Chapter 31: Flight School
The air boat’s capsule was cylindrical in shape, like a pipe and had two hemispheres at each end. Resembling a submarine, the only way in and out was through the top. Frosty’s eyes were level with the diameter of the capsule; it wouldn’t even be large enough for her to stand up inside.
“The easiest way to board would be to take the gear first and stow that away, then move to the controls and have Frosty board last.” The hippogriff suggested, flying up to the top of the capsule.
PW followed her in flight, landing opposite her on the top of the tube and beside a circular access hatch.
There was a ladder there which PW climbed down.
“Can you pass the gear to us Frosty?” Little Teague asked. Once they were both inside they prepared to receive gear through the opening. “Ready!” Little Teague called.
“Bombs away!” Frosty called, sending a full pack of gear falling through the hatch opening like a basketball through a hoop. It landed hard against the metal insides of the capsule with a hard *CLANG*.
“I’ll have you know the boiler is under pressure!” Little Teague shouted, clearly alarmed.
“Frosty, there is a bomb on board! Don’t rough it up!” PW shouted, putting it in her terms. “She’s been acting off.” PW whispered to Little Teague. The next item was passed to PW, which was the Night-Mare pack.
“Got it PW?” She asked.
“Yes.”
“REALLY GOT IT?”
“YES!” PW confirmed, bracing himself.
She released the weight for him to carry but it was still a great struggle. “Oh Cele…” He grumbled, being forced down by the heavy gear. Little Teague had to muscle the pack off of him, as it was crushing him.
Once PW’s pack was put away Little Teague helped him up and then together they pushed the larger pack into the storage rack and secured it before moving to the hemisphere with the controls.
“Alright Frosty, we’re ready for you!” Called Little Teague.
“I’m coming down!” Frosty shouted.
Suddenly the entire vehicle listed 45 degrees. “Easy, easy!” The hippogriff shouted. “Going to have a boiler explosion!” She sang softly in fear. “How do you deal with this?” She asked PW.
“It really isn’t a problem, normally.” He shrugged. The vehicle was released and allowed to tilt back onto its skids.
Seconds later a loud bang on the hull was heard, filling the inside of the capsule with a ring. PW peeked out of the hatch to see Frosty straddling the round steel hull with her thick hind legs draped on either side as though she was riding it. She shimmied forwards toward the opening and PW dropped off the ladder before a fatal mistake was made.
“Why were you looking at me like that PW?” Frosty called down, one eyebrow raised.
“Uh – I guess it surprised me, your approach to boarding?” He asked.
“Well, we don’t want a boiler explosion, now do we?” Frosty asked, swinging her legs into the hatch.
“Wait, Frosty!” PW called and looked at Little Teague. “Do you have a tape measure?”
“Tape measure? Yeah, in the toolbox.” She fished it out and handed it over. He used his wings to stretch it across the gap.
He nodded and called up. “This opening is only 28 inches. Frosty, your loading gauge was last measured as 27.9 inches.”
“So?” She rolled her eyes.
“You put on a pound.”
“Excuse me?” She snapped.
“We might have an issue.” PW warned, passing the tape measure back to the hippogriff.
Frosty rolled her eyes again, thankful that no one was around to see her blush. “Outta the way! Coming down!” She barked.
PW ducked for cover as she dropped and promptly plugged the opening.
A small pop was heard when she sealed the opening. Her powerful legs dangled almost all the way to the floor.
“Mmm-mk!” Her grunts were muffled.
PW shouted inches from the metal hull.
“I CANNOT HEAR YOU, WE ARE SEALED. SHOUT INTO THE METAL!” PW yelled.
“I’m stuck!” Frosty replied.
“TRY WIGGLING YOUR HIPS!” PW shouted, putting some more space from where she would land.
In just one pump she fell through, unsealing the opening with a powerful *PANG!* that rattled metal hull as her hind hooves landed.
“Er – welcome, Frosty!” Exclaimed Little Teague as the cabin space was halved instantly. The large mare simply gazed at her as she twisted her upper body through the hatch. “Uh, you can take a seat on that end!” Suggested Little Teague.
