Serial Novel: Falling in Public, Ch. 41
This serial novel is posted in draft form every Friday.
Ch.1|Ch. 2|Ch. 3|Ch. 4|Ch. 5|Ch. 6|Ch. 7|Ch. 8|Ch. 9|Ch. 10|Ch. 11|Ch. 12|Ch.13|Ch. 14|Ch. 15| Ch. 16| Ch. 17|Ch. 18| Ch. 19 | Ch. 20 | Ch. 21 | Ch. 22 | Ch. 23 | Ch. 24 | Ch. 25 | Ch. 26 | Ch. 27 | Ch. 28 | Ch. 29 | Ch. 30 | Ch. 31 | Ch. 32 | Ch. 33 | Ch. 34 | Ch. 35 | Ch. 36 | Ch. 37 | Ch. 38 | Ch. 39 | Ch. 40 |
Falling in Public
Chapter 41
Holly settled into the pilot's seat, careful not to bump any of the controls as she tried to arrange her legs under the yoke. Examining the instrument panel, she was glad to see most of the dials were labeled. Too bad she had no idea what most of them meant.
Eddie reached over her head and handed her a headset. She slipped it over her ears while he sat in the co-pilot's chair and put on his own headset.
"Can you hear me okay?" he said, his voice sounding strangely isolated in her head under the large headphones. She nodded.
"Loud and clear. Do you have any idea where we are?"
"The pilot said we were on approach to Sean's private airstrip, but that was several minutes ago. We're a hundred miles out from the nearest commercial airport, and he said we didn't have enough fuel to make it."
Holly searched the dashboard for a fuel indicator. The mark was about half-way up.
"Do you think he was lying?"
Eddie shrugged. "I have no idea. But I think we should get back on solid ground as soon as we can, just to be sure.
"Agreed." Holly looked out the windshield, but all she could see were clouds. "We have to get lower so we can see the terrain. I think if I push the yoke forward and throttle back, we should be able to slow down and get under these clouds."
Eddie shook his head. "I can't believe we're doing this." He reached a hand out to put a finger under the auto-pilot switch as she grasped the throttle in one hand, and the yoke in the other. "It could be a beast to control...why don't you throttle back, and I'll control the yoke. Just don't go back too far. We don't want to stall."
"What, these things don't have power steering?" Holly joked, earning a stern look for her efforts. "Okay, fine. On three. One...two...three."
Eddie turned off the auto pilot, and the plane dipped almost immediately as he worked to pull the yoke back in time. Holly pulled back on the throttle, her heart beating against her chest as she felt the engine shift around her. The aircraft rocked wildly as Eddie struggled to pull up, and he put his feet on the pedals working just the lower half until the plane was finally steady again, though still descending at a slight angle.
"Got it?" she asked, relieved when he nodded. "Okay. I'm going to throttle back a little more." She pulled the lever half an inch further, and watched the airspeed dial move a little lower.
"This isn't too bad," Eddie commented as they both watched the clouds disappear. Far below, wide fields spread out below, surrounded by low hills and taller mountains.
"Think we could land in one of those fields?" Holly asked.
Eddie shook his head. "We aren't low enough - we'd have to circle around a few times. But with any luck, there will be more over that ridge coming up on our right. I"m going to try turning - hang on." He slowly turned the yoke to the right, and Holly tried to remember to breath as the plane banked a little too sharply. The engine made an odd sound, and she reached over to throttle up a little, relieved when it stabilized. Eddie returned the yoke to center, struggling to deal with the forward and back directional movements before he got it leveled off. Holly could see beads of sweat on his forehead as she eased the throttle back again.
"Great job," she said, feeling like some bubbly cheerleader, but meaning every word. She looked out and pointed to a field in the distance, narrow, but long. "How about there?"
"We can try. I'll start nosing it down. I'll tell you when to throttle back." He pushed the yoke forward, and Holly could tell he was being as gentle as he could, but the plane still tilted sharply. She saw his feet go to the pedals, and after a few more wobbles the aircraft straightened at a gentle descent.
"Wow," Holly breathed, unclenching her fists. "I don't know what you did there, but nice flying."
"Maybe you should wait until we get on the ground to say that." Eddie took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Okay. Once we get over the tops of those trees, I'm going to lift the nose back up. When I do that, go ahead and throttle back hard. Just don't kill the engine, okay?"
She nodded, putting her hand on the lever. "Just like in the movies, right?"
"Cross your fingers."
She looked out the windsheild and watched the trees as they passed overhead, cringing when it looked like they were going to take out a power line. When they didn't, it hit her.
"Landing gear! We need wheels!" Scanning the front panel, she found the toggles and switched them on, relieved when the lights turned green. Eddie nodded.
