Mercenary at heart. Scott Melani
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There were several CCTV cameras in the cockpit, monitored by a panel of three people standing nearby in business suits. Next to Michael was to be flown and backed up by his school instructor, who taught practice in flying skills.
The parents knew that the overground transport exam was one of the most difficult and dangerous. So they decided to come and support their son. Ted, who had finished his training early, arrived with them. Officially, the diploma of graduation from a specialised school should have stated that Michael was able to drive all types of above-ground, surface and land transport. However, even for 12 years of study to master all kinds of transport was simply physically impossible, especially given the fact that almost every year there were new and new models. That's why everyone realised that everything written in the diploma was rather formal. In the end, the graduate chose only a certain direction in the implementation of transport and then specialised in it all his life, constantly improving his skills. That's why the exams were passed only on two or three training prototypes, confirming the fact that the student had mastered the basic skills of their management.
George: ‘That's it, son. There's one last step left and you're going to put another bold tick on the list of vehicles. Good luck! You can handle anything!’
Mariana: ‘My boy! We're with you, we're with you! Everything will be alright!’
Ted: ‘Do it the way you know how to do it! Show them! We believe in you!’
Michael waved in the distance to his parents and brother standing in the distance, who shouted words of encouragement to him. They waved their arms diligently, as if he was competing in some important competition on which his future career depended. The instructor came up to him and, patting the boy on the shoulder, said: ‘All right, Michael, let's go. It's time.’
The examiner opened the door of the aircraft and took the seat of the main pilot, fastening his seatbelt and wearing headphones with a microphone. The first thing he did was to start inspecting the instrument panel and check that the helicopter was ready for takeoff. No doubt he was a little nervous knowing he was being watched by both his own and strangers.
Instructor: ‘Ready? Come on, start the engine.’
Michael grasped the steering wheel with one hand, and with the other he started the power supply by pulling up a few switches. The machine roared, the motor started, and the blades began to rotate and gain speed. The airflow artificially created by the rotating blades began to lift the dust and spread it in different directions. Michael waited for the moment when the rotational force reached the optimum mark on the instruments, and smoothly began to pull the steering wheel, lifting the helicopter upwards. The helicopter obeyed him and began to move in the direction set by the pilot. The machine rose slowly and smoothly, without wobbling and wiggling from side to side. Having reached the mark of 150 metres above ground level, the helicopter hovered in the air.
Instructor: ‘OK, good. Now make a 90 degree turn on your axis’.
The helicopter began to turn smoothly, then, having reached its 90-degree turn angle, hovered again without a single movement in the air. Then, exactly on the command of his instructor, Michael made several more turns in different directions, turning the helicopter 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 360 degrees around its axis. The examiner then lifted the aircraft even higher above the ground, to a height of 300 metres.
The next test consisted of flying at a distance of 3 kilometres. First it was necessary to fly to a notional point, then turn the helicopter in the opposite direction and return to the range. It was a standard training direction without any obstacles on the way. Specially from the category of ‘easy tasks for beginners’. Michael also successfully coped with it. Having made a small circle, he returned to the starting point and waited for the next instructions of his instructor.
The next task was more difficult. It was necessary to land the helicopter on the site of a fifteen-storey residential building. In fact, this task was no different from landing a helicopter on the runway, except that the space there was much smaller. But when you know how to handle a vehicle well, you won't have much trouble with it. Michael studied very carefully and tried to absorb everything like a sponge, never missing anything.
The weather began to turn bad. The wind was blowing hard on a scale of 6 out of 10, and the sky was covered with clouds. A helicopter flew close to an apartment building and hovered in the air. Residents began to look out of their windows, watching what was happening. It was not a novelty for them to watch the helicopter circle over their building, land on it and take off. An agreement had been reached with the management company to use their roof for training purposes on certain days and hours. For this she received a considerable amount of money. Not all the tenants were happy with this, as they feared that something could go wrong and end in tragedy for everyone. In addition they were annoyed by the occasional noise coming from the helicopters. The aircraft began to sway slightly due to the strong gusts of wind. Michael was a little tense about this.
Instructor: ‘It's okay. Keep a firm grip on the steering wheel. That's it. Now level the helicopter so that the bottom is exactly parallel to the circle. And slowly start to descend.’
Michael listened attentively to his instructor. He was confident that he was not alone in the cockpit and that his teacher could back him up at any moment. The helicopter hovered from side to side as it neared the roof and began its descent. The cabin was tense: every now and then the instruments beeped, signalling a loss of altitude, the machine shook and wobbled from side to side. Michael's seat vibrated as if he were in a racing game simulator with a lot of special effects. The examiner slid to the edge of his seat and hunched over, trying to concentrate as much as possible. Finally, the task was completed and the helicopter sat down, landing precisely in its circle. Michael leaned back in his seat and breathed a sigh of relief. All that remained was to take off from here, fly to the range, land the machine, and the exam would be passed.
Instructor: ‘Take a little breather and return to base. You're doing great.’
A couple of minutes later, Michael began to slowly lift the helicopter into the air. The wind continued to rock the machine in different directions. Drops of the beginning rain began to appear on the glass, which was getting heavier by the second. The examiner switched on the windscreen wipers. As the helicopter rose to a height of several dozen metres, a strong gust of wind blew, which broke the perfect balance of the vehicle and the helicopter tilted slightly to the right side.
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