A Twist in Time by Frank J. Derfler Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Frank J. Derfler
reply.
"Come right to one nine zero for a straight in to the Nellis runway." Rae had punched in the Direct command on her GPS and on the display she had a line from the nose of the F-5 to the centerline of runway at Nellis. "Range Control, we need a straight in."
"Sneaky two one, we will coordinate that," the controller replied over the radio. "Be advised that auxiliary field six is on your nose for seven miles. Runway one eight there is six thousand feet by fifty feet wide. No crash rescue. Runway only."
"Jack," Rae said, “Can you land that thing?"
"I don't want to punch out," was Jack's tense reply. "We need to find out what blew up. I can control it if the left engine keeps running. Fuel totalizer shows zip."
"I think you should go for the auxiliary field right on your nose. You need to slow it down right now and get into an approach configuration."
Before she finished speaking, the landing gear on the Australian fighter came down. "Gear down and locked." Jack reported.
At the same instant, Jose had cut the power to the F-5 and raised the nose. Then, after he slowed to the speed of the F/A-18, he smoothly pushed down the nose and lowered his own gear. "I have the field in sight." he said to Rae over the Intercom. Rae pulled herself up to see low out the front of the airplane.
"Jack, you want to follow us to the field?"
"Lead the way." was the terse reply.
Jose put on a tiny amount of power and pulled ahead of the A/F-18. "What's your stall speed, Jack?" Rae asked.
"Who knows with all this stuff gone? I'd like a hundred and eighty knots and nose down to keep it together." Jack wanted to keep the airplane fast because he didn't know when it would stall and just stop flying.
Jose was torn between raising the gear of the F-5 because of the excessive speed or leaving it down in case they inadvertently touched the runway. He elected to leave it down so the picture looked right to the pilot of the damaged airplane behind him. The F-5 moaned and howled with the excessive speed on the deployed landing gear. Jose had them descending at fifteen hundred feet a minute and it wasn't enough. The narrow runway was too close. "Too high!" he told Rae on the intercom.
"Jack" Rae said. Remember that twenty-degree space shuttle approach I taught you? This is it. Just get lined up and do a nice flair and you'll be good."
"Jose, altitude and fuel?" Rae was being the perfect co-pilot. She was reminding Jose on the intercom about the two things he could never have too much of.
"About one thousand feet above ground level and a lot of gas." was his reply. Even as he said it, their descent rate took them down to five hundred feet over the beginning of the runway. "
"Adder three, cleared to land," was what Rae said to Jack.
"Going around." Jose said on the intercom. He raised the gear on the F-5, went to maximum non-afterburner power on the throttle, and gently raised the nose. Rae struggled to look back at Jack's plane. She had no idea if he had maintained control when he tried to pull out of his steep approach. Jack and his plane could have simply made a crater in the runway.
As Jose gained altitude he pulled back the throttle, stopped his climb one thousand feet above the desert runway, and made a tight bank to the right. Looking down now out the right side of the canopy, Rae and Jose could see the Super Hornet off the far end of the narrow runway. Jose continued circling, instinctively doing a maneuver called a turn around a point, until the canopy of the A/F-18 went up and Jack waved his arms.
"Range control, Sneaky two one," Rae said. "Adder three landed safely at auxiliary field six. He's going to need help as soon as possible."
"Sneaky two one, helicopters are on the way. Say fuel state and intent."
Jose pushed the transmit button on his
"Come right to one nine zero for a straight in to the Nellis runway." Rae had punched in the Direct command on her GPS and on the display she had a line from the nose of the F-5 to the centerline of runway at Nellis. "Range Control, we need a straight in."
"Sneaky two one, we will coordinate that," the controller replied over the radio. "Be advised that auxiliary field six is on your nose for seven miles. Runway one eight there is six thousand feet by fifty feet wide. No crash rescue. Runway only."
"Jack," Rae said, “Can you land that thing?"
"I don't want to punch out," was Jack's tense reply. "We need to find out what blew up. I can control it if the left engine keeps running. Fuel totalizer shows zip."
"I think you should go for the auxiliary field right on your nose. You need to slow it down right now and get into an approach configuration."
Before she finished speaking, the landing gear on the Australian fighter came down. "Gear down and locked." Jack reported.
At the same instant, Jose had cut the power to the F-5 and raised the nose. Then, after he slowed to the speed of the F/A-18, he smoothly pushed down the nose and lowered his own gear. "I have the field in sight." he said to Rae over the Intercom. Rae pulled herself up to see low out the front of the airplane.
"Jack, you want to follow us to the field?"
"Lead the way." was the terse reply.
Jose put on a tiny amount of power and pulled ahead of the A/F-18. "What's your stall speed, Jack?" Rae asked.
"Who knows with all this stuff gone? I'd like a hundred and eighty knots and nose down to keep it together." Jack wanted to keep the airplane fast because he didn't know when it would stall and just stop flying.
Jose was torn between raising the gear of the F-5 because of the excessive speed or leaving it down in case they inadvertently touched the runway. He elected to leave it down so the picture looked right to the pilot of the damaged airplane behind him. The F-5 moaned and howled with the excessive speed on the deployed landing gear. Jose had them descending at fifteen hundred feet a minute and it wasn't enough. The narrow runway was too close. "Too high!" he told Rae on the intercom.
"Jack" Rae said. Remember that twenty-degree space shuttle approach I taught you? This is it. Just get lined up and do a nice flair and you'll be good."
"Jose, altitude and fuel?" Rae was being the perfect co-pilot. She was reminding Jose on the intercom about the two things he could never have too much of.
"About one thousand feet above ground level and a lot of gas." was his reply. Even as he said it, their descent rate took them down to five hundred feet over the beginning of the runway. "
"Adder three, cleared to land," was what Rae said to Jack.
"Going around." Jose said on the intercom. He raised the gear on the F-5, went to maximum non-afterburner power on the throttle, and gently raised the nose. Rae struggled to look back at Jack's plane. She had no idea if he had maintained control when he tried to pull out of his steep approach. Jack and his plane could have simply made a crater in the runway.
As Jose gained altitude he pulled back the throttle, stopped his climb one thousand feet above the desert runway, and made a tight bank to the right. Looking down now out the right side of the canopy, Rae and Jose could see the Super Hornet off the far end of the narrow runway. Jose continued circling, instinctively doing a maneuver called a turn around a point, until the canopy of the A/F-18 went up and Jack waved his arms.
"Range control, Sneaky two one," Rae said. "Adder three landed safely at auxiliary field six. He's going to need help as soon as possible."
"Sneaky two one, helicopters are on the way. Say fuel state and intent."
Jose pushed the transmit button on his
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