The Future is in the Air Ch. 03

"Maybe you think so. I, on the other hand, think I'm cursed," Leah said after she knocked her drink down. She mixed another.

"How many hours from bottle to throttle?" I asked as a pop-quiz sort of question.

She answered accurately.

"Forget about your curse for now." I resisted my urge to immediately press for detail. I wanted to distract her into something else for a while.

"Tell me how your ground studies are going."

"They've been okay. The online course you suggested is really, really good," she said, following my diversion. "I've gone through most of it twice already."

"Have you taken any of the practice tests yet?"

"Sure, but I suck . I've tried like four times."

"What do you mean? How bad is bad?" I asked, a little concerned.

"I only was able to ace two."

I choked on a bit on the ice I'd just chewed.

"Whoa. You've only aced two of them? Two of four ?" I laughed, a little embarrassed at my own performance.

"Don't make fun of me!"

She pulled a small cube of ice out of her rocks glass and threw it at me, hitting me squarely in the chest. I pulled it from a fold of my shirt and popped it in my mouth.

"I was being sarcastic. Good lord , girl. Acing even one is freaking awesome. Why are you putting yourself down?"

"Because. Combined with my total suckage at steep turns, it makes me think I'm not cut out for this."

I reached for Leah's hand and held it gently.

"Leah, I'm going to come clean with you. I got a seventy-five on my last written."

"You're only trying to make me feel better."

I pulled my iPad out of my case and opened the electronic copy of the test report. I handed the tablet to her.

"Wait a minute. You have double doctorates, and you got a seventy-five on a stupid little FAA test?"

"Yes. But it's not a stupid test. None of them are. What you're learning is important, but everyone makes the occasional mistake. The test isn't really designed to measure an ability for instant recall. It's measuring the ability to absorb . Of course, yes, some of the stuff pilots need to know must come from rote learning, like the memory items on emergency checklists. But exactly remembering the temperature and dew point lapse rates in an atmospheric inversion? No. Not a big deal."

"Huh. Never thought of it like that."

"Well, there you go, now hand me your logbook again."

She did, and I wrote the endorsement for her to take the official knowledge test.

"Seriously?" she asked, looking surprised.

"Why not? You're definitely ready."

"If you say so."

"I do. It's my job, remember? Now. Let's talk about what happened two hours ago. Steep turns."

"They scare the crap out of me is all."

"Why?"

"Because I saw a YouTube video of an airplane going into a spin on an approach to landing. The video looked exactly like a steep turn. It crashed, and two people died."

"But steep turns aren't the same as spins."

"Tell it to that pilot! You even said it's easier to stall when you're in a turn like that."

I spent a few minutes describing the differences of an accelerated stall in a turn, trying to talk her off the ledge, but I wasn't able to do anything except amp up her worries.

"I have an idea. Can you give me a few minutes?" I asked.

"Uh … okay," Leah said cautiously.

I pulled out my phone and texted someone who'd taken aerobatics training just for fun.

I need your help. My girlfriend isn't doing well with steep turns because she's worried they'll lead to spins. I need a huge-ass favor.

Only a minute passed before he replied.

What can I do?

I'll owe you a ton if you take her up in Peg's Skyhawk and do some spins with her. I trust you more than anyone I know.

You're trained for them. Why don't you do it yourself?

Because I'm worried she'd hate me. I don't care if she hates you. I'll bring you and Peggy a bottle of secret sauce

When?

I stopped tapping.

"When's the next time your weekend off and mine align?" I asked my love.

Leah answered, "This coming Friday. Why?"

I tapped, Can we come out to your ranch Saturday morning?

That works. Want to spend the weekend? Peggy and I are dying to meet her.

I'll let you know.

Leah was watching me intently when I told her, "This weekend, we're going to fly out on a mini-vacation."

"We're doing what?" she asked.

"Trust me, okay? We're going to have a blast. Have you ever shot clay pigeons or ridden a horse?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"A friend of mine has some acreage about an hour's flight from here. They've invited us to stay the weekend."

"Seems out of the blue," she said.

"I'm hoping it can be a working vacation, too. He has training and experience flying acrobatics. I asked him, and he agreed, to take you up in a plane which is certified for intentional spins and show you how they happen and how to recover from them. More importantly, though, he's going to show you how to stop them before they start."

"That's a horrible idea!" Leah argued.

