Chapter 6

On the way home, I asked Matt if he was interested in sitting up front with me. We’re both engineers, of one type or the other, and I wanted to hit him up on some ideas I’d been having for the Feral Princess.

“Matt, don’t you have an aeronautical engineering background?”

“Yes, but in generalities. I have a masters in aeronautical engineering MANAGEMENT. I didn’t do any of the deep dives into specifics of aircraft design and such. What’s up?”

“Do you keep up with planes, new ones, things like that?” I asked him.

“Not really. I’ll never afford one, not a nice one, and I can use my buddy to get me around, so I thought I’d just bum off of him until he hands me a parachute and says, ‘get lost’ or just throws me out a window.” He chuckled at me shaking my head in playful disgust.

“That won’t happen. I don’t think any of these windows actually open.” I got him to smile. “I want to run something by you. I’ve been thinking of upgrading this thing a little bit. New engines, props, tanks, that kind of thing.”

“Really. Can they do that?” he mused.

“Yes, to a point. I’m always hearing about guys changing engines, adding fuel cells, things like that. Here’s the deal. If this makes no sense and isn’t feasible, I won’t pursue it, but here goes. I want to put Denali GE drive trains on each of the wings. The stock props are five instead of four blades, the engines are thirteen hundred versus a thousand and fifty horses, and the new GE engines are shorter and lighter, I think, so I might be able to change the extended tanks out for bigger ones, although that wouldn’t be a showstopper if it the nacelles couldn’t handle it.”

“Charlie, how fast are you now at cruise?”

“A few knots over three hundred.”

“I may have forgotten everything I know about engines and airframes, but if they’ll do what you want, you could shorten your takeoff requirements, maybe twenty to thirty percent, as well as substantially increase your cruise speed. I don’t know much about the Denali or the little GE engines in them, but if you can afford it, R O T F L M A O, (he spelled the acronym out) this would be the hottest turbo prop twin in the known universe. Just going from four to five blades could do wonders, depending on your engines. Ever had a boat and put too big of a prop on it?”

“I get it. No, but I have a friend that did that, and his boat slowed down. It lowered his wide-open throttle revs but didn’t make up for it in thrust.”

“Exactly. It may not help with your current powerplants, but with the new ones? It could be a boon. I’ll bet the military would be interested, too. We have a few of these things. They call them C-12s. You know, EC-12s, MC-12s, UC-12s, etcetera. Just depends on which uniform is flying them and what kind of antennas are hanging off of them. I’ll ask around when I get home. I know a guy in the Pentagon that works with the contracts at Textron. You in a hurry?”

“No, and I have a while until I have to overhaul them, but wouldn’t that be a hoot to put five hundred more horses in this thing and have those new McCauley carbon fiber props on it? It may be a pipe dream, but yeah, if you want to check on it, please do. When you find out, one way or the other, I’ll fly down to Wichita and beg them to take a look at it. They may not have the resources.”

“Charlie, if you have the idea and the money, they’ll find the resources. If my people like the idea, and to be honest, I’ve never heard anyone bring it up, they may help pay some of the R&D and feasibility study costs. If the new engines will go into your avionics, I’ll bet you can get by with a few million. Of course, you know that puts you into experimental aircraft status, right?”

“Problem?”

“Probably not. The biggest thing is no commercial or ‘For Hire’ use. You can’t charge me to fly in it. Win-Win!!” We both got a laugh out of that.

“I’d never do that, and you know it. I can understand that though, ‘cause of the risky nature of the business. Let’s look into it. I’d be glad to pay you for your time for helping.”

“Don’t insult me like that, please. Between hooking me up with Doris and all these trips, not to mention the fantastic booze you’ve shared from your bar, I owe you more than I’ll ever be able to repay. Hey, is your wife thinking about flying? If not, you should check with Allison. You’d have a copilot. I heard her wistfully discussing it with Valerie out on the beach a couple of days ago.”

“Good point. I think Sandy was looking into it, but it just went by the wayside. I’ll resurface the idea. What about you, Matt? Any thoughts about it?”

“Not really. Maybe when I retire in a few years, but I’m pretty busy and I’m working on my doctorate in systems management. Yeah, I’m pretty busy. It really doesn’t matter how old you are, either, going to school sucks.” We shared a laugh about that.

“I’ll bet. Thanks for the input. If you want to trade with one of the girls and go sit in Doris’ lap, go ahead, but you can stay up here if you want. Up to you.”

He stayed.

