Let the Music Play, Chapter 38

[GaryK]

There's no mention of "second", "demonstration" or "Salt Lake" in Chapter 38. Maybe it's in an earlier chapter. You'll have to forgive me for not pursuing this further right now. It's all your fault of course!

[Benji]

Umm, I believe the second demonstration was the dud bomb in the storage locker in Salt Lake. At least there was narration to that effect towards the end of 38. I'll dig up the quote later, kinda at work right now

 

 

.....Here you go!

 

In the remaining hour before The Scar

[EMoe57]

Now for the most pressing question, since we all managed to squeeze 38 out of you on Thursday, do we get 39 on mon/Tues next week, or is it a 12 day wait?

Still, of course i am looking forward to chapter 39 on Tuesday next week

I can't answer for CJ - he surprised me by releasing this one so soon - but I haven't even had time to look at 39 yet! Sorry kids, dad's been working hard as of late...

[Benji]

I can't answer for CJ - he surprised me by releasing this one so soon - but I haven't even had time to looked at 39 yet! Sorry kids, dad's been working hard as of late...

 

 

.....Oh well!!

[Graeme]

Returning to an earlier discussion, the full quote is:

 

After a rushed visit to an airline desk, where he purchased the last remaining seat on a flight to Los Angeles, Dimitri returned to The Scar, who said,

[GaryK]

It seems to me as if the "no risk of it occurring" thought could be taken either way. That's because it's written as a stand alone sentence. There's nothing to logically connect it to the preceding or following comment.

 

I think it's simply evidence of CJ playing mind games with us again! I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[Benji]

It seems to me as if the "no risk of it occurring" thought could be taken either way. That's because it's written as a stand alone sentence. There's nothing to logically connect it to the preceding or following comment.

 

I think it's simply evidence of CJ playing mind games with us again! I guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

 

.......That was pretty much the way I saw it. It could have applied to either his preceding or afterthought, CJ is leaving hints around. :wacko:

[Graeme]

It seems to me as if the "no risk of it occurring" thought could be taken either way. That's because it's written as a stand alone sentence. There's nothing to logically connect it to the preceding or following comment.

I disagree, because that phrase ends with a comma, not a period. It is connected to the following dialogue and would logically apply to that dialogue. I agree that it could have been written more clearly, but it seems obvious to me that it applies to the following dialogue, not the preceding.

[GaryK]

I disagree, because that phrase ends with a comma, not a period. It is connected to the following dialogue and would logically apply to that dialogue. I agree that it could have been written more clearly, but it seems obvious to me that it applies to the following dialogue, not the preceding.

You are quite right. My bad. I should have been reading with my glasses on, but I usually leave them off unless I'm working. At least this time I enlarged the type in my browser. In the chapter and in your quote those looked like periods to me, but clearly they're not. Oh well.

[rknapp]

Congratulations CJ, you're among the very few authors to get my eyes to water with a story. Personally, if I was in Brandon's shoes before, during, or after the landing, I'd have been bawling like a baby. The vivid description of the Beechcraft's incoming speed, the possibility of the engine stalling, the bouncing, etc. had even me scared and I'm safe and sound in the living room of my apartment.

 

At any rate, I was worried there for a minute that the USAF wouldn't look into the issue (at the same time saying to myself that that would never happen when the country is at DEFCON 1), and subsequently was relieved when Brandon mentioned the fog. I had no idea what the fog meant since I don't know anything about explosives (other than to be far away from them when they detonate) but I figured that the General would take that to mean that the windshield blowout was not a result of Canada's weapon against US aircraft and sidewalks striking it.

 

Thank you for posting early, easing my suspense.

Damn you for posting early, forcing to me procrastinate from studying for the final I have tomorrow afternoon. I knew I shouldn't have checked the forum...

[Benji]

Congratulations CJ, you're among the very few authors to get my eyes to water with a story. Personally, if I was in Brandon's shoes before, during, or after the landing, I'd have been bawling like a baby. The vivid description of the Beechcraft's incoming speed, the possibility of the engine stalling, the bouncing, etc. had even me scared and I'm safe and sound in the living room of my apartment.

 

At any rate, I was worried there for a minute that the USAF wouldn't look into the issue (at the same time saying to myself that that would never happen when the country is at DEFCON 1), and subsequently was relieved when Brandon mentioned the fog. I had no idea what the fog meant since I don't know anything about explosives (other than to be far away from them when they detonate) but I figured that the General would take that to mean that the windshield blowout was not a result of Canada's weapon against US aircraft and sidewalks striking it.

