Spirit Flight

by P. R. Fittante

  “You said before, your passion had moved in a new direction. What did you mean by that?”

  “Let’s just say I’ve begun to believe there’s more to life than the perfect flight.”

  “Or the perfect painting,” she added. For a moment, they both were quiet.

  “But Frank,” she continued. “I think you’re only half right when it comes to your relationships. You’ve always been devoted to other people. You’ve just never let anyone devote themselves to you.”

  Frank considered this for a moment. Looking back over the two decades since his mother’s death, he knew what she said was true. He forced himself to look her in the eye. “I guess I only came close once.”

  Anna didn’t answer. He could tell she was thinking of their last time together at the beach, just as he was.

  Frank decided it was time to move in that new direction. “I had planned to travel back to Greensboro to see my Dad tomorrow. Would you like to come with me?”

  “Well, I did tell my mother I would come see her for Easter Sunday. Are you driving?”

  “No,” Frank said with a shy smile. “Flying. I think I still owe you a flight back from the beach.”

  They bid Morgana good night and returned to their houses. That evening, Frank reflected on the day’s events. It had started with the burial of his friend and ended with the renewal of his spirit. For the first time, he looked forward to a flight that had nothing to do with his career, and everything to do with his life.

  Chapter 16

  The Manteo airport had changed a great deal since Frank’s last visit. He parked Anna’s car in front of a modern glass and brick building that housed the local FBO. Beside it was a large, aluminum-sided hangar containing several light aircraft. Many more were parked out front on a fresh stretch of asphalt.

  As he stepped from the car, Frank automatically scanned the layout of the ramp, taxiways and runways. He located the windsock, determined the active runway, and followed the flight paths of two aircraft established in the traffic pattern. Satisfied he knew the lay of the land, he led Anna toward the office. On the way, one of the parked aircraft caught his attention.

  “Now that’s what we need to fly home in.”

  Anna followed Frank’s gaze toward a sleek, swept wing airplane that appeared to be missing its tail.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said. “But it doesn’t look like any airplane I’ve ever seen. The propeller’s in the back!”

  “It’s called a Velocity. It’s an experimental kit plane based on a Rutan design.”

  “Rutan.” Anna shook her head. “OK. Must be another famous pilot I know nothing about.”

  “Burt Rutan,” Frank said, as he walked toward the open cockpit. “He owns an aircraft company in Mojave, just up the road from Edwards. He’s responsible for all sorts of new designs. His brother Dick is the famous pilot. He’s the one who flew around the world in Voyager. Burt designed that plane too.”

  “Looks like a pretty radical shape for a small airplane. Is it safe?”

  “Actually, it’s a return to the original Wright brother’s design.” Frank pointed to the canards that extended from the aircraft’s nose. “See, the horizontal tail is in front and the propeller is in the back. Turns out to be a more efficient setup.”

  “And does that mean safer?”

  Frank squeezed her hand and smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe. Come on. Let’s see if we can rent it.”

  Outside the office, a small sign was posted on a bulletin board: “Advanced Aircraft Require Successful Completion of Skills Test.” Frank glanced at the sign as they stepped into the pilot’s lounge area. It occurred to him that he wasn’t carrying his logbook, so he had no proof of his flying background or experience.

  He and Anna wandered about the lounge, looking at some of the pictures and display cases. Anna stopped in front of a large painting of a young man in uniform. Pictured behind him was a World War II era navy blue fighter.

  “There sure is a lot of old military stuff on display here.” Anna pointed to the painting. “Who was this?”

  “That was Lieutenant Ray Beacham. He was a local kid from Kitty Hawk who flew for the Navy in World War Two. This airport was a naval air station then. He trained here with the famous Jolly Rogers squadron and got their first aerial victory in the Pacific. See the skull and crossbones painted on the side of his plane?”

  Anna leaned closer to the picture. “What kind of plane is that?”

