Sky Ship

by Robert P McAuley

  Jennifer smiled as she took Amanda’s hand. “We’d be glad to. Thank you so much for your invitation, Amanda.” She watched the couple as they walked toward their cabin, then gazed out the window. The windows were all canted in so you could look almost straight down to the ground. Jennifer grinned as she thought she might just be able to put a hand out and pick a banana over the jungle. As she looked straight down she saw they were still inside the great hangar. She decided to wait and watch as the ship was rolled out.

  Dan walked into the casino and saw the croupiers set up for blackjack, poker and roulette. He saw the guard standing by as the pit boss counted the money then locked it in the safe. The guard nodded to Dan and he returned a nod back.

  The gondola was all business as they continued with their flight checklist.

  With his hands clasped behind his back, Captain Eckener turned to Beniquez and said, “Rudder full right Mr. Beniquez.”

  “Rudder full right, captain,” he answered as he nodded to the pilot Wilcox who turned the control wheel to the right. In response, the huge rudder at the tail section slowly turned right. Captain Eckener and Beniquez watched the movement on a TV monitor that showed the scene as it happened, by cameras mounted facing the tail surfaces. “Full left rudder.” Commanded Eckener and the same sequence were followed by Beniquez and Wilcox. The same is done to activate the large elevators of the tail section and they rose up and fell like the gigantic tail fin of a whale.

  Captain Hugo Eckener nodded All’s going well, he thought to himself.

  In the passenger’s lounge, Dan did a slow walk-through and stopped by Julie, one of the Flight Attendants as she served coffee and grabbed a cup.

  “Thanks Julie,” he winked and continued, “got any Irish whiskey to tighten this up a bit?” Before she could answer he gulped it down, put the empty cup on her tray and walked away. She shook her head and grinned.

  At the front end of the passenger’s lounge was a gray door marked GONDOLA. FLIGHT PERSONNEL ONLY. Dan inserted his electronic ID card into the slot above the knob and when the red light turned green, opened the door and entered. He closed it behind him then went down a short flight of aluminum stairs to the gondola door. He entered and stood in the rear of the busy twenty by ten-foot control room.

  The First Officer pressed a red button which activating four doors, two on either side of the nose and two on either side of the rear. The doors popped open and he turned to Captain Eckener and announced, “Rope-hatches are open, Captain.”

  Eckener nodded and answered, “Very well Mr. Beniquez, away the guide ropes.”

  “Aye aye, sir, away guide ropes,” Benequiz answered as he pressed another button and out of the four open doors fell a thick rope with thirty, smaller diameter ropes attached to the ends. Dan watched as one hundred and twenty ground crewmen in their white coveralls grabbed an end of each rope. The chief of ground operations signaled with a snappy salute to the gondola that all the ropes are manned.

  Captain Eckener returned the salute and ordered “Take us out Mr. Beniquez.”

  “Aye aye, sir,” Beniquez picked up a hand-mike. He spoke into the mike and his voice boomed all over the hangar from a loudspeaker, “Mooring boom out!”

  Up front the huge mooring boom that secured the Sky Ship inside the hangar, began to pull her out into the warm Florida air. The Crewmen walked along holding the ropes, to keep the ship steady in case of a sudden gust of wind. The windows were packed with the passengers many of who sipped their cocktails or coffee as they watched the spectacle just one hundred feet below.

  Eckener turned to Beniquez and asked, “Equilibrium Mr. Beniquez?”

  “She’s balanced sir,” answered the first officer.

  The captain nodded and returned to the window to watch as his ship slowly went forward. At three hundred feet from the gaping hangar, the ship came to a stop and the loudspeaker boomed again with Beniquez’s voice,

  “Release mooring boom!”

  Noiselessly, the boom’s mechanical jaws that held the Sky Ship earth-bound, snapped open. Immediately the boom rolled away from Sky Ship as the ground crew held the ropes tight against any unexpected breeze.

  Eckener did a walk around of the gondola, checked all the engine gauges, looked down at the Ground Crew, and ordered, “Hands off!”

  Beniquez once again keyed the mike and over the PA boomed, “Hands off!”

