Aprons For Gayle Ch. 20

'CLUBHOUSE'

"Gayle, when out on the airfield proper please stay close to me for your own safety. There are not only gliders here but powered aircraft for tugging as well as airfield vehicles for retrieving and pulling launch cables. When a glider is close to the ground it has very little leeway for maneuver if you should wander in front of it. Bessie must never be let off her leash either. Other than that you are free to roam."

She looked at him in utter amazement. "Am I really going gliding, Hamish, as in going up in the air?"

"You certainly are. I know a few people at the club, and I've arranged a trip for you. There's a nice westerly breeze so you should be able to go ridge soaring too. You wanted to see Scotland and what better way than from the air."

"What's ridge soaring, Sir?"

After about ten seconds of staring from him, she realized her mistake.

"Sorry. Hamish."

"That's better, please try and remember. Ridge soaring is where you fly along ... No, just wait and see. I don't want to ruin your surprise."

They exited the Rover and Hamish went to the back door and retrieved both Bessie and a chunky holdall before giving Gayle the leash.

Sauntering into the clubhouse with Gayle and her new best friend trotting alongside her, Hamish approached a bar area and ordered two coffees from an elderly lady behind the counter.

"Gayle, this here is Mrs. Eccles. She has been here since Pontius started flying. Anything you need just ask and she will put it on my tab." With a whispered aside that Mrs. Eccles was obviously meant to hear, he told her, "The club wouldn't function without her. They are even thinking of teaching her to fly so she can instruct!"

Considering the woman was 90 if she was a day, Gayle thought that highly improbable, but she wisely bit her tongue.

Bessie, in the meantime, was sitting expectantly underneath the counter, eyes firmly fixed on Mrs. Eccles. Having been here many times before, she knew that some cake was going to be winging its way in her direction at any time. Of course, a moment later the woman didn't disappoint, and one contented dog was soon licking the crumbs from her lips.

"OK, if you wait here for a few minutes I'll go and arrange your flight." And with that Hamish picked up his holdall and disappeared through a door marked: 'Mens Cha ging,' the 'N' having long since gone.

Gayle spent the next fifteen minutes inspecting the main room, drinking both hers and Hamish's coffee while watching what little activity was going on outside. A two seat glider was being towed onto the airfield by a bright yellow Land Rover of similar age to the one they had arrived in. She wondered if that was their glider.

Against one wall was a large blackboard with what appeared to be a map of the local area which was covered in squiggles and writing, and on closer inspection she saw that it was a weather map for the day.

'Mainly fine

'Patchy Nimbo Stratus at FL 1500

'Wind predominantly Westerly 15 knots with gusts to 20

'Early morning og will burn off by 9am'

She smiled. "I wonder what happened to the F in Fog?" she said out loud, before realizing what she had just said.

Bursting into laughter, she exclaimed, "Noooooo! I'm even starting to pick up his sense of humor!"

"That you are lass and no bad thing, either."

She turned at the sound of his voice and her jaw dropped.

Hamish stood there in a green flying suit, identical to the one the airmen were wearing that day in the bar when they stopped for lunch after her waxing. And what's more he looked absolutely, completely and utterly drop dead gorgeous.

The clothes she'd seen him wear so far had been either formal or homey. But this green flying suit, with the olive roll neck undershirt, was neither. It was HOT. It fit his body well, showing off his tall, wide-shouldered frame in a non-clingy, laid-back kind of way. The suit made him look the part - competent and professional - and yet relaxed at the same time, and she had to admit the appeal in that combination. The long double-ended zipper from throat to crotch twinkled at her, making her mind wander as to what kind of underwear, if any, it was hiding.

A random thought followed -

I bet he doesn't need to take the whole thing off to take a piss. All he needs to do is unzip the bottom edge - and that made her giggle and then gasp a moment later when other possibilities came to mind.

She must not have been keeping her naughty thoughts to herself based on Hamish's reaction to her expression.

"So, what has tickled you so much that you are now all red and giggly?" he asked, though he had more than a sneaky suspicion he knew the answer.

"Nothing, Hamish, nothing at all. I was just wondering if you ... never mind. It might be too much for poor Bessie to take. She's only a puppy, after all."