  “That’s the Hellcat,” said a voice behind them. They both turned to see a slim young man dressed in a blue polo shirt with Outer Banks Air emblazoned on the front. He extended his hand to Anna. “Hi. Rick Wise. I’m one of the flight instructors here.”

  Frank moved beside Anna and shook his hand also. “Hi Rick. Frank Farago. Actually that’s a Corsair. You can tell by the characteristic bent wing.”

  Rick didn’t look at the painting. “So it is. War buff huh? Well, what can I do for you folks today?”

  Frank marveled at Rick’s radiant smile. He also noticed his expensive aviators watch. “I’m curious if the Velocity is for rent,” Frank said, pointing outside.

  “Ah, the Velocity. Wonderful airplane. In fact it was just type certified by the FAA last year, so we are able to rent it.” Rick’s smile suddenly disappeared. “However, we normally only rent it to older, more experienced pilots.”

  Frank’s expression didn’t change. He guessed he and Rick were about the same age. “I’d like to rent it,” Frank said evenly.

  Rick looked uncomfortable for a moment and then his smile returned. “OK Frank. But first I’ll need to know what your experience level is. Do you have your license, log book and medical?”

  Frank opened his wallet. “I have my license and medical, but unfortunately, no log book. I have a couple hundred hours of civilian time.”

  While Rick examined his license, Anna gave Frank a curious look. Frank merely shrugged his shoulders.

  “Well, I see you have your instrument rating,” Rick said, handing back his wallet. “Tell you what, Frank. We have a video skills test we like to give our customers before they fly one of our advanced aircraft. More than anything, it helps a lot of them adjust to flying a stick as opposed to a yoke. We’ll give you the test, and if everything looks OK, I’ll take you up on a checkout flight. Sound good?”

  Frank nodded, gave Anna a wink, and then followed Rick down the hall to the testing room. Inside he found an open cockpit with a large wraparound screen simulating the forward section of the canopy.

  “Climb in, Frank,” Rick said, pointing to the single seat trainer. “The cockpit has generic aircraft instrumentation which you should find familiar. The stick is on the side, just like in the Velocity, and the simulator is programmed to approximate how the Velocity actually handles in flight.”

  Frank quickly scanned the layout of the attitude indicator, altimeter, vertical velocity and airspeed gauges as he settled into the tiny trainer. It was a very basic cockpit. He grasped the stick and throttle, adjusted the seat to get them comfortably within his reach, and then moved them both through their full range of motion. After a quick adjustment to the throttle friction knob, he felt as comfortable as he did in an F-16.

  “Now, the first part of the test is a tracking exercise,” Rick continued. He turned down the lights and then flicked a switch causing the screen in front of Frank to turn a light blue. “You see that small circle with a dot in the center on your screen? When the tracking exercise begins, you will have to keep that circle centered on another airplane that will appear on your screen. The better job you do keeping it centered, the more the other airplane will maneuver. In fact, it will eventually try to take you through a barrel roll if you’re really good.” He patted Frank on the shoulder. “But don’t worry if you have a problem. We’re not trying to make you a Thunderbird. The main purpose is to see if you can adjust to flying a high performance airplane.”

  “What maneuver comes after the barrel roll?” Frank
asked.

  Rick gave Frank a blank look and then smiled. “Well, I don’t know Frank. No one has ever gotten that far. But if you find out, be sure to let me know. Now, the last part of the test simulates various landings with crosswinds, wind shear and low visibility. Again, the difficulty increases as you go along. Your final score will be based on the precision of your flying and the level of difficulty you achieve. Are you ready to start?”

  Frank nodded. Rick gave him a thumbs up and a big grin. “OK, Frank. When you’re done, your score will be recorded at the front desk. Good luck.”

  Thirty minutes later, Frank emerged from the testing room. Anna glanced up from a magazine she was reading as Frank reentered the lounge and headed for the office. Rick was seated behind the front counter. He looked up and chuckled as Frank approached.

