Hello hello! Here are a few vocab words that may help with understanding the chapter:

1. Center of gravity – the location where all the weight will act through. If it is not within a certain defined range it can result in unsafe flight (i.e. cause planes to crash)

2. Fuselage – the body of the plane

3. Ailerons – These control the roll of the plane, so they basically push one wing down and the other up in order to create a turning motion.

4. Rudder – similar as with boats, it controls the yaw of the plane. This is essentially the left to right motion while the wings remain horizontal.

5. Elevator – the horizontal control surface the allows the plane to pitch up or down (i.e. pitch)

6. Trim tabs – a control surface on an aileron, the rudder or the elevator that allows the pilot the fine tune their control of the plane. It basically makes flying easier if there is a bit of wind or if the balance of the plane is slightly off but still within the "ok" range.

7. Prop is short for propellor

8. Chucks – blocks used in the front and back of wheels to prevent them from rolling

9. METAR

10. Aerodrome – So an aerodrome is different from an airport. While an airport has a certificate basically stating that it is an airport, an aerodrome is essentially anywhere where flight vehicles may land or take off. They also don't need to have a control tower like an airport

I hope I explained those clearly, though you can still understand the story even without this as the aviation lingo with only be used in the first few chapters.

Enjoy :)

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It was early morning; the birds hadn't quite woken up yet, they sounded a bit drunk, with the sun only just starting to make its presence known. The air was still chilly and dew drops could still be seen lining the blades of grass and moistening the pavement.

A woman's short fluffy golden hair could be seen bouncing on her head as she made her way from a rundown building that looked a bit like a very large shed out onto the tarmac. She had a worn bag roughly slung over her shoulder and a clipboard in hand. She walked over to a small, yellow high wing plane, a De Havilland Beaver (DHC-2). Once at the plane, she popped open one of the back doors, flung her bag in a (hopefully) open space and began climbing up the step on the side of the plane so that she could peer inside.

As part of her delivery job she had to ensure that the staff who had loaded in the cargo had in fact done their job correctly. Working for a small bush flying company meant that any error could cost her and the ground crew their jobs. So, the odds of them having made a mistake were minimal, however she rather double check than be sorry.

Standing on a step while keeping balance using the door frame, she counted the cans of food and paged water bottles, all while checking off each sealed pack from her list:

o Beef stew x20

o Clam chowder x20

o Ham & Pea Soup x20

o Canned Tuna x10

o Canned Beef x20

o Large bag of salt x1

o Pack of 18x1L water bottles x3

She didn't understand why they'd need more salt when there was already a bunch in all the other food she was bringing them, but her job was not to ask questions. She guessed that the lumber jacks probably did a bit of hunting and barbeque.

Doing a rough calculation of the total mass of the cargo and their placement within the DHC-2, she concluded that the center of gravity would be acceptable.

This was to be a small restocking of a lumber camp's food and water supply. Although the job could have probably been done by a trucker, she assumed that her boss had offered the camp an awfully good deal for them to have decided to have their goods flown in. She assumed as such based on her measly paycheck that barely managed to put food on the table and cover the "reduced" costs at the run-down company dorms she stayed in.

After confirming that all the goods were present, she moved on to checking her emergency kit. She hoisted herself up into the rear of the plane and awkwardly positioned herself over the boxes of cans and water bottles so that she could see over and behind the lot.

In the emergency kit she checked for the axe, 6 inch pocket knife, roll of rope, duct tape, tarp, matches and first aid kit. This was to be left in the plane regardless of what pilot was flying so she was unsurpassed when all items were present. This kit was a recurring safety measure and were highly values amongst bush pilots simply due to the dangers of the job and risk of crashing.

Lastly, she checked all the tie-downs that ensured that nothing were to move throughout the flight. Once confirmed that all was in order, she finagled her way in reverse back onto the step before hopping down onto the pavement. She closed the door and gave it a little bump to ensure that the latch had truly caught.

Now it was time for her to do her walk around inspection of the flight vehicle. Climbing up onto one of the front wheels, she accessed the front seats. She fished out the large flight log that was pertinent to the aircraft and hoped down.

She efficiently flipped through the pages browsing for any previously noted issues that she would need to check for while she was doing the pre-flight inspection. Not finding anything, she began her walk around. She looked over all the rivets while running her hand over the surfaces she could reach, which was really just the fuselage, while she craned her neck to check the control surfaces. Ailerons, trims, flaps, rudder, and elevator all appeared in the clear. Landing gear looked good too, and the front wheels were well inflated. The prop was free of dents.

Happy with the state of the aircraft, the woman removed the chucks from the front two wheels, chucking the blocks onto the floor in the back.

She climbed up into the pilot's seat, placing the flight log and check list on the seat next to her. She began checking that the controls had full mobility while pocking her head out to visually confirm, pull all the way back, push all the way forward, elevator is good. Turn all the way left, then all the way right, ailerons are good. She extended and retracted the flaps and then checked that the trim tabs were also functional. Next to the rudder pedals, she pushed the left pedal all the way down, removed her foot, then pressed on the right, rudder is good.

Pleased that everything was in working order she slammed her door shut and hollered out the window, "CLEAR!" before starting up the engine.

Annoyed that the last pilot had not topped up the tanks after the previous flight, she taxied the plane over to the fuelling station before turning off the engine and hopping out. She topped up the three tanks with some avgas before closing them and hopping back in. Checking that the gages did in fact now show as full, she once again shouted "CLEAR" out the window before again starting the engine.

Before taxying over to the runway, the woman tuned into the METAR of the nearest airport to make sure there were no unexpected changes since she last checked during her pre-flight planning. All was the same, so she switched the frequency onto the channel used by pilots when in the aerodrome's airspace. She first listened to ensure no one was planning to land before speaking, "This is little yellow beaver, preparing for taxying for takeoff on runway 85"

Receiving no reply, she proceeded to do as she had said. "Little yellow beaver taxying on runway, preparing for takeoff."

Once she had taxied all the way to the end of the runway, she pressed hard on the right rudder while locking the left wheel, increased the trust just enough to swing the plane around and line up with the center of the runway with the nose of the aircraft facing into the wind.

"Little yellow beaver taking off on runway 85"

After which, she lowered flaps to the max and opened the throttle. As the plane began to gain speed down the runway, the woman slowly eased back on the control column allowing the heavy plane to takeoff.

Once in the air, she gently veered to the right, following the aerodrome's designated circuit before exiting and getting on course for her destination. It should only be a couple hours of flying with a nice view of the mountains.

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Sep. 29, 2021