The Conversation Of Flight

There I was 4,500 feet above and 4 miles southwest of Torrance airport, the sun was shining and the steady hum of the engine was reassuring. The conversation between aircraft, pilot, and sky was in full effect and the engine seemed to continually whisper “we will make it home today as long as our blue friend keeps his end of the bargain”.

There is a certain relationship between the aircraft and the pilot that is hard to explain. Each airplane has its own special feel. Some aircraft need to be told what to do and some just simply fly.

Like all relationships this relationship is made up of a seriese of conversations. It starts when the pilot see the plane for the first time or after a long time apart. He walk around the plane before the flight asking questions like “how is your oil?”, “are you missing anything?”, “do you have enough fuel?”. The aircraft always tells the pilot one way or the other what it needs. There is a well understood agreement that in exchange for providing the needed items, the plane will get the pilot where he wants to go.

Moments later, the altimeter read 4,000 feet and my descent rate wasn’t enough to get down to the Torrance airport traffic pattern. Continuing our conversation I set the engine to idle telling the aircraft “the sky and I take it from here old friend, you get some rest because we will need need you again on final approach”.

I smoothly applied right full rudder, pushed the nose down slightly and applied just enough of a left bank to keep the plane going in the direction that I wanted.

I heard the sky talking. The steady increase in the sound of wind over the airframe. The reassuring feeling of stability in the yoke. The sky and I were one, inseparable so long as I continue to respect its power.

The pilots relationship with the sky begins early in life. Durring warm summer days outside as a child the pilot experiences of the sky’s beauty. The sky’s clear nights show the pilot the universe explaining that although we have a small part in it, we can still be important. When the sky becomes angry it thunders, and storms. Durring the times in youth when these events are witnessed, the pilot learns that the sky is a force that must be respected.

At 1,000 feet I made my turn to final approach. Spending 10 seconds on the final checklist I asked the aircraft “are you ok to land”. Looking at the wind sock I asked the sky “how are you feeling right now”. At 1 wingspan from the ground, I felt ground effect. A almost magical cushion of air that is experenced just before touchdown. It was the sky talking to me one last time: “you can land but I will miss you”?

Touchdown.

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