Not a Good Track Record

“Was that the same woman whose husband was killed?” John asked over the pounding rain.

“One and the same, a very brave and dependable woman.”

“Well, let’s hope God answers her prayers.” John rolled his eyes in defeat while considering Marta’s track record.

Eventually, John spotted the field from the passenger side window. They would have to set up the landing with Steve viewing the field from his side window. The rain was pounding the windshield too strongly, and seeing anything through it was about as effective as looking through frosted glass.

Steve performed a shallow left-hand traffic pattern as he slowly descended and flew the length of the strip. Seeing no obstacles, he circled and approached from the same direction.

Steve bled off speed, let out ten degrees of flaps, and turned left before letting out another ten degrees. He forced the nose over to keep up the present air speed and observed the field. Pulling the throttle back, he dumped full flaps just before flaring out. The RPMs were low enough to prevent anyone from hearing the engine. An eerie whistle of air rushing past the wings accompanied them through the remainder of the flight.

“Okay, you’ve got it, steady...” John encouraged while wiping off condensation from the window.



Jeffrey W. Bennett, is the author of Commitment-A Novel and other non-fiction books, novels and periodicals.