“Alright! Windy… training.” The hippogriff reminded herself, getting back on task.
To the right of the large porthole window on their end was an appliance that looked like a coal oven, but with more valves, like a steam locomotive.
“So… this is your control column. Doubling as your stove for cooking. All the controls you need are here, along with a few gauges. The exception is the thermometer, which you can see above the hatch. You generally use the thermometer when taking off and landing. Other than that, you use your outside barometer. 210 to 250 degrees is your important range, with 235 being a float, 210 maximum safe descending speed, and 250 maximum safe temperature.” Said Little Teague.
“For windows, you have this one to our left, a small one at the opposite end of the craft, and the hatch above. Since you fly, nothing is stopping you from climbing up to get a view of everything. The hatch should be sealed and the compressor turned on with this dynamo valve when you are above 20,000 feet. That will allow Frosty to keep breathing.” Little Teague advised, pointing to a red valve.
“Know that once the cabin is sealed, the inside pressure pulls the latch out of its alignment, into a keyhole. This locks it so that you cannot turn the hatch handle while under pressure, unless you pull down hard. Don’t override it except in an emergency, as the decompression will be like a bomb going off. When sealed, the compressor will remain on and pressurize the cabin to 20,000 feet, and when the pressure exceeds that excess air will vent with a check valve. This provides you with a stream of fresh air in constant replenishment so the air does not go stale.”
“We’re going to demonstrate takeoff now. You’ll drive. Checklist is here, on this hook.” She said, pulling it off the hook. “Step 1 is to check the wind direction.”
“Okay…" PW called, climbing the ladder.
“Where’s your bathroom?” Frosty asked.
“The door on your right.” The hippogriff responded. The space was so small that Frosty shimmied herself into the bathroom and pulled herself onto the toilet, with her butt on the floor the whole time.
“Wind is east, away from the hangars!” Called PW, coming back down.
“Great, so that means we do not pivot or add power per this flow. Step 2 in this case is to open the firebox damper to full. This valve.” She pointed as PW turned it. “Step 3 is to open the blower.” PW turned the valve she was pointing to. A loud roar started. “You are now heating the fire and boiler. The vapor from the burning oil is rising into the balloon ductwork and providing lift. Now we wait until the temperature reaches 240.” Instructed the hippogriff, sniffing the air and coughing.
“Oh Celestia that reeks!” PW cried, waving his wings. “Did you install a bathroom fan?”
“No, unfortunately!” Little Teague admitted, covering her nose with her wings.
PW looked up to the thermometer. “240!”
“Great. Drop your water ballast now with this golden lever.” PW pulled it as a splashing sound was heard. Little Teague looked outside. “That’s not good, we’re supposed to be climbing… keep an eye on the temperature!”
“Oh shoot 250!” PW cried, rushing to turn the damper off.
“Great work! Closing the damper keeps the temperature down. But keep the blower open because we’ll need the turbine soon for the propellers.” A flushing sound was heard in the bathroom and they felt a lurch. Little Teague looked outside. “Ah we’re off!” She called, seeing the balloon rising. PW could swear he heard shouting outside as they were climbing away.
“Okay open the damper half way! Now for locomotion! This lever, the regulator, controls the pressure of steam, this lever, the cutoff, controls how often you admit the steam. Combined they give power. When you start you want a high regulator, high cutoff, for maximum torque. But once you’re going fast bring the cutoff to a lower setting for efficiency. The boiler will run out of steam if you bring it back too late. Open the cutoff completely and open the regulator now a bit at a time until you’re half open.”
PW pulled the regulator in increments and he heard a whirring sound outside. “That’s the turbine spinning up. See your blades moving?” She asked. PW looked outside as he felt forward lurching. “And if you look down you can see we’re moving. Now you steer your course. This is your rudder, left is left, right is right. I want you to steer us over to the grassy field over there.” Challenged Little Teague.
PW started turning the craft as a sudden violent swinging motion started.
“What in Tartarus is that?” Little Teague yelled.