  At that command, the Ground Crew released the ropes and ran back toward the hangar. Sky Ship was now floating above the tarmac and looked like a levitating aircraft carrier. Captain Eckener stood and watched it all unfold with his hands behind his back. Satisfied he gave the command that applied only to lighter-than-airships, “Up ship, Mr. Beniquez!”

  “Aye, aye, Captain! Up ship!” Beniquez turned to Wilcox and said, “Up ship Mr. Wilcox” and was quickly answered by the pilot as he revved the engines, “Aye aye sir, up ship.”

  The six engines angled up as their propellers bit into the hot air gently lifting the ship up to where it was designed to be.

  Once again Eckener checked the gauges and ordered, “Release five tons of water ballast.”

  Beniquez answered, “Water ballast released,” as he pushed a button.

  Outside, on the ship’s belly, aft of the gondola, a large door slid back and a column of water gushed out. Five tons of the liquid ballast hit the tarmac with a huge splash. The passengers, who watched, now knew the reason of the ground crews fast retreat from beneath the ship. The release of the weight of the water helped the Sky Ship climb.

  “Level her off at two hundred feet and set speed at thirty knots, course: due South, Mr. Beniquez,” the captain said.

  The passengers were in awe of the elevator ride they just experienced. They were as thrilled as the children that ran through the neighborhood streets below trying to keep up with the airship as they waved and shouted up at them.

  Dan now stepped forward from the gondola’s rear and patted Wilcox on his shoulder. “How's she handling, Steve?”

  “Like a dream, Dan, like a dream.”

  “Cool.” From a small table next to the pilot, he picked up a clipboard with a copy of the passenger list on it. “Got to see who we have flying with us today.” He ran his finger slowly down the rooster. “Looks like we've got some heavy hitters along for the ride . . . William Neilson III and his wife, Arlene. Isn't that the Silicon Valley bigwig?”

  The deep, even voice of Captain Eckener answered. “Founder and C.E.O. of Worldwide CompTech.”

  Dan nodded as he continued scanning the list. “Mmm, I thought these guys looked like a sports team: The Saudi Arabian Goodwill Soccer Club.”

  “Yes,” said the captain as he raised his binoculars and watched a news helicopter flying a parallel course, “I met the coach - friendly fellow. Says they're tuning up for the Goodwill Games with exhibition matches around the world.”

  “Hmm . . . They're on vacation?”

  “Yes. Their government is treating them to some rest and recreation.”

  Dan nodded and continued to read. “Wow! Levon Humphries. I knew I recognized him. Now there's one heck of an athlete.”

  Flight engineer Ellis looked up from his controls and with wide eyes asked, “The Miami Dolphins football player?”

  Dan said with a big smile, “Yep! All-Pro quarterback three years in a row. I think I'll go say hi.” He put the list back in its place, and as he reached the door said over his shoulder with a big grin on his face, “Now listen up crew, my wife’s onboard so no bumps. Okay?” He quickly opened the door and slid out before they could throw anything at him laughing as he took the steps two at a time. Dan opened the door that led to the passenger’s lounge and stepped in front of a short fat man dressed in a three-piece suit. Dan couldn’t help notice that his shoes were as shiny as his slicked back, jet-black hair. The man seemed not to believe his luck. He was looking for someone more important than a flight attendant and this fellow just walked out of a door marked, EMPLOYEES ONLY.


  “Excuse me - you're with the McFarlane Corporation?”

  “Yes,” answered Dan with a smile.

  “I'm Tony Caputo, . . . ”

  Now Dan noticed the red sauce on the fingers of Caputo’s extended hand.

  The man continued as he handled a stuffed macaroni shell in his other hand, “ . . . Owner of Caputo's Delis: You must've heard of us; we're a chain of almost a thousand delis.”

  “A-huh, yes I have. Mr. Caputo. Are you enjoying your flight?” Dan said as he wiped his fingers with his handkerchief.

  Caputo sucked the shell down and went on, “I've got this great idea: I want to put a Caputo's Deli on your dirigible! It'll be the worlds’ only flying delicatessen! Is that beautiful, or what?”

  “It's, um, interesting. But I think the person you want to speak with is Mr. McFarlane.” Dan nodded towards Jim, who was across the room.

