Firstly I will have to say, I haven't named any of the characters as yet... If you could suggest any, it would be quite nice.
Characters that need names are:
Main Character Pilot (P1)
His Wife (PW)
His Friend (Co-Pilot in first flight) (P2)
Senior Captain (Co-Pilot of second flight) (P3)
Junior Pilots (First Flight's 1st officer) (2O1)
(2nd Flight's 2nd officer) (2O2)
All these people need First and Last names. (and the Wife can have a different surname to the main character too, I'm still not decided on that. But if she does have the same last name as the Main character she does need a maiden name. But I'm leaning to more the idea that she kept her surname as is).
So if you have any names for them (or at random... and I'm looking for Piloty type names for your average American Pilot guy... you know the type
) Then feel free to suggest. Of course, Reading the chapter outline prior to naming the characters may be usefull. Particularly for the Main character, and supporting roles (Friend pilot, and Wife)
P1
P2
P3
2O1
2O2
PW
CHAPTER OUTLINE
My "Airliner" Fanfic... a chapter sketch.
1: First Solo
(prefaced with the poem 'Free Wanderer 2')
FREE WANDERER II
In love and honour he graced the sky
through clouds of white which, like a stream
dazzling and bright, shone silver
Life and love, free and true.
High over mountain he flew
free from the surly bonds of earth
Gliding on gust like the eagle
effortless, and instinct
For days and years he spent at the cockpit
and in the breifing room to learn his craft
sifting through manuals and charts
for as long as time itself it seemed
But somehow, all of that did not matter,
or was, perhaps, even grantedly enjoyable
the limit of procedure, capping the enormity of everything
a neccecity not only of safety
but also of the soul.
For the granduer and freedom pulled at his innermost being
and for a moment, just like the eagle
instinct took over, and overwhealmed thought
with magesty and vastness.
Chapter 1 then deals with the Pilot's memory of his first solo flight in an airplane told as an experience happening in present tense. Finishes as a memory.
2: Skyboys
Starts at 5am in London in the summer. Raining/drizzly. Main character meets up with friend, we learn that the two pilots have worked together in a mainline airline for many years, but are now working together in a Charter airline, being paid less and working longer hours. We learn that the previous charge of the pilots has been working 767's for United, and that they live in California where the airline is based. Their flight today will be to Oakland Metro from London Gatwick. Follows the men talking together grabbing breakfast and heading out in a Cab to the airport, finishes with the weather breif
3: SunAir
Follows the pre-flight briefings, checks and goes through to the request for clearance. The pilot and Co-pilot/friend do the cockpit checks, 'letting' the newer pilot, the Second Officer do the walk around check (in the drizzle) The route today takes their sunair A330-200 over Iceland, Greenland and Canada, to the US. They taxy out and takeoff, chapter ends with handoff to Departure.
4: Climbout
(prefaced with poem "Takeoff 2" by self)
Deals with procedures and air traffic communications after departure, Checklists and then the level off into cruize. We see the captain commanding the situation in normal situation and giving confident orders, and radio transmissions, and a passenger brief.
5: Expanses of Sky
(prefaced by the poem "Descent" by self)
The pilot and co-pilot speak together about the issue of the pilots wife, how things seem to be going badly, Pilot shows discomfort about discussing it with his friend. The pilots recieve their Oceanic crossing clearance and recieve info on a 767 at higher altitude on same track same direction slower speed and they will need to remain at a lower altitude till such a time as they pass the slower aircraft by 10 flight minutes, which will be not till after the oceanic crossing and they are over Canada. Co-pilot goes back for rest time in the back whyle the First officer comes up front. Through the crossing the pilot talks about the aircraft and its systems, and how he likes the 767 better and why. Much silence ensures as both pilots stare out opposite windows at the monotonous passing of white cloud under the aircraft. Cloud gives way to snow and ice, which gives way to Water. A few Oceanic Position reports later and we make landfall, and the pilot retires to the back to let Co-pilot and First officer fly over Canada
6: Oakland Tracon.
The pilot is woken by second officer and he goes to front of plane to regain command and land. The landing into Oakland is during late afternoon. The day is clear and all goes normal for landing. The pilots complete their shutdown checks as the plane is deplaned and prepared for an ongoing flight schedule back to Europe. (Gatwick again) by the next crew.