"Babe, If we can't get your anxiety over steep turns put to rest, your training ends right here, right now. They'll be tested on your checkride. They're even a required maneuver before I can let you solo. There's no reason to proceed if you can't do them."

She sat on the couch, looking wary and deep in thought.

"You don't have to decide now. All you need to decide is if you want to get away together for the weekend."

"The answer to that is yes. But I can't promise the other thing."

"Fair enough. Oh. And I should also mention, be prepared to eat. Their housing supervisor is a freaking phenomenal cook."

We took off at about 7:30am Saturday morning and headed northwest. I did all the flying. It was the first time Leah had sat in the passenger seat of my plane. I wanted her mind to be relaxed and didn't want to congest it with any sort of lessons. I wanted to be her pilot.

As we neared our destination, I made the call.

"Montague area traffic, Skylane three four eight lima mike at two thousand four hundred, three-mile right base for Reiter Ranch runway three five, Montague traffic."

"Whoa ! You didn't tell me we're going to your business partner's place!"

"Does that make a difference?"

"Damn it, Lance! Now I'm even more nervous! You don't get it."

I decided to let the matter drop.

I saw Eric's truck driving down the gravel road toward the hangar as I braked the plane on the asphalt strip. It was waiting for us when we taxied back.

"Hey, buddy," Eric greeted me as we stepped out of the plane in front of the hangar. "Nice flight?"

"Sure was. Hand-flew the whole way."

He extended his hand toward Leah and said, "Hey. I'm Eric."

"It's an honor to meet you, sir," Leah said, nervously shaking his hand.

"And this is my wife, Dr. Margaret Reiter."

Peggy smacked his arm and scolded him, "Why do you do that?"

He simply chuckled at her.

"I'm Peggy. All of my friends call me Peggy. And don't call him sir . You'll give him a complex if you do," she said, which made Eric laugh more.

"I'm Leah Reynolds. I'll bet I've talked to you at some point."

"How's that?" Eric asked.

"I'm a tower controller at McKinney National Airport."

"Oh! Right! Lance told me that. Yeah, I've been there quite a few times."

"Aside from the occasional sub, if the voice you heard was female, it was mine because I'm the only woman stationed there."

"So, you're the one who told Lance, 'Mike won't flash you again' a while back?"

"Yeah," Leah admitted.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Leah. Come on. Let's get you two settled in. Izzie made our breakfast," Peggy said.

"Told you," I said to Leah.

"Told her what?" Eric asked.

"He said I'd better be prepared to eat because I'd be well-fed," Leah answered.

Peggy and Eric grinned.

"Leah, please know you're already a friend, so make yourself totally and completely at home, okay?" Peggy said.

"Thank you, Dr. Reiter." Leah smiled.

"Huh-uh. We're on a first-name basis here."

Leah muttered to me quietly, appearing very uneasy, "Am I the only person here who doesn't have a doctorate?"

I offered her a reassuring smile as we all climbed into Eric's truck. He drove us the short distance to the main house. I could tell from the delicious aroma that sausage was waiting somewhere.

"Hola , Mr. Lance!" Izzie said, and came to give me a grandma-like hug.

"Señora Santiago , ¡qué bueno verte !"

"¡Su español está mejorando !" she praised.

"Thank you, Izzie. This is my girlfriend, Leah Reynolds."

"Señorita Reynolds , yo soy Isabella Santiago. Encantada de conocerte ," Izzie said, offering her the same hug which Leah cautiously accepted.

"I'm afraid I don't speak much Spanish," Leah said apologetically.

"I say my name is Isabella Santiago. But you please call me Izzie. It is very good to meet you," she repeated in English with her warm, very welcoming smile and personality.

"You, as well." Leah smiled back.

"Everyone is hungry? I made breakfast tacos!"

"Oh, holy heck , yes!" I said, rubbing my hands together.

"It definitely smells delicious," Leah said.

Izzie lifted the lid from a casserole which held a scrambled egg, bacon, sausage, onion, and pepper melange. Flour tortillas, shredded cheese, salsa, and steaming hash-browns were already on the table.

The four of us sat and enjoyed the warm, hearty breakfast. We all chatted, and Leah slowly came out of her nervous shell. Peggy's innate nature often had such an effect on people because she was so easy-going and relaxed herself. It was a personal asset which gave her a particularly welcome bedside manner in her profession.

