Life with Spitfire

“Fox Two, this is Eagle One, do you hear me?” I heard a voice in my headset, as I connected it to the radio transmitter of my airplane.

“Eagle one, this is Fox Two, I hear you loud and clear.”

“Fox Two, you’re clear for sequence start. Power?”

“Power is on, the panel is online.”

“Ignition?”

“Ignition primers are good, green lights are out.”

“Chassis?”

“Green lights are out.”

“Check the control surfaces.”

As I moved the flight control stick and pedals, I looked out from the canopy of my cabin. As I checked that everything moved just fine, I replied to the flight control tower, “Control surfaces are good, everything moves just fine.”

“Alright, that’s good. You’re clear for engine start.”

As I checked the readings of the control panel, I pushed the starter button. After a few coughs, the engine started, and a loud roar filled the cabin of my airplane. As the water and engine temperatures stabilized, I slightly pushed the engine control rod, and rolled out from the hangar.

As I rolled out to the bright sunlight, I was immediately blinded by it. So, I stopped, and put on my aviator sunglasses before looking around. The airfield, where our design bureau was based, looked quite nice – wide concrete runway was surrounded by short, yet very colorful grass and huge mountains. On the farther end of the runway was an exit to the abyss, which leaded from the Canterlot mountains to the ravine, where the town of Ponyville stood. So, while I maneuvered my plane through the narrow steering roads of the airfield, I noticed a group of pegasi that stood at the beginning of the runway.

“Eagle One, this is Fox Two. Moving to the beginning of the runway, all characteristics are good.”

“Roger that, Fox Two. The Wonderbolts group is waiting for you, you’re clear for group flight,” the man from the control tower responded, “They all have their headsets already. Second channel, frequency 9221.”

“Roger that, Eagle One. Switching to the group chatter,” I said and switched my radio to get in contact with the Wondrbolts. “Spitfire, this is Fox Two, do you read me?”

“Loud and clear, Fox Two. Hello there, Nick,” I heard a cheerful voice in my headset, as I rolled out to the runway. As I hit the brakes of my airplane, I looked around to see that the group of Wonderbolts was approaching me. There were Spitfire, Soarin, Rainbow Dash, Fleetfoot and Cloudchaser.

“Hello there, everyone. Nice flightsuits you’ve got there,” I said with a smile, as everyone stood at their positions around the plane. Soarin and Rainbow Dash placed themselves at my sides, with Fleetfoot, Spitfire and Cloudchaser following behind us.

“Well thank you!” Fleetfoot replied via her headset. “We’ve got a new set of suits recently. They have built-in batteries for our headsets.”

“Good for you, then. Spitfire, it’s a great honor for me to be a group leader today. I won’t let you down.”

“That’s the spirit, Nick! You remember the flight program?” Spitfire responded, while taking a starting stance.

“Sure I do. Everyone ready?”

“Spitfire – good.”

“Rainbow Dash – ready to rock!”

“Soarin – ready!”

“Cloudchaser – good!”

“Fleetfoot – ready.”

“Fox Two – ready. Alright,” I exhaled loudly, and switched the channel to contact the control tower. “Eagle One, this is Fox Two, we’re ready for takeoff.”

“Fox Two, you’re clear for takeoff. Good luck there,” the man from the tower responded. After that, I held onto the brakes of my airplane, and revved up the engine to its maximum. As I did so, I closed the canopy of my cabin, and looked around. I saw how everyone took their starting stances. So, I switched the radio back to the group, and commanded:

“This is Fox Two, we’re clear for takeoff. Starting the sequence.”

After that, I released the brakes, and my plane began to roll down the runway, gaining more and more speed. At first, the Wonderbolts were running after me, but at some point, they took off, and passed above the hot concrete of the runway at low altitude.

“Speed – one hundred, continuing the sequence. Releasing the flaps, green lights are out,” I said, and lowered the lever, that controlled the flaps. With a loud zooming sound, the flaps lowered, and I felt how the vibration from the wheels of the plane began to fade away.

