My Navy Pilot

Flight

BRIAN

I am sitting in a hangar staring at the magnificent jet that is displayed in front of me. I have to concentrate on what the instructor is telling me but I just can not keep my eyes off that plane. I do not know exactly what it is about a plane but for some reason, I just can not keep away from it.

"Captain Smith...Why don't you go ahead and tell everyone here what do you think are the five most common mistakes?"

I did not listen to one word that he said but luckily I know everything by heart. I might have fooled around when I was training to be a pilot but I have learned the hard way that I should know every last rule by heart. So, I stand up and say.

"Yes sir. I would say the biggest mistake of them all, and I will start with this one, never take your eyes off the target..."

I see the instructor almost looking shocked by my answers as if he was hoping to catch me off guard somehow and did not succeed. I know that most of the authorities on this base think that I do not know what the rules are but that is where they are wrong.

I watch as every soldier's eyes are on me and they are listening intently. Then when I come to the last mistake, I say.

"...But most of all, never piss off your instructor..."

Everyone laughs and then I take my seat. I watch as the instructor just rolls his eyes at me and then returns to his whiteboard. I listen carefully as he tells us exactly what our mission is today. I like this mission. I remember how this was one of my favorites.

Then we make our way to the jets and to my surprise I see they gave me my old jet back. I am so happy to know that I will be in a one-man jet as I love to do things my way. I put on my helmet and secure it tightly around my neck and then I get into my plane.

The moment that my body binds with the jet, I know that I am home. I can not stop the smile forming on my face. I know that today is going to be great. I make sure that the receiver is over my mouth and I am securely fastened. I have memorized my call sign as I know this is the first thing I need to know by heart. Then I open communications to the tower and say.

"Tower this is Bravo Romeo 05. Do you read me? Over"

LISA

I make sure that I am on the right frequency and that my headset is placed securely. I know that I will be keeping my headset on for quite a while and I remember how I always put it on a certain way so that it does not bother me. I open the file to see the mission that my pilot has for the day and I make sure that I know what is going on.

It is not long after I have turned into the right frequency when I hear my pilot talk to me. I would lie if I say that his voice is not soothing but I do not let this distract me because I am here to do one job and one job only. I need to see if this Captain Brian Smith is a danger to be enlisted in the Navy. I then quickly respond to his call.

"Bravo Romeo 05 this is Tower. We read you loud and clear. Over"

"I am ready for takeoff. Please advise if I am clear to do so. Over"

I check the monitors around me and the radars to make sure that there is no air traffic around him. I know exactly in which order the jets must take off and usually it is the higher ranks first. I can see that he is the leader of this squadron and therefore should leave first.

"You are clear for takeoff, BR05"

BRIAN

When I hear the woman's voice on the inside of my headphones, I remember the air controller that was assigned to me the last time I have flown. I also remember how much fun I had with him and if I recall correctly, we were not really friends.

I just smile and shake my head as I start to line up my jet to take off. I am going to have so much fun and I can not wait to be in the air again. I have reached the end of the runway and then I say.

"Bravo Romeo 05, entering runway for take off. Over"

"Roger, Bravo Romeo 05. You are clear for takeoff. Over"

As I stop just before I take off and I hear this woman talking in my ear, I realize that her voice somehow calms me. It is nice to have a woman's voice in my ear and not a man's. Then I start to charge the engines and it does not take me long when I am pushed back into my seat with the potent force that the engine exalts.

I almost want to laugh out of pure excitement because I can feel the jet leaving the ground and how he snatches me into liberation. I just have to whisper to myself.

"Fuck..."

Just to release some of the excitement that is flooding in my gut. Then, I am in the air in a second and I have to spin my jet a few times just to remember how good it feels.

LISA

As an air traffic controller, I have learned to listen to every sound that my headset receives. I know that Captain Smith will not be talking to me until he is in the air but then I hear a faint mumbling and I am almost certain it was a swear word. I do not know what to make of it but I have to ask.

"Bravo Romeo 05, this is Tower. Please confirm if everything is in order"

"Tower, this is Bravo Romeo 05. All are still in order. Over"

I do not know if I am out of practice and just heard things that weren't there but I have to rule out every possibility. But then the psychologist in me starts to kick in as I start to wonder, why would he swear?

BRIAN

Suddenly I am yanked back into reality when I hear that woman's voice in my ears again. She asks me if everything is in order and I do not understand why she would ask me a thing like that. I wish I can tell her how perfect everything is and how happy I am.

But I shrug the impression off and quickly get onto the mission. I speak into my radio again and then I say.

"This is Bravo Romeo 05. All squadron please acknowledge"

I know that they will be interpreting our radio communication and see if we are sticking to the rules or not. I know that once I am in the air I have to know that everyone else is in the air too. But first I have to learn if everyone can hear me and if I can hear them.

It is not easy because I have to know how many people are in my squadron and if everyone reacted to my radio call. I listen carefully to everyone that acknowledges and as soon as I know that I have the right amount of people reacting, I say.

"Please confirm that you are airborne. Over"

Everyone then confirms that they are airborne. I know that I am working with a bunch of rookies and that I should show them my leadership skills. Then I quickly announce our first move.

LISA

I listen to the communication that he has with his squadron and so far everything that he is doing is exactly the way he should. I start to wonder if my dad put me in the right place to find out whether he is mentally unstable or not. I am sure that if his skills are above average, he would not show his unstableness in the jet.