  “Done already? Well, let’s see how you did, Frank.” He turned to look at a computer screen on his desk. “I hope you at least got an appreciation for the aircraft.”

  Frank watched him pull up the test results on the monitor. “It was an Immelmann, Rick,” he said matter-of-factly.

  “Huh?” Rick was staring at the screen as if it displayed a foreign language.

  “The maneuver after the barrel roll. It was an Immelmann.”

  Rick didn’t seem to hear him. “Frank, it says here you got a perfect score.” He shook his head. “No one has ever come close to a perfect score.”

  Frank checked his watch. “So, how about a checkout flight?”

  “Sure,” Rick said, recovering from his surprise. “Sure. We still have to make sure you can handle the real thing. Let’s go into one of the planning rooms and we’ll talk about the unique aspects of flying a canard aircraft.”

  “I’ve looked at the Velocity’s design,” said Frank. “I have a pretty good idea of how it will fly.”

  Rick’s smile returned. “Aero engineer, right? OK professor. We’ll step out right now and show you a good, aggressive flight profile.”

  “I’d like that,” Frank said with a grin. He followed Rick out to the Velocity, did an exterior inspection, and then climbed into the left seat. It felt good to be at the controls of an aircraft again. Within minutes, Frank had the sleek craft climbing through five thousand feet over Roanoke Sound.

  “Let’s start with a wingover,” Rick called over the intercom. “It’ll give you a feel for how the Velocity handles over a wide range of airspeed.”

  Frank nodded, leveled the aircraft, and let it accelerate to 150 knots. He smoothly pulled the nose up twenty degrees and then blended aileron and rudder to achieve ninety degrees of bank as the nose fell back through the horizon. He noticed Rick was grasping the glareshield rather tightly as he pulled up to repeat the maneuver in the opposite direction.

  “We usually don’t go over sixty degrees of bank on these,” Rick said a little timidly.

  “Then you’re not doing a wingover,” Frank replied, bringing the aircraft back to level flight.

  “OK. Let’s slow down and set up for a stall series.”

  Frank immediately yanked the throttle to idle, pulled back on the stick and stomped on both rudder pedals. The deceleration was rapid as the wing-tip mounted independent rudders deployed outward into the airflow, acting together as a very effective speedbrake. The airspeed bled off to eighty knots before Frank neutralized the controls and readjusted the throttle to establish a slower deceleration. As he blended in more aft stick, the aircraft began a mild up and down pitching motion.

  “There’s the pitch buck,” Rick said, readjusting his headset after Frank’s rapid slowdown. “It’s unique to a canard aircraft and is caused by the airflow separating and then reattaching over the canard. It keeps the main wing from stalling and makes for a very stable and forgiving aircraft. It’s one of the few airplanes that won’t spin.”

  “It’ll spin,” said Frank.

  “Trust me, it’s impossible to spin. I’ve tried several times.”

  “Watch this,” said Frank. He immediately slammed the stick and throttle forward, accelerated to 120 knots and then yanked the stick full aft. As the nose came through twenty degrees of pitch, he pulled the throttle back and stomped full left rudder. The aircraft’s nose acted as if a giant hand suddenly pulled it up and to the left. It hung there a second, debating whether it still could fly, before the left wing dropped and the nose plunged toward the water below. The Velocity settled into a left spin as Frank continued to hold full aft stick and full left rudder.

  “You can see we’re in a fairly steep spin,” Frank commented. “But notice how oscillatory it is in pitch. I suspect that within a couple turns, we will transition to a flat spin.” He glanced over at Rick who was holding on for dear life.

  As the aircraft’s nose came up, Frank could see the rotation rate increasing. He picked an outside reference, and timed the rotation—one complete turn every two seconds. Then he checked the vertical velocity. It registered a steady 4,000-foot per minute rate of descent.

  “Rick, we are now stabilized in a flat spin. How do you think it will recover?”

  “I don’t care. Just recover!” Rick’s face was ashen.