7: Life-life
Home life. Pilot arrives home to wife. They argue. She accuses him of being lazy without the possibility of revoking. He, having been up for the last 16 hours, is tired. They go to bed facing away from each other and he falls asleep,depressed. He wakes up and she's gone (it's 9am the next morning.) He mopes about the house thinking of happier times when they met. Soon it's time for him go go to work again. (3pm for a 6pm flight)
8: Maintenence Release
(prefaced by poem "On Being Rejected" by self)
The pilot arrives on shift and finds himself rostered with a new Second officer, and a Co-pilot he doesn't work with often and whom he's only known a few months. The aircraft for tonight's flight is just out of Maintenence having just had a new Engine installed. They prepare the flight, and the main character pilot, being extra vigilant, decides to do the walk around check himself. He reenters the cockpit to be briefed on the work so far. Second officer takes the jumpseat for the takoff. They takeoff bound for London Gatwick again, and as they level off at their initial cruise altitude of 29,000ft Pilot goes to sleep leaving the 2nd officer and co-pilot in the cockpit.
9: Traffic
The pilot returns to the cockpit (relieving the Co-pilot and flying with the 2nd officer), 4 hours later as the aircraft works its way toward it's Oceanic crossing point off the coast of Hallifax, Canida, The Air traffic controller warns that the oceanic crossings are pretty full and that their original clearance must be ammended to reroute their A330 on another NAT Track, 160 miles further south than the original flight plan, which will give the aircraft further to fly, however as the fuel was calculated with this posibility in mind, the pilots take the option and recalculate their fuel. It is expected that they will reach Rome with 7.5 tonnes of fuel instead of 9.0 which is still within legal minimums (which stipulate 4 tonnes). As they cross into the Atlantic, they start to encounter some light turbulence "buffet" due to a thunderstorm in the area. This thunderstorm covers much of the Atlantic, and is the remenant of a tropical cyclone from the weeks earlier.
10: simple math
As the flight progresses over the ocean they note a strange warning which makes no sense. Oil temperature is low in the right engine. As this is nigh impossible with the engines having been running for 6 hours at a setting of 92% power, the pilots suspect it is a sensory problem, not an actual low oil temp. They continue through 10 degrees of latitude over a period of about 40 minutes in silence. Both deep in thought, or tired and thinking of sleep. The pilot thinks about his wife, having a disturbing fantasy of a man arriving at their house and being invited in, and undressing in his bedroom. The fantasy is disturbed when a "Fuel Imbalance" warning lights up. Confused, as he hadn't seen such a warning before in his career, they check the manual and it sais that they should open the crossfeed valve. They do so. At the next waypoint check, the Second officer remarks that the computer is showing less fuel than there should be on the aircraft. Pilot considers the possibility that perhaps the calculations were wrong as they were hurried along, and that they should be using more fuel on the newly cleared route. He and 2nd officer get to work recalculating the fuel use in 10 minute steps, using the current fuel level as the starting point, and calculating to 30 minutes out. Once the maths is done it's time to wait and see if the numbers match. When the first 10 minutes goes by and they'v used more than twice the original calculations, they recalculate again, making sure that they are using the correct conversions, and using a second conversion as well. Another 10 minutes passes, and still the fuel is depleating at over double the rate they calculated. The Pilot makes a desicion to divert to the nearest airport with a fuel emergency.
11: Silence at 37,000ft
With fuel being consumed at over double the rate it should be, The pilots make a decision to divert to the nearest airfield, which is nearly 350 miles south of their position. Further delays are had due to the way that radio is used in the Atlantic ocean as primary means of seperation. The pilots make a Public Address about their situation, leaving out the gory details with a "Diversion to the Lajores Islands due to technical issues". They fly steadily at 37,000ft for nearly half an hour, The pilots confident that they will make the Lajores islands for landing, and with a creeping suspiscion that maybe nothing is wrong with the aircraft and It may have made Rome... untill sudenly the right engine shuts down.
12: Descent!