"Hmm. Grab her lead and follow me out onto the airfield. Your transport awaits."

The few minutes it took to walk across the grass were done in companionable silence. The sun gently beat down with the promise of the warmth to come later. They arrived at an old single decker bus painted all over in a checkerboard of black and white. Again it looked to be as decrepit as the estate Land Rover, and she wondered if everything around here was older than she was.

"This is the launch bus where pre-flight briefings are done and pilots gear, aircraft logs, etc., are all kept. The bus stays at this end of the airfield and the cables are brought up to here from the winch at the other end. The cable is then attached to the glider and the signaller contacts the winch down at the other end of the airfield when you are ready for take-off. Also Bessie stays here under the care of the launch supervisor."

Hamish then walked Gayle the short distance to the two seat glider she had seen being towed out earlier. Close up it looked to her at best fragile and at worst downright lethal. The wings were tilted so that the one nearest them was resting on the ground, the other pointing into the air, the uppermost one flexing gently in the wind. Construction was of some white hard plastic material and two small cockpits in tandem covered with a clear Perspex canopy completed her initial impression of the deathtrap.

"Erm Sir, are you sure this is safe?"

Noticing her discomfort, he couldn't resist playing with her. "Of course it is. Trust me. I've been doing this flying thing for weeks now and only seen three crashes, but that only happens if the wind stops blowing. I think we should be ok today. Let's get you strapped in."

She knew he was joking ... wasn't he? Wasn't he?? Even she knew that gliders didn't just fall out of the sky if the wind stopped. And then she caught onto something else he said.

"Hamish, did you say that you have been doing this for weeks now, as in weeks, not years?"

"That's right lass, I even went solo last month and did a circuit of the airfield on my own."

"So, it isn't you that's going to be flying with me then?" said a very relieved Gayle.

"I doubt it, though I will plead my case to fly you with the Chief Flying Instructor and see if he will let me take you. Now hold onto this rim and step onto the front seat. I'll strap you in."

Gayle, with mounting trepidation, stepped onto the seat then slid herself down so she was sitting legs out and with her feet resting on two pedals. He then gently took the strap which came through her legs and slotted the two waist belts into the central hub on the first strap. He then brought the two shoulder belts over her breasts and slotted them into the middle.

"Just got to tighten everything now." And with great relish, he cinched the waist straps before firmly pulling on the shoulder harness. "Just testing," he smirked as he ran both hands under the straps over her breasts before firmly tweaking her nipples. He took the camera she was tightly holding and quickly took some pictures of her sitting trussed up in the front seat before handing it back.

Gayle was becoming as nervous as she was excited. Her bum was literally only inches off the ground and the cockpit, while snug, was also roomy enough to allow her to move her arms and touch the instrument panel directly in front of her. A control stick came up from the floor between her legs, and she debated holding onto it before deciding not to touch anything, just in case. As much as she trusted Hamish, and common sense said he didn't want to actually kill her, she prayed the Chief guy was going to do the flying, and with that thought a short stocky man in his early fifties strode into view.

"Ross," Hamish called out, "Meet the lovely lady I would like to fly with today. Gayle, meet Ross, our CFI."

Ross stopped by the side of the aircraft, leant down and extended his hand. "Pleasure to meet you. Welcome to our flying club. Being midweek it is nice and quiet so you can go up for as long as you want, as the aircraft isn't double booked. It's a lovely day for soaring so I would make the most of it." Turning to Hamish, he said, "So, what's this about you wanting to do the flight? I know you've gone solo now, but are you sure you can do it again?"

"Yes. Please Ross, I'm sure I can. My last landing was a bit bumpy but that was because I dropped my sandwiches and had to rummage around to try and pick them up, but with it being a soarable day it'll give me plenty of time to get used to the plane before I have to land it. Please let me take her up."

Gayle's eyes by this time were as big as saucers as she listened open mouthed to the conversation.Were they seriously contemplating this? she wondered in a slight panic.

"Weeellll," Ross mused, "if you are really sure you will be ok then I suppose you can give it a go. Just watch your airspeed close to the ridge and keep a good lookout for other gliders." With that he turned to Gayle, gave her a wink and strolled away.

