start the count. One, two, three...”

  Counting blades was a duty foreign to the non-pilot population, and reminded Lucas of how unique his flying duties were. No one would ever guess that, when firing up the engines, each time a blade reached the top position it was counted to ensure there wasn’t a hydraulic lock in any cylinder. After twelve blades, the captain would turn the ignition switch on for that engine, which would usually fire right up, letting smoke bellow out from the exhaust stacks. The same procedure was then followed for the other engine.

  “OK, Lucas,” Mike said, “you got the radio—let’s go.”

  Lucas: “Ground Control, this is Convair three-seven-one-three-papa at Gold Coast. Ready taxi with information foxtrot.”

  Controller: “Convair three-seven-one-three-papa, taxi to runway one-two right. Information gulf is current. The only change is in visibility, which continues to change—the last RVR was 1,000 feet. I’ll keep you posted as you taxi.”

  Lucas: “Thanks, one-three-papa. Is this Jack?”

  Controller: “No, this is Paul. Jack worked an earlier shift today.”

  Lucas: “Are you working both ground and the tower tonight?”

  Controller: “Just ground for now.

  I don’t think we’ve spoken before,” Lucas said. “You don’t sound familiar. Are you new to St. Louis?”

  Controller: “I came down from Springfield last week. This is my first evening shift.”

  With a smile, Lucas responded, “Welcome to sunny St. Louis.”

  Controller: “Thanks, but Springfield wasn’t any better.”

  “Any reports from other departures?” Lucas asked.

  “No, you guys are the only ones I’ve worked in the last hour. This fog has most everything shut down. Global got a clearance a little while ago, but haven’t heard from him since.”

  Global Pilot: “Global six-fifty-two is still here. We’ll be ready for a push back shortly.”

  Controller: “Roger, six-fifty-two—give me a call when ready.”

  “Mike, I can’t see shit!” Lucas said. “Stop! Hang on while I get my window open—I’m going to have to stick my head out the window to see the edge of the taxi strip.”

&nbs
p; Lucas proceeded to crank the side window open. It was a struggle to see the ground around the main gear. The side window frame was just below his shoulder, and with his belt fastened, Lucas was lucky to get most of his head through the window. It didn’t take long to feel the effects of a damp evening and a giant propeller turning near his head. Lucas suddenly longed for the peace and security of being inside.

  Lucas momentarily pulled his head back in and looked at Mike, saying, “All right, we can go again, but stay left. Can you see the intersection, Mike?”

  “Shit! I can’t even see the fuckin’ centerline much less the intersection.”

  “I don’t see where you’ve got a choice, Mike. You’re going to have to stick your head out the window, too.”

  Frustrated, Mike mumbled to himself, “I don’t believe this shit. Glad no one can see us.”

  Lucas felt compelled to tell the Global pilot about their experience. “Global six-five-two? Is that right? You still on?”

  “Sure are, what ya got?”

  “This is Convair one-three-papa. We can’t see squat to taxi—just thought you would want to know.”

  “Thanks. Not sure what we’re doing yet. We’re already an hour late for departure.”

  “We are, too.”

  “Mike, you see any better yet?” asked Lucas.

  “Fuck no.”

  “Mike, it’s going to take forever to get to the other end of the runway.”

  “I know.”

  Global Pilot: “Ground Control, this is Global six-fifty-two, gate thirty-two, ready to taxi with information gulf.”

  Controller: “Global six-fifty-two, taxi to runway one-two right; give way to a Convair passing right to left.”

  Global Pilot: “Global six-fifty-two, yield to the Convair.”

  “Mike, I don’t like the sound of that,” Lucas said in an anxious voice. “Ground, this is Convair one-three-papa. We can’t see anything out here. Except for being on taxiway alpha, we don’t even know where we are—don’t let Global get together with us out here.”

  Controller: “Roger, one three papa.”

  Controller: “Global six-fifty-two, hold your position. I will tell you when you can proceed.”