“Speed – one fifty, taking off,” I transmitted and pulled the control stick towards myself. In one swift move, the nose of my plane lifted up, and in a few seconds, I became airborne. As I looked at my sides, I saw that the Wonderbolts were following my moves neatly.

“Spitfire to Fox Two, we’re all airborne,” Spitfire chatted back.

“Roger that. Retracting the landing gear.”

I lifted up the lever, that controlled the landing gear. As I heard a loud sound, which came from my plane’s wings, I assumed that the gear has been fixed.

“Spitfire to Fox Two, landing gear is up.”

“Confirmed, red lights are out. Gaining altitude, speed – two twenty, continuing the acceleration.”

As the airplane was continuing the acceleration, I started to level it out. The airfield was placed in a middle of Canterlot Mountains, at height of about two thousand meters above the sea level, so our group shot out from the mountains at almost perfectly levelled straight line. I saw a beautiful sight around me – a deep green ravine under the wings, a perfectly clear and blue sky above my machine, and a mountain pass behind us in a rearview mirror.

“Fox Two to all Wonderbolts – course six-zero-two, continue the acceleration. Retracting the flaps.”

As I retracted the flaps, I saw how the speed began to increase more rapidly. I slightly lifted the nose of my machine, so it would still go at the straight line and not lose altitude due to the reduced lifting force. As we exceeded the speed of three hundred kilometers per hour, I levelled out the plane again, and made a turn to follow the mountain chain and to go towards the city of Canterlot. We were waited guests there – Spitfire has invited me to perform with her Wonderbolts at the opening of a new sports centre that was placed not too far from the Canterlot University. However, as it was placed on the on the other side of the mountain chain, we had to fly around them.

“Spitfire to Fox Two, looking good so far at this point,” Spitfire chatted, “Time’s one-three-one-two, we should be right on time.”

“Speed’s three thirty. All systems are good, keeping the rod at its maximum,” I replied back. As the engine roared, I felt how the air in the cockpit was cracking around me. As I looked around, I saw the trails of smoke and lightning after Rainbow Dash and Soarin.

“Fox Two to all Wonderbolts – the smoke is out, keep it that way. We’re reaching the city, play it cool,” I chatted, as we were about a couple of kilometers from the city. We were keeping the altitude of about five hundred meters above its roofs. After we’ve crossed the city’s border, I engaged the nitrous oxide system. “Nitrous oxide is online, reaching the maximum velocity.”

As I engaged the system, I received a powerful punch to my back. I saw how the small flames that were firing from the engine’s exhaust pipes became to grow larger and larger. The plane was reaching its top speed of four hundred and twenty kilometers per hour. The buildings below us were passing by rapidly, blurring. After a few minutes of going above the city of Canterlot, I saw the building that we needed and large crowds near it.

“Fox Two to all Wonderbolts – having visual on our target, twenty seconds before approach.”

“Spitfire – go!”

“Rainbow Dash – go!”

“Soarin – go!”

“Cloudchaser – go!”

“Fleetfoot – go!”

“Fox Two – go, ten seconds before approach. Let’s rock!” I exclaimed enthusiastically. “Loop in six, five, four, three, two, one. Ascent.”

As I pulled a flight control stick, I could see a big crowd below us for a second. However, I regained my concentration quickly, as I slightly eased my grip on the stick, so the loop would be wide enough to show off. As I saw a blue sky in front of me, I also noticed how my plane lost its speed, and a few seconds after it, I saw how the sky has been replaced by the ground. I pulled the flight control stick even more, so the loop wouldn’t be too dangerous for us and spectators.

“Fleetfoot to Fox Two, you have some trails coming from your wingtips,” Fleetfoot informed me via the communicator.

“That’s normal, play it cool. Okay, Wonderbolts, prepare for the power descend.”

As I said that, I started to level out the plane. We quickly exceeded the speed of four hundred kilometers per hour, and thundered over the crowd just a couple hundred meters above.

“Beginning the group barrel roll… Now!” I commanded and moved the stick to the plane’s right slightly. As the plane started to roll over, the Wonderbolts followed behind, still making a perfect formation. As we did a barrel roll and a half, I pulled the stick as hard as I could to make another run over the crowd. I felt how the blood was flowing away from my head, and how my consciousness was slipping away from me. However, as we finished the maneuver, I felt myself better.