  “First I’ll try a conventional recovery.” Frank quickly swapped the rudders and pushed forward on the stick. The Velocity ignored the inputs as it continued through two more turns. “Unfortunately, no effect. But notice the slight pitch oscillation that is still present. If I time my input correctly, we should recover.”

  As the aircraft’s nose started to fall, Frank pushed in full power and went full forward on the stick. The Velocity continued through another half a turn and then suddenly pitched down nearly vertical. Frank noticed Rick had not strapped in very tightly as his head bounced off the top of the canopy. Frank calmly pulled the throttle back and recovered the aircraft from its dive.

  “You need to check this aircraft’s loading,” Frank said as he started an easy turn back toward Roanoke Island.

  Rick stared at him with bloodshot eyes.

  “I could tell by the pitch response during the approach to stall that the center of gravity seemed a little too far aft. That can make it hang up in a stall at a higher angle of attack and makes it more susceptible to a spin.” Frank looked at Rick and figured any more analysis on his part would probably make Rick’s head explode.

  “Let’s head back to the pattern, Frank,” Rick pleaded weakly.

  “Sounds good.” Frank had suspected their definitions of an aggressive flight were a little different. He guided the Velocity back for two touch-and-go’s and a full stop with hardly another word out of Rick.

  As they reentered the building, Anna was waiting for them. She watched Rick quickly duck behind the front counter and busy himself at his desk. Then she turned her attention to Frank.

  “What did you do to him? He looks like he saw a ghost.”

  “More like a near death experience. I really don’t think he appreciated my military style of aviation.”

  Anna eyed him warily. “I’m beginning to wonder if I should trust you as my pilot.”

  Frank tried to reassure her. “I admit I’m not cut out for an airline job, but I think I can get you home in one piece.” Anna still didn’t look too confident.

  Rick returned with a rental form and laid it on the counter for Frank. “Just fill this out Mr. Farago, and the Velocity is yours.” He watched as Frank wrote out his home address, marking Edwards Air Force Base in the city block. “I, uh, was wondering where you learned how to spin like that?”

  Frank looked up and decided he might as well fill Rick in. “Well, I’ve been an F-16 departure demo pilot for several years now. I’ve also had the chance to spin numerous types of aircraft out at Edwards.”

  Rick shook his head and smiled sheepishly. “You’re a test pilot.”

  Frank nodded. He finished the form and handed it to Rick. “But remember, Rick. You should still get nervous whenever anyone you’re flying with says ‘watch this.’”

  As they headed outside toward the Velocity
, Anna stopped him. “Why didn’t you tell him right away?”

  Frank shrugged. “I had no proof. Besides, I have a hard time ignoring a challenge.”

  He sensed Anna didn’t quite believe him. And deep down, he knew there was more to his silence. The fact was, he needed to prove something to himself. He had to make sure he still had the nerve and the ability to push an aircraft to its limits without losing control. The emotions he’d been experiencing the past several days could be distracting in flight. Even a risk. He had always tried to control those emotions. Still, when he looked at Anna, he realized surrendering to his emotions might just be worth the risk.

  “You don’t have to prove anything to me, Frank.” Anna said it softly—a gentle offer of understanding.

  Frank marveled at her openness. Unlike most people he encountered, her perception of him wasn’t colored by his position as an officer or a pilot. She simply saw him as Frank—a young man whose main concern had always been himself. He would change that.

  “I know,” he said finally. Then he took her hand and led her to the airplane. “But I do want to share something with you.”

  Chapter 17

  Frank gently banked the Velocity to the right, starting a slow arc about Kill Devil Hill. Through the top of the clear bubble canopy, Anna could see the massive concrete memorial that rested upon the historic sand dune. Marking the site of the Wright Brother’s first flight, the dune was now a grass-covered hill; the grass applied years earlier to halt the dune’s wind driven march across the island.

  “So, this is where it all began,” she remarked.