A lesson from history

Posted on Tuesday 25 April 2023 @ 09:30 by Captain Melody Jones

Mission: Where no one has gone before
Location: Holodeck 1
Timeline: MD1 1200
4731 words - 9.5 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

After the incident on the bridge earlier that day, Melody decided that what Mitchell could do with was a little.... perspective. As a speed freak herself, Melody had tried all manner of historical modes of transport on the holodeck.

Melody had arranged to meet Mitchell outside holodeck 1 but had not disclosed what program she would be running. While she waited for him to arrive, she addressed the computer. "Computer load program 'Jones in the clouds'."

"Program complete, you may enter when ready." the computer responded.

It had been quite the day thus far, Pete's first day on bridge duty. Bridge duty was something he had sworn he would never do when he became a pilot, he was stick jockey and wanted to be where the action was. However, being the Commander of an Airgroup was not something he could pass up, and bridge duty came with the job so here he was. The Captain had requested to meet him at the holodeck, Pete liked his Captain. It was one of the few things that he actually liked since accepting this transfer. So, he gladly accepted. He wore a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt as he did not know what program was to be run so he did not know how to dress.

As Pete approached the holodeck he smiled broadly. "Captain it is quite the honour to take in a holodeck program with you. I know Captains get so little free time so they are particular about who they spend it with."

Melody smiled. "We're off duty here, Melody will do just fine. As you know I'm a bit of a speed freak myself and I do miss being at the helm sometimes. I created this holodeck program to try out some of the ancient flying machines of Earth, to see what it's like flying without a computer. I have tried out a wide range of aircraft from small to large and I'm getting the hang of some of them. I should warn you, it's 'seat of the pants' technology, very primitive. Sometimes you have one propellor to keep you in the air. But, I'm sure you should be able to pick it up fairly quickly. Flying is flying. Mind you, some are easier to control than others. So, are you up for the challenge?

"I have flown a few ancient planes. My favourite is the F-14. You know it is said that flying faster than light is the most exhilarating. However, I feel going faster than the speed of sound is better. But of course that is just me." Pete's smile was ear to ear as he stepped into the holodeck with Melody. This was truly a treat to go to the holodeck with the Captain.

The holodeck doors opened revealing a large airfield with a very long runway, currently devoid of traffic. The weather was sunny, without being too bright and there was a light breeze. A perfect day for flying.

"We'll start off with something easy shall we?" Melody said then addressed the computer. "Computer, give me a Cessna 152."

There was a beep and at the foot of the runway, a small 2 person aircraft appeared with a single propeller at the front.

Pete whistled in appreciation. "I have not seen one of these in the flesh. That is a beautiful aircraft. Can't wait to get up there and see what she can do."

Melody smiled. "This is a baby one, just to ease you in. Cruising speed is about 100 knots which doesn't sound very fast but when you've only got the one propeller, believe me, you feel everything. We'll practice a takeoff, a basic loop and landing for a start, shall we?"

"Sounds good to me. Would you like to do the honours?" Pete asked as he pointed toward the pilot's seat on the left side of the aircraft. The excitement within him was palpable. Not only would he be flying some the oldest known aircraft, but he would be spending some time with the Captain. That was something he wanted to do, getting to know one's superior officer is a great leap toward the trust that is inherit in all starship crews.

Melody smiled and nodded "Ok Pete, I'll do the first run." she said as she got comfortable behind the controls. She quickly scanned the instrument panel with a practised eye as she fired up the engine, set the flaps for takeoff and then pulled out the throttle. She small plane quickly gathered speed down the runway. "There are no other aircraft at the moment so we don't have any other traffic to worry about," she called out over the noise of the engine as she pulled back on the controls smoothly and got the plane off the ground. She climbed for a short distance, following the runway heading then started a bank to the left, ending up facing the other direction and flying back parallel to the runway. Once they were well past the end of the runway, Melody started slowing the aircraft down, adding more flaps and turning back to line up with the runway for landing. The small aircraft descended smoothly and there was the gentlest of bumps as they touched down and she brought the craft to a stop."

"Just a quick run around the block. You think you can handle that?"