“Fox Two, everything’s fine?” Cloudchaser entered the chatter. Her voice sounded worried.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Concentrate,” I replied back. “Candle with a divide… Now.”

As I pulled the flight control stick and started to ascend again, I gave a quick glance around me. Rainbow Dash and Soarin were nearly touching my wingtips, while Spitfire, Cloudchaser and Fleetfoot were doing the same to my tailfin. That was creating a lot of turbulence, but I held on the control stick tightly. As the speed of my plane started to reduce, I released the flaps and pushed the stick to the left, so it would spin and lose the speed even faster. I felt how the strong vibration hit the plane for a second, which alarmed me that I’d engaged the flaps too early. However, the Wonderbolts followed my moves neatly.

“Five seconds before the divide. Three… Two… One… Go,” I commanded, as the speed of my plane fell below fifty kilometers per hour. I immediately retracted the engine control rod and pressed the right pedal. The plane rolled over mid-air, and with a slight slide, began to descend. As Rainbow Dash and Soarin followed after me, Spitfire, Fleetfoot and Cloudchaser continued their ascent. More than that, they began to speed up and rolled over to fly above the crowd as fast, as they could.

When the part of Wonderbolts was flying at high altitude above the place, our group of three was descending. As we reached the altitude of eight hundred meters above the place, I pushed the engine control rod to its maximum again. As the engine roared, I began to level out the plane. The G-force was big, and it was quite hard for me to remain conscious.

“Meeting in five, four, three, two, one!” I heard a Spitfire’s voice in my headset. Before that, I saw her, Fleetfoot and Cloudchaser on the intercepting course. Moments after that, their trio flew above us just a few meters higher. It created so much turbulence that my plane even dove a hundred meters down. However, I managed to catch and hold it with my hands via the flight control stick.

“Good job, everyone. We’ve finished our little flight program, let’s head back home,” I said, and disengaged the nitrous oxide system. After that, I also slightly pulled the engine control rod to reduce the amount of power that the motor’s been giving. As the speed fell down to two hundred kilometers per hour, I brushed away the sweat that I had on my forehead. I looked around and saw that nor did Soarin or Rainbow Dash have the smoky trails after them anymore.

“Nice job done there, Fox Two. Not perfect, but still, quite admirable for a beginner,” I heard Soarin’s voice in my headset. “Feeling good?”

“Yeah, I’m alright… Though, I’m tired as hell. Today’s drinks are on me!”

As we flew back to the airfield, I saw the beautiful sight again. It was about two o’clock, and the sunrays were showing the beautiful sides of Equestrian land to us. I tiredly checked the fuel level, and sighed – I had less than a half of the fuel tank left, so I was slightly disappointed that we couldn’t fly for a little longer. Pretty soon, I saw the divide in the mountains that lead to our runway, so I switched the radio to contact the control tower.

“Fox Two to Eagle One – we’re back home. Requiring the clearance for landing.”

“Runway is clear, Fox Two. You are clear for landing.”

As we approached the runway, I extended the landing gear and the flaps. Soon enough, as I approached the glissade, the wheels of my landing gear touched the ground. After I reduced my speed, I rolled to the hangar with Rainbow Dash and Soarin following behind, from where I’d started the journey and parked the plane there. As I turned all the systems off and opened the canopy, I leaned back into the seat, being exhausted. But, as I disconnected my headset from the plane’s radio and closed my eyes, some force has got me free from my safety belts, and lifted me up before I could do something.

“Hey, what the…” I only managed to say, before the world around me became a blur. However, pretty soon I’ve managed to look around, and as I did so, I saw that the whole Wonderbolts squad was holding me with their hands. After that, they began to throw me into the air.

“Gah! Wh-why?! S-stop!” I tried to say something between laughs. And they just kept to throw me into the air, saying something about being good at this small perfomance. And, when everyone’d calmed down, we headed to the bar. It was a nice day, so to speak…