Daringly, considering she hadn't given him her forgiveness, Hamish gleefully leant over the front cockpit, gave her a big, sloppy kiss, clambered into the back and strapped himself in. "This is going to be soooo much fun!"

Gayle, meantime, was completely torn between the thrill of flying in a glider and the terror of being flown by someone who was almost a novice. "Sir, are you really sure you are ok with this? I won't be upset or anything if you aren't."

Noticing that she was now starting to sound more than a little frightened, he took pity on her. "Gayle, my little fawn, relax and enjoy the view. We've both been having fun with you. When I said I have been doing this for a few weeks I was being a little economical with the truth. A few weeks is somewhere in the region of 600, and while I really did go solo a few weeks ago - I took half a day off work - it wasn't by any means my first ... more like my 500th. I first learnt in the CCF when I was 16 and have been flying ever since. I'm actually a part time instructor here."

"Damn it, Hamish," she laughed, relieved. "I was really starting to panic for a moment there."

He laughed back. "It's a trick we always play on a newbie. You are now officially indoctrinated into the club, so as I said earlier, you are hereby ordered to relax and enjoy yourself."

And with those words, she leant back in her seat, briefly closed her eyes and sighed with contentment. She just had this feeling that today was going to be magical.

"Ok, here's what happens now: A steel cable will be attached to the glider and we will be literally pulled into the air by the winch at the other end of the airfield, reaching about 1000 feet at the top of the launch. The take off will be steep and you will go up faster than any elevator you have ever been in. I think you will find it quite exhilarating. Once we have released the cable, we will level out and fly towards a marker on that hill to our right. I will need your help as co-pilot to release the cable at the top of the launch, as both my hands will be full. I will tell you when to release us by pulling that yellow knob in front of you. Can you do that? Give it a test pull."

She leant forward, grasped the knob tightly and pulled. "Yes Sir, I can do that, but what happens if you don't have someone with you? How to you release it then?"

"I take Bessie with me. She's got quite good at pulling it with her paws on command."

She sighed.When will I ever learn? she wondered.

The man who had been driving the yellow Land Rover earlier picked up the wing which was resting on the ground and lifted it to his waist, levelling the glider, and from the back she heard Hamish muttering away to himself, and she realized he was doing some sort of checklist before take-off

"Controls free and easy.

"Ballast within weights.

"Straps tight and locked.

"Instruments zeroed and working normally.

"Flaps and trim set for take-off.

"Ok, we're set and good to go. Canopy down and locked."

And with that, Gayle found herself enclosed in this little flying machine, the wind no longer ruffling her hair, her heart rate soaring. Another man knelt at the front and attached a cable and as soon as he was clear she saw the wire snake along the grass and tighten, and then felt the glider start to move forward and pick up speed. Seconds later, with a last bump, they were airborne, and all she could hear was the wind as it rushed past the canopy.

Hamish hadn't been joking either. She had once travelled in an express lift when shopping in Arlington, Virginia, but this was a different league altogether as her stomach settled somewhere around her feet. The plane seemed to be pointing at the sky and she felt like she was lying on her back, feet in the air and totally at the mercy of the gods. How could anyone actually be in control of this was her single thought.

After about 30 seconds the plane started to level out from its high nose up attitude, and Hamish spoke from the back. "Ok, you can open your eyes now. Grab that yellow knob and when I tell you, pull."

She reached forward, grasped it in her left hand and without thinking, yanked it hard.

"Oh, for fuc ... Bloody women drivers" came the growl from the back as the glider suddenly lurched skywards before being corrected.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I'm really sorry. I thought you said pull and ..." stammered a panicked Gayle.

The deep chuckle from behind stopped her in mid flow and his words stopped the panic. "Worry not, we were almost at the top anyway. Besides, I've always maintained Bessie was easier to train. I just hope you have less flatulence than her."

"Not sure about flatulence, but do I have permission to crap myself?"

The full blown laugh answered that question, and with that, the glider banked sharply to the right and flew directly towards the hill.

For the first time since she had taken off, Gayle was able to appreciate that she was really flying in something smaller than a commercial airliner and that she could actually see not only the instruments, but also a complete panoramic view of Scotland and not through a porthole in the side either. She was spellbound at the real, unobstructed bird's eye view of Scotland.