We continued our conversation, letting our breakfast settle, and Eric drew me out onto the covered patio.

"Jeez, Lance, Leah's such a tiny thing."

"Be nice, dude. She's very self-conscious about her height."

"Sounds like someone else I know," he teased. "I'm not making fun. How on Earth did you two get to know each other?"

"It's kind of funny. She started the flirting."

"Whoa. Danger. Danger , Will Robinson," Eric cautioned.

"Don't go there, okay? I know what you're getting at, but she's really not like that."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Remember when we were talking in the hangar before my checkride when I told you this whole idea of mine to be her instructor almost backfired?"

He nodded.

"She lived a harsh life growing up. Her biological father ran out on her mother just like mine did, except they weren't married when she got pregnant. Her birth-mother was an abusive drug user and wound up killing herself right in front of her. Leah was in foster care a few times even before her mother overdosed, and then went into it permanently from then on.

"She got really lucky, though, because her last foster family worked miracles. I mean … look at her. She's got a good head on her shoulders, she's wickedly funny, smart, is fantastic in a demanding job, and lives fairly comfortably. I mean, she is more well-adjusted than I can imagine anyone being who lived through that kind of childhood, you know?"

"So why did it backfire?"

"Her foster parents taught her to be self-sufficient and self-reliant. Maybe to an extreme. I kinda think they might have overdone it. When I told her I wanted to be her instructor, I also told her she wouldn't need to spend her own money on the training.

"It pissed her off because she felt I was treating her like a charity-case. She said she thought I'd made her a project, and it really got under her skin. She sort of gauges things differently than you or I do, you know?"

"Huh."

"Eric, I don't even know what kinds of gifts I could give her.

"Like, last month, I saw this awesome pendant necklace. It was a spherical charm about a half inch in diameter with a loose gemstone inside it. When I asked the jeweler about it, she said she could make a custom piece in almost any shape. It'd only cost about ten grand depending on the stone. I think something like that would be meaningful and look really nice on her, but I don't want to trigger her, so yeah. I am pretty freaking sure she's not being greedy."

"Lance. Dude. Come on. Are you sure that's a good mix? I mean, if that's the case, how is she even okay with your lifestyle?"

"I'm doing my best to keep that exposure to a minimum. She knows I'm pretty well set, but … well, you've seen my house in Parker. It's newer, but not a whole heck of a lot bigger than hers. She hasn't seen the estate in Edmond."

"Why not?"

"Like I said. Small doses. Trust me."

"You don't need my trust, Lance, you need hers . If you are taking this seriously, which it sure seems like you are, she needs to see it all. You might need to rip the bandage off."

I considered what he was telling me before I answered.

"I don't know, Eric. I simply don't know. All I know is I don't want to hurt her or make her feel …" I snapped my fingers as I tried to think of the right word.

"Unworthy? Inadequate?" he suggested.

"Yeah. Something like that."

"What is it about her you find so appealing?"

"I've known Leah now for almost a year. We've been pretty close for the last four or five months. What was it about Peggy that appealed to you? Dude, you proposed to her after only knowing her for a few weeks. What got you there?"

"Peggy was real."

"Ditto."

"Okay. I got you. Just … be careful, okay?"

"I know, I know. But … maybe you can help me out that way, too?"

"How so?"

"Look, Eric. When we were younger, you had women dripping off you. I never had it like that, you know? After the gut-punch you went through with Renée Cooper, you developed your finely tuned radar, which you said Peggy never blipped. Tell me I'm wrong with Leah and I'll listen to you. But I don't think I am."

"I don't know if it'll work that way, but okay. Fair enough."

We both heard the door open, and the ladies stepped outside.

"There y'all are!" Peggy said. "Jeez! You guys walk off and leave us sitting inside by ourselves?"

"Sorry, babe. I figured you saw us come out here. Besides, y'all were enjoying the girly-gabbing," Eric said.

Leah came over and sat in the other chair next to me. Her visage was much-improved. She seemed relaxed and comfortable.

"So, Leah, when would you like to go up?" Eric asked.

"Would you first explain exactly what I should expect?"

"Sure. We'll take the Skyhawk since it's certified for intentional spins in the utility category. That basically means we can do spins on purpose but only if the center of gravity is within a much more limited range."