"Hang on," he said, pulling the yoke back slowly. "Here we go."
Ch.1|Ch. 2|Ch. 3|Ch. 4|Ch. 5|Ch. 6|Ch. 7|Ch. 8|Ch. 9|Ch. 10|Ch. 11|Ch. 12|Ch.13|Ch. 14|Ch. 15| Ch. 16| Ch. 17|Ch. 18| Ch. 19 | Ch. 20 | Ch. 21 | Ch. 22 | Ch. 23 | Ch. 24 | Ch. 25 | Ch. 26 | Ch. 27 | Ch. 28 | Ch. 29 | Ch. 30 | Ch. 31 | Ch. 32 | Ch. 33 | Ch. 34 | Ch. 35 | Ch. 36 | Ch. 37 | Ch. 38 | Ch. 39 | Ch. 40 |
Falling in Public
Chapter 41
Holly settled into the pilot's seat, careful not to bump any of the controls as she tried to arrange her legs under the yoke. Examining the instrument panel, she was glad to see most of the dials were labeled. Too bad she had no idea what most of them meant.
Eddie reached over her head and handed her a headset. She slipped it over her ears while he sat in the co-pilot's chair and put on his own headset.
"Can you hear me okay?" he said, his voice sounding strangely isolated in her head under the large headphones. She nodded.
"Loud and clear. Do you have any idea where we are?"
"The pilot said we were on approach to Sean's private airstrip, but that was several minutes ago. We're a hundred miles out from the nearest commercial airport, and he said we didn't have enough fuel to make it."
Holly searched the dashboard for a fuel indicator. The mark was about half-way up.
"Do you think he was lying?"
Eddie shrugged. "I have no idea. But I think we should get back on solid ground as soon as we can, just to be sure.
"Agreed." Holly looked out the windshield, but all she could see were clouds. "We have to get lower so we can see the terrain. I think if I push the yoke forward and throttle back, we should be able to slow down and get under these clouds."
Eddie shook his head. "I can't believe we're doing this." He reached a hand out to put a finger under the auto-pilot switch as she grasped the throttle in one hand, and the yoke in the other. "It could be a beast to control...why don't you throttle back, and I'll control the yoke. Just don't go back too far. We don't want to stall."
"What, these things don't have power steering?" Holly joked, earning a stern look for her efforts. "Okay, fine. On three. One...two...three."
Eddie turned off the auto pilot, and the plane dipped almost immediately as he worked to pull the yoke back in time. Holly pulled back on the throttle, her heart beating against her chest as she felt the engine shift around her. The aircraft rocked wildly as Eddie struggled to pull up, and he put his feet on the pedals working just the lower half until the plane was finally steady again, though still descending at a slight angle.
"Got it?" she asked, relieved when he nodded. "Okay. I'm going to throttle back a little more." She pulled the lever half an inch further, and watched the airspeed dial move a little lower.
"This isn't too bad," Eddie commented as they both watched the clouds disappear. Far below, wide fields spread out below, surrounded by low hills and taller mountains.
"Think we could land in one of those fields?" Holly asked.
Eddie shook his head. "We aren't low enough - we'd have to circle around a few times. But with any luck, there will be more over that ridge coming up on our right. I"m going to try turning - hang on." He slowly turned the yoke to the right, and Holly tried to remember to breath as the plane banked a little too sharply. The engine made an odd sound, and she reached over to throttle up a little, relieved when it stabilized. Eddie returned the yoke to center, struggling to deal with the forward and back directional movements before he got it leveled off. Holly could see beads of sweat on his forehead as she eased the throttle back again.
"Great job," she said, feeling like some bubbly cheerleader, but meaning every word. She looked out and pointed to a field in the distance, narrow, but long. "How about there?"
"We can try. I'll start nosing it down. I'll tell you when to throttle back." He pushed the yoke forward, and Holly could tell he was being as gentle as he could, but the plane still tilted sharply. She saw his feet go to the pedals, and after a few more wobbles the aircraft straightened at a gentle descent.
"Wow," Holly breathed, unclenching her fists. "I don't know what you did there, but nice flying."
"Maybe you should wait until we get on the ground to say that." Eddie took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Okay. Once we get over the tops of those trees, I'm going to lift the nose back up. When I do that, go ahead and throttle back hard. Just don't kill the engine, okay?"
She nodded, putting her hand on the lever. "Just like in the movies, right?"
"Cross your fingers."
She looked out the windsheild and watched the trees as they passed overhead, cringing when it looked like they were going to take out a power line. When they didn't, it hit her.
"Landing gear! We need wheels!" Scanning the front panel, she found the toggles and switched them on, relieved when the lights turned green. Eddie nodded.
"Hang on," he said, pulling the yoke back slowly. "Here we go."
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