  Dan watched Caputo wander off only to be interrupted by a waiter carrying more of the stuffed shells. Dan shook his head as he mumbled to himself, “Aerodynamically unsound.”

  In the far corner, he spotted the football star he was looking for and threaded through the crowded room to him. Levon Humphries was looking out the window as the scenery went by. He had a tall woman on his arm and Dan recognized her right away as his wife Joan Young-Humphries. They make a beautiful Afro-American couple he thought as he approached them.

  He stopped next to them and smiled as he put his hand out, “Excuse me, Mr. Humphries? My name is Dan McKee. I'm with the McFarlane Corporation. I've followed your career since Notre Dame. Personally, I think you're the best pure passer in the league. Tight spirals, perfect touch - and I'll bet you could hit a dime at sixty yards.” He paused and shook his head, “Jeez, I probably sound like a jerk, going on like this. Actually, I just wanted to be able to tell my poker buddies that I met Levon Humphries today.

  The big man took Dan’s hand and shook it tightly as he said with a mock annoyance in his voice, “Sixty yards? Heck, I can throw it seventy, if I've got the wind at my back. Dan is taken aback. Levon and Joan laugh. “Ha,” the big man says with a grin on his broad face, “Gotcha!”

  Dan shook his head.

  Levon turned to his wife and said with a mischievous grin, “Did you see the look on his face? Priceless!”

  “You got me good, Mr. Humphries.”

  “It's nice to meet you, Dan. Call me Levon. This is my wife, Joan.”

  “Nice to meet you, Dan,” she said. “Do you actually get to fly on this incredible dirigible all the time?”

  “Yes, It's my job. I'm the Security Officer on this flying city. By the way, I recall reading about you in the Dolphins' yearbook. You're an athlete, too—aren't you?”

  She nodded modestly, “Yes, I am.”

  Her husband patted her on her back and looked proudly at his wife. “Joan’s sport doesn’t get the kind of attention football does, but this woman is a world-class archer. She has a tournament in Caracas on Sunday, so we thought we’d take the opportunity to fly on a dirigible for the first time in our lives.” He looked back out the window and exclaimed, “Man, this is awesome!”

  Dan checked his watch. “I’ll let you get back to sight-seeing. Now I can tell my poker buddies I met two world-class athletes.”

  “Levon, maybe Dan would like to join us for lunch later?”

  Levon nodded his head, “Good idea. What do you say Dan?”

  “I’d love to. My wife’s on board, too. You’re sure we wouldn’t be imposing?”

  “Heck, not if you praise my quarterbacking some more, you won’t be.”

  “Okay, you’ve got lunch guests. See you later.”

  Dan started doing a slow room-walk when he saw that Caputo had Jim MacFarlane cornered. He slipped up next to Jim and said, “Excuse me, Mr. McFarlane. Captain Eckener would like to see you in the gondola.”

  As Dan and Jim walk away, Jim is muttering. “Flying delicatessens! Not on my ship! No way on earth!”

  Across the room standing by a window, Colonel Aziz casually looked at his wristwatch, then turned to make eye contact with Mansur, a powerfully built terrorist. Mansur strolled to the door marked ‘NO ADMITTANCE.’ The Colonel saw a waiter with drinks a few feet away walk toward some of the passengers. He easily slipped his foot under the waiter’s foot and caused the man to trip and drop his loaded tray. The crash of glass caught everyone’s attention for a moment. It was at that moment that Mansur opened the door with a pass-card with the picture of Mel Kankin on it, and slipped through.

  Mansur saw before him, the main walkway and trolley track just as he had in the blueprints and video the colonel had them all memorized. He ignored the trolley and made his way cautiously toward the aft section. A crewman suddenly appeared from a crosswalk.

  “Excuse me sir,” he said with a warm smile, “passengers are not allowed in this part of the ship. I have to ask you to, please return to the passenger area.”

  “Really?” said the man looking puzzled as he scratched his head, “I must have gotten lost. I’m not even sure what door I used. Can you help me?”

  The crewman still smiled and tilted his head towards the door. “I’ll show you back to the passenger’s section. Follow me buddy, and stay in the middle of the walk-way.”