 

Thank you for posting early, easing my suspense.

Damn you for posting early, forcing to me procrastinate from studying for the final I have tomorrow afternoon. I knew I shouldn't have checked the forum...

 

 

...........My feelings exactly, the goat is Damned if he does and Damned if he doesn't!!

[Tiger]

I'm not complaining at all, except that from what Emoe said, we may have to wait a while for the next one.

[Benji]

I'm not complaining at all, except that from what Emoe said, we may have to wait a while for the next one.

 

 

......I'm not complaining either, 39 will be out when its out, we will probably get it the same time D&CW 6 comes out, I have lots of patience!!

[wildone]

As an aside, I'm surprised that they each have one trigger. How did they manage that? I would have thought that The Scar would have both triggers, though he may give one to Dimitri as a safetynet and to help ensure Dimitri's loyalty. From an earlier chapter, the 'official' plan is for Dimitri to become the Minister of Defence after they take over Paraguay.

 

I guess we shouldn't forget, that Vlad was the one who actually put in the triggers, and had thought he had put them in to his advantage. It was actually Dimitri who re-programmed them so Vlad couldn't use them and J/S and him could.

 

So what is really preventing Dimitri from giving J/S a false trigger code? After all, it was Dimitri who was using the phone when J/S told him to "Let The Music Play". I think the possibility of Dimitri holding all 3 codes is a possibility, and J/S has a dud code much like Vlad.

 

 

At any rate, I was worried there for a minute that the USAF wouldn't look into the issue (at the same time saying to myself that that would never happen when the country is at DEFCON 1), and subsequently was relieved when Brandon mentioned the fog. I had no idea what the fog meant since I don't know anything about explosives (other than to be far away from them when they detonate) but I figured that the General would take that to mean that the windshield blowout was not a result of Canada's weapon against US aircraft and sidewalks striking it.

 

Shhhhh!!! That is a matter of National Security How can you freely give out our plans to overtake the US. I may have to get Bondwriter to send some associates your way .

 

As far as the fog, I do believe that when you are far enough up in the atmosphere, and a pressurized cabin is breached, the fog is actually due to the condensation of the oxygen in the cabin to the outside. CJ mentioned that the air pressure dropped by half and the temperature dropped by 40 degrees in under a second. This was would cause the fog, and also prove that not even the best trained Canada Goose could breath at that altitude.

 

Steve

Edited May 2, 2008 by wildone

[AFriendlyFace]

Great chapter!

[Tiger]

Great chapter!

It most certainly was. Things were looking bad for Instinct in the earlier chapter. I was glad that they managed to survive. Now that they know about The Scar, perhaps the authorities will be hunting him down soon.

[Pai-kun]

I really liked the outcome of their "little" problem. Now I just hope they all survive throughout the rest of the series too. x_x A huge thanks for posting the chapter so early right after that massive cliffhanger! ^^

[C James]

If I recall, it was Mike who said it would be ironic if the fighter pilot who tried to shoot them down ended up saving them?

Well, Major Pierce did just that. His idea for landing at Edwards was about their only hope. Maybe Bonneville Salt Flats would have worked, but most dry lake beds wouldn't; they often aren't uniform enough.

 

Oh, BTW, I'm curious.. Does anyone think Brandon's collapse seems odd? He was fine until he was safely out of the plane and on the ground, then his knees fail without warning. I'm hoping that part of the story doesn't seem too odd, becuase in fact, it's autobiographical. LoL

 

One time, as a student pilot, in a small plane (not a jet, a low-wing single engine) I managed to end up at ten thousand feet, dead engine, dead electrical system, no flaps (they were electric) and no brakes. As an added benifit, I had loads of loose fuel in the cockpit and structure, so it was kind of a flying bomb. I dead-sticked the thing in to an airfieild about 50 miles from Edwards (Now you know where I got the Edwards idea from) and made the best, smoothest landing I've ever done (not easy, with no flaps). I had to- I was landing on a little taxiway, not a runway (I ran out of altitude, lol). I was totally fine when i climbed out of that plane. However, once I got about twenty feet away, my knees went out from under me and I collapsed on the asphalt like a sack of potatoes. LoL

[YaP]

I guess we shouldn't forget, that Vlad was the one who actually put in the triggers, and had thought he had put them in to his advantage. It was actually Dimitri who re-programmed them so Vlad couldn't use them and J/S and him could.