The aircraft has to descend to 31,000ft, as a single engine, even at full power, cannot maintain altitude and airspeed in the thin atmosphere at 37,000ft. The pilots don't speak to each other beyond checklist items and instructions, however both are aware that their lives, and those in their aircraft, are now in grave danger indeed. With thunderstorms below, and unknown fuel left in their tanks, the aircraft plummets to the ground. The Pilots declare Mayday alert. Pilot wonders what his wife is doing at that moment, as he feels fear for both his life, and his relationship with her. And as the aircraft starts to be buffeted by the turbulence of the storm below, the Pilot has a fantasy of his wife having sex with a strange man, yet a familiar man. A man he knows. A man he knew in Highschool.
13: Like the wings of Eagles
(Prefaced with own poem "Cascades and Fountains")
only 8 minutes after leveling off at 31,000ft in emergency with one engine shutdown, flamed out, and still 120 miles short of the Lajores Islands, The second engine shuts down due to lack of usable fuel. The lights in the passenger cabin all go out as passengers start screaming. The eery silence like a death knell. And thus the nervous glide to land begins. The ears hurt as the passenger cabin depressurizes, and all the cockpit gauges besides the standbys go out, the screens going black. The Ram Air Turbine is extended restoring power to only essential systems, The flight controlls, two of the 5 radios, and two of the cockpit screens in front of the Pilot only. The flashes of lightning the only light to the cockpit, although the sky is starting to brighten as morning approaches. The sleeping Co-Pilot rushes to the cockpit to take in the scene of the darkened cockpit, and is nearly beside himself, Demanding to sit in the co-pilot seat and demanding to know what happened. The Pilot denys his request and tells him to sit down and shut up, or he will have him removed from the cockpit. The Co-pilot sits down on the jumpseat quietly, whyle the unexperienced second officer stays in the seat beside the captain. Lajores approach guides the aircraft in as well as they can, but the aircraft remains in turbulent cloud from the time they descend through 17,000ft till almost on top of the island at 5000ft. with no visuals, the pilot errs on the side of caution, flying a high profile and not releasing the landing gear into locked down position till he breaks visual. As he does he realises he is way too high, close, and fast to make a landing on the runway. The runway is 10,000ft long... but ends very close to a cliff face that forms the coast of the island. The pilot decides to make a steep turn to bleed off speed, taking them away from the approach zone for a whyle. Knowing that they arn't high enough for a full 360 degree turn around, he decides to make a 'zig zag' into the runway. With very little room for error, he completes the manuver, and finds himself off course, and still high, They lock down the landing gear and trade speed for height. Now coming in at the right height, but far too fast, the aircraft touches down at almost 200 miles an hour, just a little long. Slamming on the breaks. The plane comes to a shuddering halt, after shredding most tires, in a cloud of proverbial smoke. As the passengers are heard applauding in the back. The pilot, feeling a fool, and vulnerable, also remembering the dawn he first had sex with her, breaks down and crys there on the spot, becoming very self concious. as he is handled out of the cockpit as the sky is clearing and the newly-rose sun beats down.
14: Hero.
Two days later, in Oakland, the Pilot and the Second officer finish an interview with the Press about the ordeal. The press is presenting the Pilots as heros who staved off disaster, as their aircraft glided, powerless over the ocean to land safely with not a single dead or seriously injured passenger or crewmember.
(Interlude: own poem "Nightly Dance")
The NTSB (National Transport Saftey Bureau) release their initial findings and directives two months later. They find that the cause of the incident was an incorrectly fitted engine which led to the rupture and subsequent catastrophic failure of a fuel line servicing the engine. Additionaly insufficent warnings in the Airbus A330 systems to warn of fuel being depleated at a rate greater than the engines can consume fuel contributed to the incident. Incorrect diagnosis of the issue by the pilot in command also led to the loss of a greater amount of fuel than the failure and rupture of the fuel line alone could account for. Additionally incomplete reviewing of an emergency checklist by the Pilots, led to greater fuel loss than Could have been accounted to the original cause. The failure of the pilots to review the opening of the crossfeed valve, and indeed close the same, caused a loss of far more fuel than neccicarily caused by that due to faulty maintenence alone. The NTSB finds the pilot partly responsible and suggests suspention of liscence and training. They also put out a directive for Airbus to add a new warning to their systems for clear warnings if a fuel leak is detected by the depleation of fuel at a significant rate, and also fine Sun Air Maintenence the maximum amount for Negligent maintenence procedures leading to a non-fatal incident that US Law provides for.
15: Phoenix.