The plane came to a stop on the runway and Pete smiled. "Yes ma'am I think I can take that on." There seemed to be nothing to flying this old craft, however, the exhilaration of actually controlling the craft is what made it all worth it. Pete scanned the instrument panel and deciphered where all the gauges were. He set the flaps and pulled out the throttle. Once again the plane gained speed down the runway. Pete kept his eye on the speedometer and when they reached seventy miles per hour he pulled back on the wheel and the plane rose into the air. Pete allowed the plane to raise on the same course until they reached 7,000 feet. At that point, he levelled off and banked the plane to the right. He continued to fly until he was far enough from the airstrip that he could lose altitude and land. Which was exactly what he did. When he taxied to a stop he turned to Melody with a smile. "How was that Captain?"

Melody nodded with respect. "Very nice. Are you ready to try something a bit..... faster?" She asked with a sly smile then spoke to the computer "Computer, remove the Cesna and give me two F-22 Raptors."

The Cessna was replaced with 2 sleek single-seat fighter jets. "This baby is a bit more... spicy... than the Cessna. Think you can handle it?"

Pete smiled. "Now this is more like it. I have studied fighters like this just about my entire life. Not my favorite of the old fighters, I reserve that honour for the F-15 but she is a beauty. I can handle this baby. I will have your wing." Pete started to make his way toward the fighter. At the moment he still was not really sure why the Captain had invited him but he was damn glad that she did.

Melody could see his enthusiasm as she started towards her own fighter. "Very good. As they use to say, shall we 'kick tyres and light the fires'?"

"And leave em squekin' from the freakin'..." Pete added as he headed toward his fighter in a trot.

Settling into the cockpit, Melody got everything ready and glanced over to Pete. Once she was satisfied he was also ready she started her takeoff roll. The fighter quickly accelerated down the runway and they were both soon airborne and climbing rapidly. They soon reached 5000ft and levelled off.

The communication between the two planes had been set automatically and Melody made contact with Pete. "How about a little friendly competition? She asked, a wicked grin on her face. "The first one to get a weapons lock on the other wins. Ready? Break...." and without warning, she instantly throttled back and extended her spoilers. Her fighter decelerated hard as Pete's shot past her. She then reapplied thrust muttering to herself "Come on, let's hear that sweet tone..."

Before Pete could respond he saw what she did. "Well that is how we are playing..." he said more to himself than anyone else. He initiated heavy evasive as his fighter dipped left and then right to avoid Melody from getting a weapons lock. Pete laughed and thought that now was as good a time as any to use the z-axis. He pulled back hard on the stick and his fighter went nearly vertical, the holodeck did a great job applying the g forces to Pete as the fighter climbed. After the brief thirty second climb Pete inverted his fighter and continued the loop until he settled behind Meoldy's fighter. He spoke into the comm's mic. "Well, Mama Bear it seems the hunter is now the hunted." Pete initiated the weapons lock. "Come on..." he said again to no one in particular.

Melody smiled to herself. "I think you'll find this bear has got some teeth." she pushed her fighter into a very sudden and steep dive at breakneck speed which set off several warning alarms in her cockpit. "How low can you go?" she called out as she pulled out of the dive less than 50ft off the ground. The topography below them had become a series of hills and narrow canyons and Melody skillfully hugged the contours of the terrain.

Pete followed her into the dive and pulled up with her. He managed to match her manoeuvres but that prevented him from getting the precious weapons lock. He took a quick look around and noticed the terrain, the hills and the canyons. Pete broke off the pursuit and dived slowly but steadily into one of the canyons. He knew that this manoeuvre would have the effect of causing Melody to wonder where he was. A quick lookup proved to Pete that he was right. He could see Melody flying straight and true. He pulled back on the stick and caused his fighter to initiate a near vertical climb. Alarms went off in his cockpit again however he paid no attention to them. The only tone he listened for was the weapons lock. As he levelled off again behind Melody he gave her no chance for evasive. During the climb Pete started the missile lock computer and as he levelled off it got lock. "I have lock and tone. You are targeted Captain."

Melody let out a begrudged whistle of respect. "That's some nice flying there. Tell you what, how about we land, have a break and some water and then... try something a little more... challenging?"

"See you on the deck," Pete replied and he turned the fighter around to head back to the airstrip. He could use a drink of water. At the moment he was beyond happy that he was able to do this. All this flying took his mind off of what had been going on in his head, and the argument with the Counselor. The skies were truly his happy place, and he was grateful for this opportunity to re center himself. As he was lost in his thoughts it seemed as if he arrived at the airstrip quicker than he should have. Nevertheless, he landed with no issues and hopped out of the cockpit.