 

So what is really preventing Dimitri from giving J/S a false trigger code? After all, it was Dimitri who was using the phone when J/S told him to "Let The Music Play". I think the possibility of Dimitri holding all 3 codes is a possibility, and J/S has a dud code much like Vlad.

 

If i remember it right, the bombs can be triggered using any phone, by keying in the code after dialing in to the bomb.. the "receiver" is triggered by those tone dial tones every phone uses. The little "pre-programmed" devices just make it easier to send the code, but as long as you know the code itself (and the Scar definitely knows them all, and maybe Dimitri does as well) you can use any phone and trigger the bomb. Vlad tried to mess around with the receiver's side in the bomb to change the code.. but Dimitri (or was it the Scarf itself ?) overwrote his changes, so the codes are what the Scar and Dimitry wanted them to be...

 

 

If I recall, it was Mike who said it would be ironic if the fighter pilot who tried to shoot them down ended up saving them?

Well, Major Pierce did just that. His idea for landing at Edwards was about their only hope. Maybe Bonneville Salt Flats would have worked, but most dry lake beds wouldn't; they often aren't uniform enough.

 

Oh, BTW, I'm curious.. Does anyone think Brandon's collapse seems odd? He was fine until he was safely out of the plane and on the ground, then his knees fail without warning. I'm hoping that part of the story doesn't seem too odd, becuase in fact, it's autobiographical. LoL

 

One time, as a student pilot, in a small plane (not a jet, a low-wing single engine) I managed to end up at ten thousand feet, dead engine, dead electrical system, no flaps (they were electric) and no brakes. As an added benifit, I had loads of loose fuel in the cockpit and structure, so it was kind of a flying bomb. I dead-sticked the thing in to an airfieild about 50 miles from Edwards (Now you know where I got the Edwards idea from) and made the best, smoothest landing I've ever done (not easy, with no flaps). I had to- I was landing on a little taxiway, not a runway (I ran out of altitude, lol). I was totally fine when i climbed out of that plane. However, once I got about twenty feet away, my knees went out from under me and I collapsed on the asphalt like a sack of potatoes. LoL

 

From my experience, thats not odd at all.. its a quite natural reaction. As long as you are "under pressure", your adrenaline level is high and keeps you running.... the moment the danger is over, your mind (and body) need/demand a time out... saw it happen to others and myself (back in my days as paramedic and firefighter). So, not odd at all - quite contrary rather realistic

[Low Flyer]

If I recall, it was Mike who said it would be ironic if the fighter pilot who tried to shoot them down ended up saving them?

Well, Major Pierce did just that. His idea for landing at Edwards was about their only hope. Maybe Bonneville Salt Flats would have worked, but most dry lake beds wouldn't; they often aren't uniform enough.

 

Oh, BTW, I'm curious.. Does anyone think Brandon's collapse seems odd? He was fine until he was safely out of the plane and on the ground, then his knees fail without warning. I'm hoping that part of the story doesn't seem too odd, becuase in fact, it's autobiographical. LoL

 

One time, as a student pilot, in a small plane (not a jet, a low-wing single engine) I managed to end up at ten thousand feet, dead engine, dead electrical system, no flaps (they were electric) and no brakes. As an added benifit, I had loads of loose fuel in the cockpit and structure, so it was kind of a flying bomb. I dead-sticked the thing in to an airfieild about 50 miles from Edwards (Now you know where I got the Edwards idea from) and made the best, smoothest landing I've ever done (not easy, with no flaps). I had to- I was landing on a little taxiway, not a runway (I ran out of altitude, lol). I was totally fine when i climbed out of that plane. However, once I got about twenty feet away, my knees went out from under me and I collapsed on the asphalt like a sack of potatoes. LoL

What on earth was a student pilot doing in a situation like that????

 

I remember my first solo landing, though. I was fine during and after the landing. I shut the aircraft down and walked into the flying club where I collapsed into a chair! And that was in a fully functioning aircraft.