We took Matt and Jenny home on the way back from the island, listening to all the promises of getting together and plans and all. There was not a question in my mind that Doris was going to try to follow him if he wanted her to. They had been discussing it. He was hoping to make O-6 before he retired. Chances of him getting a star were slim to shit since he was never flight rated. Almost all the generals in the Air Force are either pilots or doctors. Not all mind you, but it’s pretty standard.

Space Command might be a different thing, since they’re going to be missileers and program people and such. No one flies those things, and Astronauts aren’t really part of that aspect. At least not yet. That’ll probably change in the next century. My point is that Matt holding out for Brigadier was a bit farfetched. He was well enough liked and respected enough to get the eagle on his shoulder, though.

It took us several days to get into the swing of things at home. Patty took off for home with her mom since she didn’t have to be back at Mizzou until the middle of January.

Sandy and Valerie had to be back to the grind on Tuesday. Since it was Saturday, at least they had time to wind down and do some laundry. Allison was mostly the same story, having to get back to work. She let us know, under no uncertain terms, she’d be spending more time with us, if we’d have her.

Sharon took a couple of days off as well but made some calls from our home office just to see if any of the people she’d had nibbling were ready for the big bite. I’m making them sound horrible, I know, but realtors do serve a purpose, and a very important one. No takers, so she told me I was hers until Wednesday, and to use her in any way I wished until then.

What an offer! I took her up on it on Tuesday when the kids went to school and we spent noon in the hot tub and by one o’clock she was riding my erection on the family room couch, telling me how happy she was I took her up on her offer. I was, too.

Matt called Wednesday morning and gave me the contact’s name and number at Textron. He was the on-site contract manager for the Air Force and Army turbo prop programs, George Bailey, Major, US Army. OK, I was dealing with the enemy! Just kidding. When work had to be done, we were all on the same team. After wargames, and back in the bars, not so much.

George was a really nice guy and listened to my idea. He asked me if I got around much and wanted to know if I liked face to face meetings more than the phone and Zoom kind. “Yes,” I told him. He asked me to hold on while he made a call. No problem.

“Charlie, would Friday morning work for you? We can get the overhaul guys, the Denali management crew, and the King Air team can make it then as well. Their biggest issue will be the avionics. They can make new engine mounts and tanks, no problem, but the electronics may be a problem. If it is, someone may want to work on it. My boss in Washington told Matt Driscoll he’d like to see it looked at. The performance increases would be beneficial with the way the services use the planes.”

“Yes, I’ll be there. I don’t know yet, but if my wife wants to come with me, would that be all right? It’s her plane, kind of, so she might have fun.”

“Her plane? Sounds like a conversation for Thursday night at your hotel bar. I’m game, if you are. I’m currently a Class C bachelor, with the wife off helping her mother take care of her father for a while. He was cleaning gutters, and ... Listen to me. Way too much information.”

“George, I’ll call you when I get in on Thursday. You know any bars where they’re kind of loose on identification?”

“More good conversation. Yeah. We’ll go low brow to my normal hang out. They won’t care. How old are you, anyway?”

“Thirty-three. I’m not the problem. My wife is seventeen for a bit longer. I just don’t want her embarrassed.”

“Wow, but no problem at all. Shirley will probably be working, and she’ll understand. She won’t make a scene. She probably won’t bring the girl tequila shots, but I’m sure we’ll be fine. I can’t wait to hear this story.”

“We’re an open book, George. See you Thursday. Which hotel would be best for our Thursday outing?”

“Probably the Marriott right close here, but don’t fret. I’ll send you the information you need to land here, and I’ll take care of you. You won’t need a rental or anything. I’ll handle that. I’ll make reservations at the hotel, too. The Beech guys may want to pick up the tab to impress you. Who knows? I think this little idea of yours may take hold. I can’t believe no one had thought of it before. At least I don’t think they have. We’ll see. Wait up. If you have a King Air, where did you get it?”

“Right there. It was just laying around with a bunch of perks I needed and the guys that ordered it went belly up, so I got a deal on it.”

“More good story. I’ll email you the specifics, but it sounds like you might know your way to the Beech factory.”

“True, that. See you soon.” We hung up, and I got a little excited.

That afternoon, when Sandy and Valerie came home, I sat them down and talked to them about my idea and the trip to Wichita. Sandy was all in. Valerie questioned missing a day, but Sandy told her since she had almost perfect attendance, but not perfect enough to get any awards for it, she needed to lighten up and have some fun. Sandy did have perfect attendance, but this was enough to keep her feral streak going and ditch classes for a day.