He fetched the Pilot's Operating Handbook for the airplane and turned it to the CG diagram.

"I'm extremely sorry to be so indelicate, but I need to ask you how much you weigh."

"One hundred five pounds," Leah answered without a moment of hesitation.

"I'm a buck eighty, so together, that's two eighty-five at the front seat moment. Add a hundred pounds of fuel in the tanks and that gives us …"

Eric traced the lines with his finger. "See? We're well-within the utility envelope."

"I know weights and balances are critical, so yeah, I'm following. The diagram for Lance's plane doesn't have different categories like this chart shows."

"That's because the Skylane isn't certified in two categories like a Skyhawk is. Very few general aviation airplanes are. Textron keeps the Skyhawk in two categories for exactly the type of training Lance did."

Leah said, "Peggy, you've done spins, too? What's it like?"

"I'm going to be honest. The first one terrified me."

"Me too," Eric and I said almost simultaneously.

"I mean, pilots shouldn't do them on purpose , right?" Peggy shrieked with humorous mock terror.

Eric continued, "Think about it this way. Spins are like a roller coaster, but, unlike a coaster, you're completely able to stop a spin. It might not be possible in every airframe, which is why it's important to avoid the conditions which lead to them. We'll talk more about that when we're up."

"Makes me want to puke just thinking about it," Leah said.

"It's okay, Leah. Trust me," Peggy said. "Eric, I have an idea."

"Tell me," Eric said.

"You and I should go up first. We'll do a few. Lance and Leah can watch from the ground."

"Great idea. You ready to do it now, or do you have a food coma?"

Peggy chuckled. "I'm good."

"Off we go, into the wild blue yonder!" Eric sang, swooping his flattened palm upward.

Twenty minutes later, Eric and Peggy were airborne. They carried one of the ranch's private-band handheld radios. Leah and I had another.

Eric radioed to ask if we were watching.

"Yep," I replied.

Leah and I watched as the plane pitched upward. It almost seemed to come to a stop given the angle from which we were observing. Suddenly, the left wing dipped, and the tail lurched upward. The airplane pivoted quickly vertical into a spiral for five or six seconds before it stabilized and returned to level flight.

"How did it look from there?" Peggy asked over the radio.

I turned toward Leah, but she was facing the opposite direction, face down, hands over her eyes.

"Leah, baby, look! They're straight and level."

She did.

"Lance! That's insane!"

"Uh, we didn't see the action good enough," I mildly lied to the Reiters.

"No prob. We'll do it again."

I could see from the look in Leah's eyes she caught a little of the excitement and adrenaline-infused tone of Peggy's voice.

"Here we go," we heard.

We watched the same display. I couldn't help but grin.

"Oh, hell, what am I getting myself into?" Leah asked.

"Nothing yet. But see? It's all good."

"Lance, I'm putting my life into your⁠—his hands."

"Yes, you are. Trust him. Trust me , baby. That's all I can ask."

"Okay, I'll give it a try," she said timidly.

"Y'all come on back. We're good to go," I radioed.

Fifteen minutes later, Eric had Leah airborne.

Peggy stood next to me, watching her plane fly overhead.

"You okay, Leah?" I radioed.

"No," said her timid voice.

"Eric's got you, okay?"

I hadn't even released the transmit button when I saw the plane plummet. My own heart skipped a beat. It hadn't when it was Eric and Peggy up there, but it certainly did when my love was the one onboard.

My tension eased when the plane, just as quickly, resumed normal flight. Then, it did it again, but in the opposite direction.

"Easy, Lance," Peggy said when I brought the radio to my face. She put her arm around my shoulders, so I didn't call.

The plane climbed again, circling. I watched as it entered into a steep turn. It made an entire circle, then spun again! Holy fuck ! I wasn't expecting that! I'd never seen anyone do that, but it just as quickly settled into normal flight.

"Uh, baby?" I radioed.

"Quiet !" was her almost-immediate reply. I couldn't quite decode the tone of her voice, but her command caught me off guard.

Peggy started chuckling.

We watched three more courses of plummeting dives. I admit it. My heart was racing.

When I saw the following steep turn, I expected another surprise, but it didn't happen. I watched as they flew two sets of turns, one in each direction, then they descended and headed to the asphalt strip thirty minutes after they'd taken off.

I damn-near ran into the propeller as the plane taxied back in front of us.