  Mansur turned pretending to comply, then suddenly pounced on the stunned crewman, choking him with a vise-like hold. The crewman managed to pound Mansur with a body punch – but the terrorist didn’t appear to even notice it. Within seconds, he was dead. Mansur shoved the body off the Main walkway and watched it fall 50 feet and land with a thud in the bottom of the ship. The terrorist quickly climbed a ladder that went from the walkway, straight up to a platform situated beneath an inspection hatch that led to the outside of the ship.

  Once on the platform he noted that it had the intercom the blueprints showed. He also noted that there were a toolbox and a long length of safety rope with a body harness at the end. He checked his wristwatch, waited a moment, and then opened the hatch. The terrorist poked his head up into the thirty-knots-an-hour air stream and looked around.

  Dan sat in the gondola going over the practice fire drill they were going to have in an hour. He traced the route he was in charge of with his finger. He folded the paper and stuck it into his back pocket as he stood. “Hey guys, I’m going to go check in on the wife. Haven’t seen her since I left her in the reception area. She’ll never forgive me.”

  “Sir,” said Flight Officer Ellis, “I’ve got an indicator light showing Hatch Five, topside is open.”

  “They really have to dog them down better,” answered Captain Eckener as he took a look at the console. “Find Reynolds and send him up. Steady ahead at thirty knots.”

  “Aye sir, thirty knots steady,” answered Ellis.

  Dan was on his way to the door and turned to the captain. “I can get it, Cap.’ I’m not doing anything anyway and I can put it in my resume.”

  Eckener gave one of his rare grins. “Fine Dan, just tighten her down. Call on the intercom before you come back down and we’ll let you know if the indicator light goes off.”

  Dan walked up the short flight of stairs and entered the passenger lounge. He saw Jim and Jennifer as they chatted away by a window. “Hey you two, enjoying yourself?”

  “Immensely, honey! I don’t know what I was afraid of. Why it’s like riding on a boat in calm weather.”

  Jim smiled at her, “Well put Jennifer, for it ‘tis a boat of sorts. The Sky Ship is a ship of the air and she flies through an ocean of air. Did you know that when aircraft were invented, the early inventors used ship’s terms for their new flying craft?”

  Jennifer shook her head, “No Jim, I didn’t know that.”

  “Oh Jenn honey,” Dan said with a mock hurt look on his face, “you are opening a can of worms telling Jim you don’t know about aircraft.”

  “Now, now,” Jim said with a raised hand, “I must enlighten our new aviatrix to the vast information on flight I’ve stored over the years.” Jim tu
rned back to Jennifer, “Well Jennifer, as I was saying, the inventors needed terms for their invention so they used ship’s terms such as, rudder, cockpit, pilot and . . . “

  Dan did a tiny bow and said, mostly to himself, “Gotta excuse me gang, I have work to do topside, be back in about ten minutes.”

  Jim returned the bow and said, “This is one fantastic lass you’ve got yourself, Daniel.”

  “Honey,” Dan asked his wife, “You’d never leave me for a Scotsman who owns his own dirigible, would you?

  She said with a giggle, “I might. He’s got great knees.”

  Jim bellows with laughter, “Be on yer way then, Danny Boy.”

  Dan slapped his back and moved toward the door that would take him into the interior.

  The dirigible flew slowly at just eight hundred feet over the Florida Keys. It was one of the many attractions the passengers read in various brochures and advertisements, ‘Onboard Sky Ship, you will become one with nature. Skimming almost soundlessly just above the earth and sea, one can see the many sights that a flight in an ordinary aircraft is unable to provide. From the deep blue ocean to the tropical birds of South America and back to the animals and reptiles of the Everglades, you will be surprised every time you peer out the windows of our airship.

  Mansur checked his watch and then completely opened Inspection Hatch Number Five and stood braced against the slipstream as it cruised along at thirty knots an hour.

  A small Ultra-light aircraft appeared behind and above the giant airship. The pilot, Ahmid Quaffed, still dressed in camouflage clothing, advanced his throttle slowly and matched the speed of the behemoth beneath him. He pointed the nose of the small aircraft down and brought it close to the airship as he looked along the top of his target.