(Prelude: own Poem "Passions/Lizzie")
Six Months after the incident, Pilot and Friend Co-pilot meet each other at the ramp to prepare their next flight together. It is apparent that Character "Pilot" is back from a long break, He has been flying nothing but Simulators for the last 6 months. As the two talk, it is apparent they havn't seen much of each other for that time, and also that Pilot has been divorced from his wife. He seems subdued, and a little sad. As they prepare the flight, it becomes known that the Pilot character is now infact, going to be his friend's Co-Pilot. In effect he has been demoted, and their roles reversed. As they sit down in the cockpit, Friend in the Captain seat and Pilot in the Co-Pilot seat, they begin to do their checklist. We look poeticly out at all the air traffic, all taking off into the dusk for their flights across the world.
(Postlude: own Poem "Flight to Milkyway")
Softly as the cradle the silky cottonwool of sound
emblanketed the world of sound. Inducing sleep.
The massed waves of land stretched to the huge bowl of pink horizon
and the huger mass of tangible sky beyond the fountain
which spewed forth gushes of stars
that rushed forth and covered the increasing dark.
A void sprinkled with glittering white.
Pulsating, without meaning, on the other side of the glass far away.
And below, the white jewel.
A diamond glitter which was a city.
People no more than a glint
covered by a speck, no larger than a single cell.
Or whole streets that appeared like chains of silver,
an ornament on a young woman
a gift from a lover
a whole city.
But all of that which was real
was suddenly not.
Softened by the lethargic drone of the cabin
and hidden behind a long thin wing
bouncing softly, and flicking
on, off.
Bathing itself momentarily in red rose light,
and then in the darker light.
Slowly my mind was taken much further
than the edge of that wing which stuck out so short into the depths of nothingness
I could see up into the stars, the galaxies, the universe.
The craft stood still in awe of the timelessness which was so real,
yet so far away, yet so close.
The fin sliced it's way through the sticky moist, pressing darkness.
Loosing it's grip on the tangible air which filed away in strips of dripping white,
and spun slowly, twisting and changing away into the void before crashing behind the next black window into the unknown.
Freed from the cottonwool of sound, that all enveloping cloud.
Freed also from the savage white
and blue and maroon velvet,
cream plastic tray
and travel brochures
which seemed to entangle the beast's stomach
and which were distributed so recklessly
by ever appeasing hostesses
in hollow plastic smiles
which might have been part of the craft itself
a machine. Not so much of beauty or splendor
but of necessity.
Designed for function.
And so I escaped once more to the universe
and the diamond jewel around my beauty's neck
and smiled at the trickle of a stellar fountain
and drifted into the embracing warmth.
Softly as the cradle the silky cottonwool of sound
emblanketed the world of sound. Inducing sleep.
The massed waves of land stretched to the huge bowl of void
and the huger mass of tangible sky beyond the fountain
that was everything.
For Details sake. Sunair is a fictional airline of my own making. The airline is based out of Oakland, California, (near San Fransisco... an hours flight from Los Angeles). They have a fleet of Airbus Aircraft in two types. The Airbus A320, which services trips to Mexico, Los Angeles, the Caribbean, Hawaii, and Canada. The Airbus A330 aircraft in the fleet service some of the longer routes in the Carribean, but are used mainly for the European routes, including London Gatwick (London's secondary airport) Brussels Belgium, Rome Italy, Venice Italy, Athens Greece, Bacelona Spain, and Gibraltar. Operating with a fleet of 8 A320s and only 4 A330's, the airline does make a stretch to keep all aircraft on schedule as most charters do. The airline does not operate all their destinations at any given time, and "Codeshare" with other airlines to make up their passenger numbers. This codesharing is as thus to the lay person. Person X buys a holiday package with say, an Asian Airline like Korean Air. As Korean air do not fly to destinations in the Caribbean, they fly the passengers to San Fransisco. Passengers then board a Sunair aircraft with a Korean Air ticket to fly to somewhere like St Maarten in the Duch Indies. Then they go on with Sunair to Europe where they again rejoin a Korean air flight. Sunair also pack the aircraft with Freight, for overnight delivery and postal companys. Thus the actual revenue made from people booking Holiday flights to fun destinations around the globe is actually their secondary income, with the primary income derived from freight and codeshare passengers.
