The Airplane: The Story of the Next Big Thing

by Milde, Karl

• ISBN13: 9781462049424
• ISBN10: 1462049427
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-09-28
• Publisher: Textstream

Summary

Never one to color inside the lines, the brilliant inventor Carl Collingwood is positive that his new aircraft will trigger waves of influence worldwide, changing the course of aeronautics forever. Investigative journalist Juli Gables is granted exclusive rights to cover the first flight of Collingwood's groundbreaking aircraft. But when the plane inexplicably crashes and kills its creator, Gables finds herself witness, and reporter, to a tragic story. Using her investigative skills and sharp observations, Gables resolves to unearth the cause of the crash for the sake of Collingwood's widow. She learns that it was not a mechanical malfunction that killed Collingwood; someone wanted him dead. With her newfound knowledge, Gables may be in danger, too-especially when this investigation leads her all the way to the White House. As she attempts to get closer to the truth, Gables is dogged at every step by disruptive parties, including the police and fellow reporters. As her investigation continues, she uncovers a plot to assassinate the President of the United States when he is scheduled to give a speech at the United States Military Academy at West Point. When authorities do not listen to her as she voices her claims, it seems as if Gables will have to take matters into her own hands in order to prevent imminent tragedy.

Excerpts

At Bruce's signal, Carl opened the side window and shouted "Clear prop!" I figure he had finally found his voice. The front propeller cranked a couple of turns and awakened the engine, which sputtered briefly before settling into a smooth, comfortably quiet hum. Then, strangely, a second engine, buried somewhere in the middle of the fuselage, started up, turning fans partly buried in the wings with a muffled bustle. The combined sound was not unpleasant, something like the sounds you hear in a laundromat. The wheels of the craft were blocked, keeping it from moving forward or back. Bruce moved in and grabbed little ropes that were attached to each chock, and then pulled the chocks away, at first from the front wheel and next from the main landing gear under each wing. He backed off a safe distance, carrying the chocks, and watched the aircraft vibrate as the rotating blades in its wings churned the air with a flutter. The aircraft shuddered slightly as its engine sound increased in pitch, and then moved forward a bit as it slowly lifted itself, seemingly by its own bootstraps, off the ground. The landing gear extended downward at first, leaving the wheels on the tarmac beneath, and then held firm and picked the wheels up off the surface. The craft was airborne! The tiny group of people, who stood by with their eyes glued to the levitating aircraft, spontaneously broke into wild applause. "Hurray!!" The aircraft continued to rise, first by a foot, then five feet, and eventually held steady at about ten feet off the ground, rotating horizontally a little as it hovered. We all stood there in awe, especially since it was impossible to see how the aircraft could fly at all. Except for a tiny shroud above each wing, the aircraft looked for all-the-world like a conventional airplane, but it was not flying forward. It was just sort of...defying gravity. The aircraft remained motionless for a few seconds and then, without warning, there was a huge explosion and it ignited into flames right before our eyes. The fire burst forth and quickly engulfed the aircraft, just like what happened to the dirigible Hindenburg.