Melody brought her aircraft down next to Pete's and quickly got out of the cockpit. "Computer 2 bottles of water." which appeared on the ground. She picked one up for herself and tossed the other to Pete. After having a drink and stretching out for a while she turned to him and asked "So, are you ready for a challenge?"

Pete took a sip of the water and smirked. "I am always up for something bigger and better." This program had been awesome thus far and Pete only wished that Goose was here to enjoy it with him. He thought that perhaps when everything was over he would ask the Captain if he could run the program with Goose.

"Computer load scenario Jones Heathrow flight Alpha 1." The pair suddenly found themselves in the middle of a busy airport with people rushing back and forth.

"This used to be one of the major airports near the city of London, England. The airport covers just over 1,200 hectares, has four terminals and two runways both almost 4000 meters long. It used to handle over 100,000 people per day with flights to 214 destinations across 84 countries. She led him to a window showing various aircraft outside, the closest one being a fairly large get with 2 engines. "That is a Boeing 737-800. It has two turbofan engines and can carry up to 189 people. It has a range of about 6000 kilometres and a cruising speed of 530 miles per hour.

Pete whistled in appreciation. "I have heard of these aircraft, read about them, seen pictures of them, but never saw one up close let alone fly one. But, I can't imagine it is much different than the fighters of the age. When do we take off?"

Melody smiled. "Well, it's a.... bit different to flying a fighter jet, and we're going to be flying that one." Melody pointed to a much larger aircraft sitting at the terminal next to it. "That is a Boeing 747-400. it has four turbofan engines, weighs in at just under 200,000 kilograms and produces over 45,000 lbs of thrust and a range of over 13,000 kilometres. It can carry about 400 people.

"I guess in the time before transporters this was the only way to get large amounts of people around the planet. But like I said it cannot be much different from the fighters. If I remember my history correctly it took three people to fly a 747-400. Two pilots and a flight engineer. Assuming that you and I are the pilots where is the rest of the crew?" Pete's voice was a mixture of both excitement and a small amount of fear. He actually had never flown a commercial style aeroplane. But it was much smaller than a starship and he flew starships.

"This particular model has a crew of just me and thee. One to handle the flying which will be you while I'll cross check and handle the radio. We'll be flying to the main airport in Berlin. Should take about an hour and a half. Shall we?" Melody started to lead the way towards the correct terminal.

"Sounds great and could be at the very least a way for us to get to know one another." Pete fell into step with the Captain. The tone of his voice seemed to say that there would not be anything exciting in flying a route as was suggested. He thought it would be pretty much the same as flying a starship. Push a bunch of buttons and off you go.

They walked down the ramp and approached the massive aeroplane. Melody led the way up to the cockpit which was on the upper level taking the left hand seat. "Now to wave time, the flight computer is programmed with the flight plan, we just have to go through the checklists. She handed him a book. "We'll start with the startup checklist. You read out, I'll flip the switches."

Pete climbed into the right seat and took a look around. He did not know much about these old planes but he would give it his all. "Right power up and safety check. Circuit breakers?"

The two of them ran through the first checklist quite easily. Melody had spent some time familiarising herself with the cockpit layout and found the required switches fairly quickly, only having to search for one or two that were lesser used. Melody then picked up a pad and pen from next to her chair. "Right, the air traffic control is going to give a lot of information so I'm going to make some notes. She then hit the radio toggle "Tower, Speedbird 01 request pushback IFR to Berlin."

The response came back through both headsets. "Speedbird 01 cleared for pushback and IFR to Berlin as filed. Fly runway heading. Climb flight level 120. Altimeter 2992. Contact ground on 129.75 when ready for taxi."

Melody read back the instructions to the tower as she set the autopilot. A small ground vehicle approached the front landing gear and started to push the massive aircraft away from the terminal. Once the aircraft was in position, the ground vehicle moved away. Melody re-tuned the radio. "Gound, Speedbird 01 ready for taxi."

"Speedbird 01 taxi to and hold runway 24 L Using taxiway Alpha, Charlie, Delta 2 and Tango."