 

Incidentally, whoever asked about the fog, it's caused by the drop in air pressure and temperature. Low pressure air holds less water than higher pressure, so when the pressure drops, the water condenses out into a fog. You can see a similar effect at an airport on days when the relative humidty is approaching 100%. As aircraft take off, you can sometimes see a little cloud above the wings. Lift is created by a low pressure area above the wings, and that low pressure area also causes water to condense.

 

CJ - I was rude about the last chapter. This one more than makes up for it - I wouldn't have predicted that in a thousand years. Many thanks.

 

LF

[GaryK]

Oh, BTW, I'm curious.. Does anyone think Brandon's collapse seems odd? He was fine until he was safely out of the plane and on the ground, then his knees fail without warning. I'm hoping that part of the story doesn't seem too odd, becuase in fact, it's autobiographical. LoL

From my experience, thats not odd at all.. its a quite natural reaction. As long as you are "under pressure", your adrenaline level is high and keeps you running.... the moment the danger is over, your mind (and body) need/demand a time out... saw it happen to others and myself (back in my days as paramedic and firefighter). So, not odd at all - quite contrary rather realistic

I remember my first solo landing, though. I was fine during and after the landing. I shut the aircraft down and walked into the flying club where I collapsed into a chair! And that was in a fully functioning aircraft.

I agree with both YaP and Low Flyer. As long as you're in the moment your adrenaline is pumping and you're able to do what needs to be done. Call it part of your body's self-defensive mechanism. Afterward, when you're safe and realize what you've been through your normal emotions take over and odd things can happen.

 

How the hell did you get yourself into a situation like that CJ?

[TalonRider]

Oh, BTW, I'm curious.. Does anyone think Brandon's collapse seems odd? He was fine until he was safely out of the plane and on the ground, then his knees fail without warning. I'm hoping that part of the story doesn't seem too odd, becuase in fact, it's autobiographical. LoL

I didn't. After all, he was under a lot of stress, both physical and mental. I think I would have been surprised if he hadn't collapsed.

[Dion]

I just read straight through chapters 1-38 all at once. I'm utterly fascinated and gripping the edge of my seat. What an amazing story!

 

I'm not familiar with the posting schedule - will there be another instalment soon? ...Please?

[C James]

The way I got myself into that situation is, basically, I was cheap! I was renting an aircraft from a rather shoddy FBO at my home field, and the oldest one was the cheapest. This was a very old Piper Cherokee.

 

I was 19 and on my long cross-country solo (a requirement to get a liscence). I had about 30 hours total as pilot in command.

 

This occured on the 4th of July that year, and I'd flown from Southern California up to central california, where I'd planned to refuel. Ooops, tbe FBO was closed, no fuel available. I did some calculations and figured I could make my next stop, a larger airfieild in the high desert. I made it, but I was nearly empty. It was a scorcher of a day; 115 degrees. I told the FBO to fill it to the tabs (a little less than full). They filled it right to the rims. Fuel being expensive, I didn't want to try training it out, and took the work of the FBO operator that it would be just fine. (Baaad idea).

 

The other bad idea was the cheap old plane. They had been doing some rather poor maintanance. The tank seals (around the wing caps) have seals. It helps is they aren't corroded to nothing. It also helps if the rubber grommet seal where the wing root joins the fuselage actually present. They weren't.

 

Avgas, even more than gasolone, expands when it gets hot. So, when you pumb gas from a cold ground tank and into hot wing tanks, it expands. However, it took a little while I guess.

 

I took off, and started to climb. Fortunatly for me, the acitive runway was in the opposite direction from where I was heading, plus I had mountains in my path, so I climbed out, then did a climbing turn, back over the feild. (I was well above the traffic pattern). I continued to climb, slowly passing through ten thousand feet. once the feild was many miles behind me. Then I smelled gas.

 

A glance at the wings (it was a low-wing aricraft, with the wing filler caps in top of each wing) did little to improve my disposition; both caps were spraying avgas like giant lawn sprinkler heads. I could also smell it, very strongly, in the cockpit. I opened the tiny window vent, which helped the breathing isue, but the gas was still spraying. I looked for the overflow tubes on the wing's trailing edge, and found one trailing some fuel (as it should be) and the other, nothing. I immediatly initiated a 360 degree turn towards the airport. At that point, I heard a rather loud bang from inside that wing. Then, that wind stopped spaying fuel. I assumed that I had a ruptured tank, inside the wing. I also had good reson to beelive that the fuel was flowing into the cockpit.