She looked back, confused at how it stopped so suddenly. Then Frosty moved again, timed perfectly with the shaking. “Easy, big girl! You’re offsetting the center of mass quickly and inducing a slosh in the boiler!” She cried.
Frosty tested this by quickly leaning left and right. The balloon entered a series of swings. “Ugh! This sucks!” She cried, slamming a hoof down into the steel hull so hard it looked like she had left an imprint.
“It’s OK; I think I got it!” Exclaimed PW, trying to improve her mood.
It seemed to work.
“Really?” She muttered.
“Yeah, we’re heading for that field!”
“Great work. I’m glad to have you at the helm little guy.” Frosty admitted.
PW became determined and very confident after hearing that.
“Okay. Next up. Landing.” Little Teague stated.
His confidence disappeared. “Landing!?”
“Yes, landing.” She chuckled. “What goes up must come down!”
She cleared her throat and explained. “As you know from your school days, landing is the hardest part of flying. First you get upwind of your landing location. We’ve already been there. If you need to go upwind, simply use the propellers. Next, shut off the damper if not already done. Close the regulator.” She instructed as PW moved the lever back to the metal wall.
“Cutoff full forward for maximum power if needed.” She said as PW moved the control. A loud HISS was heard. “The boiler is venting. That’s expected since you shut power off. But you don’t want that going once you’re over the water – you’ll run out of it! And you cannot use salt water either.”
“Now pull this cord for a few seconds and release. This is the hot air dump. Look at your landing spot and keep dumping air until you are heading for the spot.” PW did as he was instructed, and the craft softly made contact with the ground again.
“Dump the balloon by hooking the dump cord around here.” The hippogriff ordered, pointing to an inverse hook. “Now, this will keep you on the ground even if you get off. But if you’re getting out, you need to immediately fill the ballast tanks. Those hatches are marked purple, and they can take sand, water, and gravel. The ballast is what keeps you on the ground permanently, along with tying down. Regardless, great job! If you come up short, and that happens as the wind decreases with altitude, open the damper again. Landing long, you’ll have to fire up the regulator again.”
PW felt the firm press of fingers on his back and he whirled around. “Good job little buddy.” Frosty whispered.
“Only my best skills, for a Night-Mare!” He smiled wide.
“Alright, we’re going back up again. This time, we’re not coming back. Open the blower full. Close the hot air dump, then open the damper.” PW moved the controls like clockwork and the balloon lifted off the ground with haste. “When you are trying for altitude you can ignore propulsion for now. The winds are in our direction.”
The balloon was allowed to rise at full power and PW saw the town’s buildings getting further and further below. “Just keep working the damper back and forth. Try halfway. Keep iterating positions until you find the one that keeps you at 240 degrees. Then once you have the temperature stabilized, start trying to bring the blower back until the boiler pressure can’t maintain 200 pounds anymore. That helps you conserve water.”
The balloon was now higher than anything around. “We’re now going to start a powered ascent. Blower back open full. Bring the regulator open slowly in increments.” The turbine began spinning again. “Bring the cutoff back.”
PW started the wheel and felt a sudden burst of speed. “Woah!”
“Now we’re moving! Once you bring the cutoff back, that’s when you start picking up speed. Now let’s bring the bow to the east where we want to go. PW turned the control stick and the ship came around. “Alright. Bring the cutoff back even more.” There was a huge lurch again and PW looked down to find the terrain disappearing beneath the window like he was flying by himself.
“Now we’re at speed. Altitude is at eight-thousand. Open this valve to maintain the altitude.” PW turned the red wheeled valve. “Now the damper will be pneumatically modulated to maintain this altitude. Next, bring the cutoff back until it feels like we’re moving backwards, then return to that point just before you felt it.” PW moved the wheel as instructed. “Now we’re at maximum efficiency. Close the regulator halfway. There is no need to go this fast with the wind.”
