-2-

beeps of the airfields Non-Directional-Beacon that J.B added in the background, J.B’s voice, my own, and of course the theme of “Titanic” that wrapped it all up into one big noisy headset. At the end of our earlier flight that day, J.B laughed at my frustration, and admitted that he was doing that on purpose. “Soon you will be flying your first Solo” J.B explained “And I don’t want you to be distracted by fear. When you will fly your first Solo, you will be flying calmly and thinking ‘Thank-god J.B is out of here with his distractions’ it will be an anti-climax.”. And now, this was the second lesson I was taking that day, and after J.B’s secret was reveled, I felt pretty confident, and those distractions didn’t bother me any more. Well, Not until the ‘Titanic’ theme. As I turned to the Final leg, lowering the second stage of the flaps and aiming at the numbers 24 that were painted in white on the runways threshold, I felt as if I have mastered the art of landing an airplane. The plane approached the runway, flaring above the “Piano-Keys” and touching the tarmac with the gentleness of two lips meeting in a passionate kiss. I smiled with a cocky kind of satisfaction, as I raised the flaps and pushed the throttle all the way in, accelerating the plane again to its takeoff speed. At 65 knots, I pulled the nose up departing from the runway for the next circuit. “I’ll handle the communications now” said J.B with a twitch of a malicious joy in his voice. I had no problem with that, and I just concentrated on flying the plane in to the downwind leg of the circuit, reducing power to a straight & level flight, and going through the pre-landing checks again.

The ‘Titanic’ theme was still running on the radio, saturating this flying experience with a pastoral feeling of satisfaction. “Jandakot Tower, Foxtrot-India-Golf…” I heard J.B’s voice overcoming the music “… Downwind for full stop…” J.B continued, and I was thinking to my self that the lesson was obviously over, and how time flies when you’re having fun. The Titanic theme finally ended and at the pause between songs J.B’s continuing words were heard loud and clear, like a declaration of independents  “…student will be taking his first Solo!” I turned my head

àì ãó îñ' 1àì ãó îñ' 3
ìçõ ëàï ëãé ìãìâ ìñéôåø - îñò àì äàåìéîôåñ