-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