Melody read back the instructions again before tuning to Pete. "Right, the tiller near your right hand will turn the front wheel. You'll find you don't need to make big movements in order to turn the plane and try and keep them smooth. Ground speed is 20 Knots so we don't need a lot of power. On the engine display, there is a marker that moves around as you push the throttle. It takes a while for the engines to spool up. Let's try an N1, that's engine speed, of 20% to get us moving. I've got the airport layout here, i'll give you directions to runway 24 left.

"Acknowledged..." Pete said as he pushed up the throttle to the indicated speed. The plane had first been moved away from the gate in reverse by a pushback truck. The truck manoeuvred the plane into position so that it could move under its own power. Once they were clear of the parking area, Pete turned the wheel slightly and the plane took a wide turn to face toward the correct taxiway. "Proceeding to taxiway Alpha."

With Melody guiding, the plane proceeded along the taxiways and made the final turn lined up with the runway.

Melody activated the radio again. "Tower, Speedbird 01 request takeoff clearance."

"Speedbird 01 you are cleared for takeoff."

"Cleared for takeoff, Speedbird 01" Melody read back. "Ok, our decision speed or V1 is 165 Knots, rotation speed, Vr is 175 Knots, flaps set, autopilot set. When I call out the speeds, you check your instruments correspond to mine. You might need to apply some forward pressure on the control column."
Melody applied power, letting the engines spool up to 40?fore releasing the breaks. As the plane started to roll, she applied the autothrottle which increased power to takeoff levels. Melody watched the gauges with a practised eye.

"80 Knots" She called out.

Pete had his hands on the wheel and the plane lurched forward. It was a different sensation than what he was used to. Fighters were typically pushed into the air, this plane had to get up to speed. "Everything is green on my end." Melody continued to call out the speeds and the gauges in front of him all remained green. At the right moment, Pete pulled back on the wheel and the nose of the plane left the ground followed by the body. "We are airborne. I am proceeding to cruising altitude of 30,000 feet."

Melody smiled. "Whoa there speedy, We've got a few things to do first." As she reached over and took hold of the landing gear leaver "Positive rate of climb, gear up." As she moved the lever to the up position and adjusted the flaps calling out as she did "Flaps to 0, power for climb set, climb rate 1800 ft per minute ok for now. We're cleared up to flight level 120 which is 12,000 feet. We should get clearance to climb further once we reach that altitude."

The radio then crackled into life "Speedbird 01, contact Heathrow departure on 134 decimal 5"

"134 decimal 5, Speedbird 01." Melody then re-tuned the radio quickly, something which she was getting used to. "Heathrow departure, Speedbird 01 with you climbing through 3500 feet for flight level 120."

"Speedbird 01 Heathrow departure roger. Altimeter 2992. Turn left heading 078, then resume own navigation."

"Turn left heading 078, then resume own navigation, Speedbird 01." Melody repeated back before turning her attention back to Pete "Our route is programmed into the flight computer and it shows as the pink line on the display, the autopilot can then maintain our course, do you want to make the turn first? Just remember to make slow, smooth inputs to the control column."

There was a moment when they arrived in the cockpit that Pete thought this may be better than flying a starship. However, now he learns that it is exactly the same with the computer doing most if not all the work. "Yes, I would like to do some flying." He said in response to her question with a little too much edge in his voice. "I am sorry I just feel that this and even starships are too much computer flying. That is why I like to use the holo interface on the bridge. With a flight stick, it at least feels like you are in control of the ship." Pete took the wheel with both hands and turned it slightly, slowly. The left side of the plane dipped ever so slightly as the plane turned. "Heading 078" he called out to confirm as his eyes were on the electronic horizon. When it read that they were on heading he turned the wheel slowly back to a neutral position and the plane levelled off.

The aircraft continued to climb and as they approached 12,000 feet air traffic control made contact again.

“Speedbird 01 climb and maintain flight level 300.”

Melody acknowledged the transmission and adjusted the autopilot accordingly.

Pete kept his eyes on the controls to evaluate and re-evaluate that everything ran within normal parameters. Once he got through them all he sat back for a moment and sighed. "Captain, can I ask why this interests you? I mean do you not find a computer flying you to be boring in any way? I wonder what pilots of the era did on flights like these?"