What did grab her attention, though, was the fact that the hill they were flying towards was getting closer and closer, and they certainly didn't have the height to clear the top of it if they didn't turn away soon. Just as it seemed it was too late to avoid a crash into a fluorescent orange marker tied to a tree, Hamish turned sharply to the left, and they found themselves flying parallel to the hill, only some 50 feet or so from the shrubs and rocks on the side. She then noticed the slight pressure in her bum from the seat and realized that they were going up again.

"Pretty impressive, isn't it?" came a cheerful voice. "We are now actually soaring the ridge. The westerly wind is hitting the hill and being forced up and all we are doing is flying in the rising air. If you look at that instrument marked 'variometer' in the middle of the dash, you can see it is reading plus three. That means we are going up at three feet per second. In a few minutes we will be flying above the top of the hill. If you look at the instrument on the right marked 'altimeter,' you can see it is reading 850. That means we are 850 feet above the airfield. We should reach about 2500 feet once we have finished soaring. Once we reach optimum height we will fly away from here, and I will give you the cook's tour, commentary 'n all. Just sit back and enjoy the view."

Gayle was mesmerized. The sun beat gently through the canopy making the cockpit pleasantly warm, and the only sound was the wind as it flowed past the aircraft with a constant, but not intrusive noise. To her right the hill loomed over her head, and the feeling of looking up into the trees and crags while flying underneath them was intoxicating. Ahead of her was Loch Leven, and all around was green and fertile land. She could see the individual animals as they grazed and farm vehicles working on the fields. One big yellow field looked as if it was being worked on, and it dawned on her that this was harvest time and it was combines that were methodically criss-crossing the earth, harvesting the wheat. On the Loch itself she could see small boats with an outboard on the back which were being used by fisherman lazing on their day off.

She grabbed her camera and started happily snapping away until she caught sight of her reflection mirrored in the canopy. The ginormous cheese eating grin was plain as day, and she suddenly realized just how happy she was. She was in heaven.

Hamish had been watching her take pictures, and his ego inflated when he saw her expression. He could see the wondrous joy on her face via the reflection, and loved that she enjoyed flying as much as he did.

"Sir, thank you. This is absolutely perfect. Thank you so much."

"You won't be thanking me when I climb out, get in the front and put you over my knee. Rule one for the day is ...?"

"Call Sir Hamish and give him a big, slobbery kiss when we land?" hazarded Gayle.

"Close. Substitute the kiss for a shag in the back of the launch bus and you've got a deal."

"How's about we settle for a good BJ and letting you beat me at Scrabble when we get home? But you'd probably cheat."

"Cheeky sod. I'd beat you fair and square. What were we on about anyway?"

"You were saying it was about time I got a raise for my dusting skills and to call you Hammy."

"Hmphhh. Any more of your sass and I will turn us upside down and open the canopy. And if that doesn't shut you up, I'll undo your straps as well. A BJ and snuggle it is, and if you're really good I might give you one of those organism thingies too. First hint of a Hammy, though, and your backside goes scarlet. Comprende?"

She decided that discretion was the better part of valor here, and as much as she wanted to push his buttons and have a bit of fun, she realized that she was quite capable of going too far and that might just spoil the great day they were having. She opted for the safe approach.

"Hamish, what's that bridge I can see in the distance?"

The glider turned gently to the North and Gayle saw not one, but two bridges spaced about a mile apart.

"The bridge on the left is the Tay Rail Bridge and the one to the right is the road bridge, both lead up into Dundee. The rail bridge collapsed with a train on it during a violent storm in 1879. About 70 people were killed. It wasn't one of our greatest feats of engineering, unfortunately. Think the engineer might have been on the loopy juice when he designed it. Going up the coast you go past Carnoustie, Arbroath and onto Aberdeen."

Turning to the west he pointed out Dunfermline, and on turning South Gayle instantly recognized the famous reddy brown Forth Rail Bridge with its three great cantilever arches in the far distance, even though it was some 30 miles from where they were flying. She happily clicked away vowing to make her sister jealous when she sent her the pictures.