Home » The Archives » Chapter 5 » Learning to Live in Paradise
| Re: Learning to Live in Paradise [message #1372 is a reply to message #1371] |
Thu, 26 July 2012 20:28   |
artisticrainey
Messages: 1228
Registered: July 2012
Location: Northern Ireland
Karma:
|
Field Commander
Switzerland |
|
|
Tracy Island, April 16th 2:45pm.
Dianne found Tin-Tin in the garden where she was helping her father. "Those look lovely, Tin-Tin!"
The pretty Malaysian looked up smiling. "Yes they are, aren't they?" Father is so proud of the lilies this year, they have really taken!"
"And so he should be, He spends enough time out here with them!"
"Yes, he loves it here. What can I do for you, Dr. Tracy?"
"I wanted to ask permission to use Ladybird this afternoon for a little island hopping."
"Of course! You don't need to ask; the plane is always available for you."
"Thank you Tin-Tin; I appreciate that."
Kyrano approached the two women, carrying a basket of cuttings. He politely nodded and acknowledged Dianne.
"Dr. Tracy it is good to see you in the garden; you must visit more often."
"I shall try Kyrano. You really have done wonders with it."
"I see you are busy, so please excuse me." Kyrano padded softly away, Tin-Tin staring adoringly after him.
"Will you be taking Ladybird on a pleasure flight, Dr. Tracy?"
"I'm afraid not. It's for some training time with one of the new team members."
"Ah, I see. Then please, use her for as long as you need." Dianne smiled her thanks and headed back towards the villa, as Tin-Tin returned her attention to the flowers.
Elise waited inside the hangar admiring the red sleek jet. "Ah"m sorry for being so late!" an out of breath Dianne spoke as she jogged to a stop beside the jet.
"It's okay; I was a little early anyway."
"Well, what do you think of her?" Dianne asked, still trying to catch her breath.
"Impressive. But then again, everything I've seen around here since I arrived has been impressive!"
The women exchanged "Know what I mean" glances. "Okay, Let's take her for a ride then," Dianne said.
They both climbed into the cockpit and made themselves comfortable. From here on out, it was all business and Elise knew it.
"Before we start, Elise, I want you to tell me right now, that any time you feel uncomfortable, or a bad memory surfaces, you will let me know immediately. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Dr. Tracy. I understand."
"Good, then we're set. Take your time, there's no rush. I thought we'd just take a leisurely flight around the islands and have you land. Does that sound okay?"
Elise nodded as she placed the small headphones over her baseball cap, and put on her sunglasses. Having done the pre-flight walk around the jet she felt a little more at ease now that she was in the cockpit. As she ran through the preflight checklist verbally, Dianne checked off everything on the sheet and confirmed with a verbal 'check' each time.
Elise started the plane and listened to the engines purr. Sounds good. she thought as she called in for clearance.
"Flight Control this is Ladybird, requesting permission for taxi and take off."
"Granted, Ladybird. Proceed to the runway and you are clear for take-off. Have a safe trip ladies."
Elise smiled. "Thanks, John!"
"Hey! For you ladies, anytime!"
Dianne rolled her eyes. Elise felt good. None of the anxiety she had felt in the simulator was present and her palms weren't sweaty. She had to admit she was apprehensive though, this being her first time back in the air. She gave the plane full throttle and eased her off the runway into the clear blue sky.
Dianne carefully watched her 'patient', noting how she handled the controls; how she paid attention to details; how her body language registered any distress. "Okay, level her out now, I want to show you something," Dianne spoke into her headpiece. Elise nodded and leveled off easily.
"How are you doing Elise?"
"Great! She handles like a dream; I feel really comfortable with these controls."
"Good!" Dianne smiled. They flew around Tracy Island and then over Mateo Island and off towards a small cluster of islands towards the west.
"Look down there." Dianne pointed as she spoke, down towards the ocean.
Elise banked to the left and grinned when she saw what Dianne had been pointing to. A group of dolphins were skimming the surface and jumping in and out of the breaks in the waves.
"Oh, that's awesome! Look how many there are!"
Elise's reaction pleased Dianne. She'd been hoping the young pilot would be able to cope and knew getting her in the air sooner rather than later, would benefit her. Flying over the ocean on a clear day left no doubts there could be any mountains anywhere on the horizon, and Dianne had planned it that way. They continued on their way, Dianne pointing out some of the wonders of the South Pacific and carefully monitoring Elise's reactions.
They'd been out for about an hour when Dianne said, "Well Elise, I am very pleased with your confidence and skills as a pilot, and from what I've seen here with you today, you'll be back in form in no time."
"Thanks, Dr. Tracy; that means a lot to me."
"There'll still be a lot of simulator training to do, as well as weather conditions to train in. You understand that, don't you?"
"Yes, I do."
"I will still monitor you on those flights, okay?"
Elise agreed. She knew she had a way to go, but this flight was a step in the right direction.
"What do you say we head on back, nice and easy?" Dianne smiled.
"Yes Ma'am!" Elise turned the plane to the right and lined up onto the flight path for the runway. "Flight Control, this is Ladybird requesting permission to land, over."
This time Virgil's voice replied, "Permission granted; welcome home ladies."
"Thanks Virgil; where's John?" asked Elise.
"Bathroom."
Both women laughed at his answer. "By the way, you're looking good on approach; bring her down easy and you'll have no problems."
"Thanks. Appreciate you looking out for me."
"You're welcome, honey."
'Honey?' Elise mouthed the word to Dianne.
"He calls everyone that's female "honey". I swear he doesn't know he's doing it!" she replied.
Elise landed the jet as easily as she took off, and taxied into the hangar as if she'd done it a hundred times before.
"Thanks Dr. Tracy, for everything...I needed this."
"You're welcome Elise, and I know you did." Dianne gave the pilot a quick hug before leaving. "You'll be fine, you'll see."
They smiled and went their separate ways back into the villa complex.
Post by FrankieCTB2 on 14/06/2005
  
|
|
|
|
Current Time: Wed May 15 11:53:40 EDT 2024
Total time taken to generate the page: 0.03523 seconds
|
International Rescue: The Next Phase
Search
Help
Members
Login
Home