Melody sat back and gazed out of the window for a moment. "A lot of the technology we take for granted did not exist at this period in history. Space travel was well beyond the reach of the general population, but flying was still a great adventure. The world still was a very big place and this sort of travel gave you a chance to sit back and enjoy the experience while still needing a lot of skill and knowledge to fly aircraft like these. While you are right and the computer does handle a lot of the tasks, flying older passenger aircraft could be more testing the even more skill required from the pilot. I have tried it once or twice but I find this level just about right for me. It also does have other advantages." she added just as there was a gentle knock at the door and a flight attendant appeared with a tray consisting of a light meal and a drink.

"Good afternoon Captain, Lieutenant."

Melody smiled. "I'll go first, you've got this right?" She asked Pete as the attendant handed Melody the tray.

"Yeah, I can handle this," Pete said with a return smile. He could certainly see the appeal of flying like this. Although having a meal on duty was no different than the bridge. The food there was brought by a replicator and here by a flight attendant. As Melody began to eat her meal Pete allowed the time to pass in silence as he looked out the window of the cockpit. He tried to get the idea that the Captain had just talked about, the expanse that was the sky in a time before space travel. About ten minutes passed and Pete felt total boredom set it, although he did not want to admit it to Melody. He decided to disengage the autopilot and perform the rest of the climb manually. The plane continued to climb and everything seemed to be going well for Pete's first time flying a passenger jet. However, just as he thought all was well a number of alarms sounded and the plane began to fall rapidly.

"Oh dear, this is very not good," Melody said as she looked over the instruments, the shaking control column being a big clue which was confirmed when she looked at the airspeed indicator which was showing a dangerously low speed.

"Damn! Push the nose down! All the way down. We might be able to recover, just need to sacrifice altitude for speed."

The shaking was increasing when suddenly the simulation froze. The computer voice reported "Simulation terminated. Aircraft structure compromised due to overpressure caused by extreme vertical speed. Destruction of aircraft 100%. Loss of passengers and crew 100%. Would you like to review flight analysis?"

Melody frowned as she mused to herself. "The wings stalled. I thought I set the autopilot correctly."

Pete blushed momentarily, so quickly in fact that if one was not looking directly at him they would have never noticed. "You did... I disengaged the autopilot and flew manually. To be honest I wanted to be in control of the plane. The autopilot is just like the ship flying for you. I mean, if you have a computer that can fly the plane or ship for you then what do you need a pilot for?" Pete felt both disappointed and angry with himself. He should not have made such a stupid mistake.

"Ah, I see," Melody responded in a tone that was not judgmental or condoning. She took a breath and thought for a moment. "The autopilot is there to assist, and while it is a marvel of technology it is not infallible and needs to be monitored. You're like me, a flyer, and a good one. You've earned your right to sit on the bridge but, you've got to remember that flying a fighter jet and flying a commercial airliner while there are similarities in some aspects there are also many changes. Lives in your hands for one thing. In a fighter, be it a plane or a shuttle you're responsible for yourself. In this 747, there are hundreds of people who rely on your decisions. On the Merlin there are thousands. The computer systems are there to assist you in keeping all those people safe but it still needs an experienced pilot at the controls, as the Merlin has you."

She turned to him. "Sometimes, you have to take your ego out of the equation and think of the needs of the many. It took me a while to get used to the helm of this thing when I first came out of the academy but Captain Bartow showed me patience and guided me and I hope it made me a better flyer and a better Captain and so hopefully I can pass this on to you as well."

Pete nodded in agreement with what the Captain had said. "When I joined Starfleet I never believed I would helm a ship. I always looked at myself as a fighter pilot and a damned good one. Like my father before me. However, I see your point... There are a lot of differences between dancing circles around an enemy and manoeuvring a behemoth through space." He smiled at the word behemoth. "Don't get me wrong the Merlin is an agile ship, but she is quite large."

Just then Melody's communicator beeped. "Primary Care to Captain Jones. The twins have woken up from their nap, you asked to be called?"

"Melody tapped her badge "Acknowledged, I'm on my way. Speaking of the needs of the many, I'm afraid I'm going to have to go now." she added with a wry smile. "I've enjoyed our time together Pete. I hope we can do this again sometime and you're welcome to use this program any time you wish."

"Thank you Captain. With any luck the next time we are here, we will make it across the ocean." He smiled and even laughed at his own mistake. His time on the Merlin must be changing him as Pete was never one to take a mistake in stride. He usually chided himself for them.

OFF:

●● Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell
Chief Flight Control Officer
Commander Air Group
USS Merlin

●●●● Captain Melody Jones
Commanding Officer
USS Merlin