Over the next few minutes, Little Teague instructed PW how to bring the firebox temperature down to minimum and maximize boiler efficiency. “Great. We’re good to go. It is ONLY when the craft is operating efficiently like this, can you cross the ocean. Otherwise you will run out of water and drop out of the sky. And, speaking of dropping – descents. Real simple- we’ll talk through it. Cut out the automatic damper control valve, close the blower, firebox oil down to minimum, and wait. Don’t dump the air, as you’ll eventually be falling too fast if you do. Once you are where you want, level off by opening the oil valve, then the blower, then the damper. Don’t go too low too quickly or you may go into the water!”
“Now for altitudes, we have this wind atlas which shows global weather patterns at low, and at high altitudes.” Began the hippogriff, pointing to 2 maps with curvy arrows. “Where we are there’s westerlies. That means we’ll be blown east. The winds usually increase with altitude, so if you’re going with the wind, use half speed, high altitude and you’ll move nearly a hundred miles per hour. If you’re against them, use full power, and travel low. You’ll make slow progress, maybe thirty-five or so.”
PW looked down and found they had gone past the beach and were over the ocean. “A few more things. As with any boiler, you MUST keep its water level above the crown sheet of the firebox. If you don’t (and that includes keeping the ship upright), a deadly boiler explosion will destroy everything. To prevent that, we’ve included a whistle which is convecting water right now. If the water level drops too low, steam will enter the whistle and warn you. If that happens, your only chance is to cut the oil off completely, AT ONCE. You will then fall to the ocean and become a watercraft. This sight-glass will let you know how full it is. As you can see, it is nearly full.” Finished the hippogriff, pointing to a vertical glass tube full of water.
“You have enough water to make it across the ocean, but do not forget to top it off before you take off again. No salt water! Only freshwater. And finally, the oil tank supplies your heat to the firebox. The oil should only be left at a rate high enough to sustain the boiler. Open it all the way, and you’ll run out. Well now I think that covers it. Be sure to head back west if your water or oil drops below 2/3. That leaves you twice as much to get back. And when you land, if you will be a while, shut off the oil completely so no consumables are used on the ground.”
“Okay. For real this time. Any questions?” Asked the hippogriff, suddenly becoming aware of the growing distance from shore.
"I think I’m good. And you’ll be available on the radio, if we have questions, right?” PW asked, hopeful.
“Yep. As long as you are in range.”
“Got it. Thanks for everything!” Called PW as Little Teague climbed the ladder.
“Good luck with everything! I’m going to get some well deserved fresh air. Now when I jump, you’ll start climbing again. Given the wind, I say take it all the way up to 40,000. Don’t forget to shut the hatch at 20,000! And the ship will stay aloft easier as fuel and water is consumed. Okay good luck, and take those sextant sights!”
With that she was off, diving away from western side of the craft. They were suddenly going up again.
PW looked over at Frosty who had her head propped up against the bunk. Her eyes were closed, but the sudden lurch stirred her. “Just us two now?” She huffed.
“Yeah. You and me.” PW responded.
“You got this!” Frosty called.
“Thanks! Are you okay? You’ve been very… down recently.”
“It’s stuffy. And flying is unnatural for me. Best left to you and those shrinky-dink Wonderbolts.” Frosty teased.
“Are you saying you’re too big to fly?” PW raised a brow.
“Shut up.” Frosty responded half-jokingly.
PW gazed out of the rear window, still facing westward. The sun was now starting to shine more directly through the window, causing the area to become dazzlingly bright. By now they were so far away from land that individual buildings were lost in a tapestry of grays, tans, and greens. Horseshoe Bay was visible to the northwest now, along with Halter Roads, the cape north of Norfilly. If it weren’t for their increasing altitude, they’d likely have lost sight of land by now.
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That was honestly a pretty thorough description of the controls here, nice job.
I noticed a misplaced quotation mark after the Step 1 bit.
And something seems off...? I wonder...
11970994
Lol. There's 2 main things separating PW from the other techs:
1- The Night-Mares don't frighten him
2- Unlike the other techs, he knows how to bite his tongue around them.
11971172
Thanks! It is fixed now.
Quite a nice chapter. Can’t wait to see if PW gets some fellow techs to work with
You should think, working with large mares, they would think ahead and not make such mistakes