“An award for perfect attendance is for people looking to get scholarships and jobs. I’d rather help my husband talk to people about making my plane faster. That way, I may have to pay my way through college, but I’ll know a lot more about the world when I get there. May not make sense, but ... That’s my take.”

“Well, I still need the scholarships and such, but...” Sandy started laughing, interrupting Valerie’s rant.

“No, baby, you don’t. Not that I’m a gold digger or anything, but I can put you through college on the allowance I get from Prince Charles. I don’t call him Charlemagne for nothing. Didn’t you kind of commit yourself to him?” Valerie nodded. “He committed to you as well, right? You remember that?” She nodded. “Then don’t worry about money for school, or anything else for that matter. Just keep treating him like he’s the most important thing in the world, which he is, and you’ll be fine. I have to admit, you’ve been doing pretty well at that. He just told me the other day that he was glad I found you.”

They both looked up at me, Sandy with pride, and Valerie in question. I blushed and nodded.

“He’s probably happy that Ellie dumped you and moved, but he’s not cruel, so maybe not. He’s just happy we were there to catch you when you fell off the Ellievator, though, so to speak. Anyway, let’s have a ditch day and go with him. I’ll bet if we wear short skirts to school on Thursday, we can get our assignments and not lose any points. Especially from Miss Tanner. She looks at you like you are a candy bar sometimes.” Sandy started laughing, but Valerie just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

I pulled them to me for a group hug, then asked if they wanted me to invite the adults. They both smirked and shook their heads.

“Just take them and have a bit of fun, Charlie,” Sharon said from the doorway. She’d just walked in from the garage. “Alli is in court, and I have a showing. They need a break with you, anyway, just the three of you.”

“Thanks, Mom. Love you!” Sandy said, reaching out for her and a hug. They did the trio hug thing then Sharon marched off to the bedroom to change. Shame, she was dressed to the nines in a nice little dress, hose, and heels. Nothing needed to be changed, but she normally dressed down when she got home. When she was done, she brought me a drink, then walked away, allowing me to admire her in little short shorts, heeled sandals, and a tight tank top. I guess it wasn’t so bad that she changes her clothes when she gets home.

Needless to say, I got quite a show of leg Thursday morning before the girls jumped in their little Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, with the super-duper adjustable seats, and ran off to school to talk their way out of trouble. It was one of the few sexy, roomy, high-performance cars that the seats would go up high enough and far enough forward for Sandy to feel comfortable driving, and I thought it would be a hoot to give them a rocket. I was tempted to buy them each one, one green and one purple, but they said they had no use for two cars. This would be one less to wash, one less to vacuum out, and one less to find in the parking lot after school. They can be funny if they want.

The car is part of a story of me bribing my wife to get into flight school, only if she wanted, mind you, but she and Valerie told me if I’d buy them something extravagant, that was actually worth something, they would give it a shot. We traded the Edge in on it and haven’t looked back.

They were both enrolled in an online ground school the next week and having more than a little fun driving to school. Once the ground school was out of the way, they could take a test to make sure they soaked it all up, then start actually going up in a little airplane to see if they were at all interested.

Oh, the leg show. They were both dolled up just to the bare minimum of the school dress code policy working on having fun with one Miss Tanner, teacher of technology. She had also been the assistant softball coach for the last three years, so I have gotten to know her away from the school a bit. While it was not advertised, and not public knowledge, anyone close to her knew she was of the Sapphic bent. She was also a very nice person and loved the kids she taught.

In her upper twenties, maybe thirty, but I doubted it, and pretty good looking, she was able to get the attention of most of her students and bring them in line if they had any thoughts of straying from the disciplinary standards she set out.

It was Thursday afternoon when she called my cell phone. “Carter,” I answered.

“Mr. Carter, it’s Sally. Sally Tanner. I just wanted you to know you can pick your girls up in after school detention after they serve ten years for being tempting little harlots. Did you see what they wore this morning?”

“I did. I expected trouble, you know, jail time, community service, picking cotton, or something, but I never expected this phone call.”

She started laughing. “Well, I’ll tell you what I’ve done to punish them for their insolence and immature nature. Charlie, I’ve talked to a couple of the other teachers, and what we’d like to do is to give them both the day, call it school, and present some of the information they pick up in the meeting, if that’s okay with you. They mentioned the purpose of the meeting and it sounds too interesting to pass up. A learning moment, if you will. Your wife and her friend are not dumb, and they’ll learn more in that meeting tomorrow than they could here. Does that sound all right? I mean they said they would be attending the meeting. Did I go too far in assuming they might be able to pick up some information and share it?”