 

The exhaust manifold was my immediate concern. It's under the engine cowling. I had these visions of the fuel trickling forward, and igniting in it. That meant I couldn't lower the nose. I was also worried about any electrical sparks. My first action was to kill the master electrical switch, which shut off everything except the engine.

 

Given the risk of what I considered to be an imminent explosions, I also pulled the mixture all the way out. That shuts off fuel to the engine, shutting it down.

 

So, with no radio, and no engine, at ten thousand feet over the desert, I reefed that old clunker around, hoping to make it back to the airport. I set up for best rate of glide, which in a cherokee sucks.

 

I could have re-started the engine, assuming it would start, but I felt that risked blowing up. I didn't have a parachute, so jumping was not what I considered an optimal solution. I had a few other minor <cough!> concerns; the flaps on that plane were electric; I couldn't use them. Also, I beleived I had fuel in the fuselage, and it would be running down the main gear struts (fixed-gear aircraft) and into the brake assemblies. Therefor, I was coming in hot (Fast, due to no flaps), Deadstick (which means no engine) and no brakes. (That, incidentally, is when i thought of the landing at Edwards, which i used in Ch 38, but it was too far away.)

 

I set up for a straight-in approach, hoping I'd make it. I was running out of sky pretty darn quick. I was coming in at an angle to the runway; I didn't have enough altitude to fly a real final approach. My plan was to turn as I paralleled the runway, right over the numbers. The only problem was, about ten seconds prior to landing, as i sailed over the airport perimeter fence, I realized I wasn't going to make it. I was also in what amounted to a flying bomb, and a bad landing would have been a fatal one.

 

Parallel to the runway was a narrow taxiway. It was for small planes, so it was only about ten foot wide. It was my only chance, So, 30 feet above the ground at about 80 miles per hour, I banked and kicked rudder for the final course change (about 30 degrees) and lined up on the taxiway. I had just enough airspeed to roll out of the bank without stalling.

 

That taxiway was far, far smaller than any runway I'd ever dealt with, plus lading without flaps is a little interesting in and of itself. . That turned out to be the smothest damn landing I ever made; couldn't even feel it.

 

I was doing fine at that point, had the Taxiway run the full length of the runway. It didn't. It angled to the left, into a parking area. , and beyind that, into the airport resturmant. Due to having no brakes (I didn't want to risk using them) I took the turn, doing about 40mph, and rolled out in the aircraft tie-down area, almost stopping. I rolled a few feet fruther, coming to a halt about ten feet from the windows of the airport resturant.

 

I think i got out of that cockpit in under a second, Lol.

 

I'd been perfectly calm on the way down (being nervous would have done me little good) but as i walked away, and people came dashing out to meet me (Thy'd seen me land with a non-rotatian popeller, in the taxiway, so they knew somethign was amiss) that's when my knees suddenly betrayed me. Next thing I know I'm in a heap on that hot asphault, looking up, wondering what the hell happened. I figured that is was just nerves, but do do it in front of all those people? Damn, now that was embarrassing.

 

I couldn't reach my instructor by phone, so I had a problem; what to do next. If I decleired an emergency, I'd have to wait for my instructor to come get me, and that would be expensive. I had a mechanic take a look; the bang wasn't from the fuel tank popping as I'd suspected; it had merely distorted from the pressure. I could therefor have probably used the brakes.

The engine shut-down itself might also have been unnececary; I've received conflicting opinions on that, including from professionals.

 

I'd lost only about 1/3 of my fuel, so after consulting with several pilots and the mechanic, I figured that the only thing really wrong was the bad seals on the wing caps. That's just a kind of gasket material, and in a pinch, even fabric will suffice. In other words, i made temporary gaskets out of my socks, fired up the plane, and continued on my way. Let me tell you, I kept a very close eye out for alternate landing points all the way back. LoL.

 

Oh, and thanks to the shoddy maintenance that nearly got me killed, an unspoken deal was struck upon my return; I got free rental of that plane for the following year. (and to answer the question many of you are likely asking by now: OF COURSE I'm crazy! But yeah, i flew that plane many, many more times.)

 

So, that's where Brandon's collapse came from, and the idea for Edwards AFB, too. And the no-flaps landing as well.

[Drewbie]

Anyone in your situation with that pos plane, would be shaking afterwards.

 

After nearly dying from a blast in the front, i would be shaking too.