“Not at all, Sally. I really appreciate it, actually. This could be fun, especially since Valerie might be asking some questions I hadn’t thought about. Sandy and I are so in tune that doesn’t happen very often anymore, but it still does once in a while with Valerie.”

“You and Valerie? A story for another time. In any case, the darlings teased me, knowingly, and I retaliated severely, using the dreaded educational whip, so everyone involved is happy.”

“Question for you, Sally. Are you still with that lady I saw you with last time we met?”

“No, I’m actually quite single at the moment. That woman, if you could call her that, was a bit of a dyke. Kind of mean. Kind of demanding. Kind of not my type. If I had to pick a type, it would be the type you seem to find.”

“Thank you, I think. Sorry to hear about being single...” She broke in.

“Don’t be. If I was hetero, I’d still have a problem finding the right one. No biggie. Why did you ask, anyway?”

“Why don’t I make the little harlots, heathens, snot nosed brats, or whatever else you think they are, make you dinner Sunday night as additional repentance, and we can talk about what we’re doing. A huge part of this trip is to find out if the computers I have on board now will communicate with a different engine. Make, model, power, everything is different. Plus, you can watch some forced slave labor work toward your benefit after they tried to entice you.”

“It’s a deal. I’d love that.”

“You aren’t vegan or vegetarian or anything, are you?”

“Why do people always ask me that? Are there that many vegan lezzies out there? No, Charlie, I’m not. There isn’t much I won’t eat now that I got over the whole eggplant thing as an adult.”

I had to laugh. “Everyone goes through that, Sally, no problem. I’ll probably just have them make us a steak dinner, if that’s all right with you.”

“Sounds good. I’m easy.”

“Don’t start with me. You start acting like the tarts, and I’ll have you helping them cook!”

“That’s doable,” she said, giggling.

“There will be a couple others there, Sharon, for sure, but you know about that, and Allison Valente, one of my lawyers, probably. She generally stops by for dinner on the way home. She and the girls work that out, somehow.”

“Another notch in your bedpost, Charlie?”

“I’m glad you can’t see me blushing, Sally.”

“I’ll take that as a yes. Lucky woman. Another lucky woman. Hey, I gotta run. It was good talking to you. I’ll see you Sunday at what time?”

“Let’s do dinner at five. Early enough to get everyone home at a decent time since Monday it’s back to work for all of us. Show up whenever you want, though. As a matter of fact, if you’d like to hot tub or anything, act accordingly, and come very early.”

“I just might. See you Sunday, then, Charlie. Thanks.”

“Thank you, Sally. Thanks for calling. I’m glad the girls have you as a teacher.”

“My pleasure, honestly. Bye, now.” Click.

Interesting telephone call, to say the least.

I came home to the girls sitting in their skirts and hose, sans their shoes, doing homework. They looked delicious, I shared that with them, and as they laughed, I kissed them good evening. They told me about the meeting with Sally Tanner, almost all of which I was already familiar with.

Sandy, though, caught me off guard. “You know, Charlie, we’re graduating pretty soon. That will sort of release us from some of the required proprieties with the school.” She gave me a cheese eating grin.

“What do you want now, my little dove?”

“I would like to invite Miss Tanner on vacation with us this summer. She hasn’t been around long enough to be making much money, and I thought we could show her how much we appreciate her. Wouldn’t be a big deal, would it? One more full seat and another bag?”

“No, that sounds realistic. Where were you planning on taking her?”

“Montenegro.”

“WHAT?”

“Montenegro. Val and I have been looking for nice places that aren’t overrun with people. You know, out of the way kinds of things where we can see new stuff and not feel like we’re jammed onto a tour bus.”

“I’m all in. I’ve never been there so you’ll need to do some research for me, you know, pilot stuff, but you should be covering some of that in ground school already.”

“There is a nice airport near where we want to go. It’s a place called Tivat, and it’s kind of in the center of a lot of stuff. Water, mountains, history, all that in one place.”

“Sounds fun, and you want to take Sally with us?”

Valerie spoke up, “If you don’t mind, Charlie. I know I may not have a say...” I interrupted her.

“You do, Val. Very much so. You live here, too.”

“Okay and thank you.” She pulled me to her for a kiss. “She has done so much, and this thing with the report and not counting us absent is just icing on the cake. She’s neat. Sandy and I think she deserves a break.”

“Go for it. I’ll let you all take care of it but make it a family vacation. It sounds like something Alli would like, too, and you know your mother, Sandy, she’ll really be interested, especially if any of the surrounding areas have some of that old European architecture still standing.”