Chapter 23

Chuck

I was receiving stereo kisses on my cheeks as I opened my eyes. Staring into my eyes were four dark eyes belonging to two Asian cuties. Taiying said, "Everyone has let you sleep late this morning. They know Sing and I want to talk to you."

Sing kissed me sweetly on the lips before saying, "There is coffee, but how about a shower first before coffee and going to Steve's for breakfast."

The two ladies helped me to hop to the shower where they were more playful than I would have expected, considering they wanted to talk privately with me. The cleaning and re-cleaning ended with all three of us very satisfied. After drying and dressing, we went to the kitchen to have some coffee. I actually had coffee while the girls had tea.

"You have been very open with us about our interest in the two Chinese men," Sing began. "You have met one but not the other. I hope you can overcome Jin when you spar. He is supposed to be as much of an extraordinary student of the arts as you."

Taiying hugged me, "You know by our closeness in the shower how we think of you. We love you, Chuck, and think we could live with you forever, but we also want to have a countryman, or at least someone like us, as our forever mates."

"You have corrupted us, you know," Sing smiled at me. "Taiying and I have enjoyed the closeness with our sisters and fellow mates here. We also have enjoyed your joint fun with Dewey and Steve with their women. Yes, you have corrupted us, and if we were to become the women of these two brothers, they will have to understand we will still be special confidants and partners with you and your group of wonderful people."

Taiying took hold of both of my upper arms and turned me to face her, "We know you would never be angry with us, but would you be upset if we were to let these brothers become close with us, especially while carrying your babies?"

I smiled at the two lovely ladies, "You already know my answer. Of course, I wouldn't be upset. I would only be upset if you didn't let me share by telling me the joy you may find with these men. If it is to be, I will be very happy for you. If not, you have a home with me and our family."

"I want to keep it 'our' family, Chuck. We don't want to lose what we already have and enjoy. Brandy and Tiani are two very special ladies to us. All of what you call your Fabulous Five are important to us. I think when Brandy, Tiani, Sing, and I have our babies, I want to be close to them and raise all of our children together as Sue, Mercy, and Kathy have raised their children with all of their friends' children. We want that closeness."

"That would be nice," I added, as the two girls hugged me. "If you two are comfortable with what we've talked about, let's go to breakfast."

Sing rubbed my belly, "It is growling, Chuck Johnson-san. Taiying, let us feed our man."

The three of us drove a cart to Steve's to join the Saturday throng of people who wanted to have a great day off, or in some cases, a great day at work.

Steve handed me what looked like a Bloody Mary but said, "This is virgin. You and Lisa are going to have to give lessons today. Tank and Jimmy are covered up with maintenance work, and we need everyone we can get. You know, I let Gene and Sandy leave up here without thinking about how many lessons they gave in a week."

DeDe came up to me and gave me a hug, "Thanks for helping out with lessons, Chuck. I'm working on bringing some more instructors on board, but every time I get another good man or woman, they end up flying charters."

Lisa came up and inquired, "What about the 737 training? Isn't that supposed to be this coming week?"

"Yes, it is," DeDe confirmed. "The classes will be held this entire month. We have reserved several of our aircraft for the flight phase and had to sublease some for our other demands."

"Better to have that demand than to have all of these aircraft without charters," Steve remarked.

Lisa and I were eating some of the Saturday breakfast goodies, talking about giving lessons, when Tiny came up to us. "I know you two are going to be giving lessons today, but DeDe said she could spare you two this afternoon. I want to take you, Chuck, and Steve down to Miami this afternoon to look at some suggestions from Magellan." Turning to Lisa, he continued, "I know you're like Sue and Mercy and like to tag along on most everything Chuck does. This is important, so if you don't mind, let's all go to Miami for lunch."

Before leaving the patio, I found a quiet spot and called Nightfox. "Sam, I need a favor. Not a big one, but one that is deserved."

"Tell me about this favor so I can make up my own mind," Sam said slowly. I could hear he still was half asleep. I always forget that most people don't get up at six or earlier on the weekends.

"The services, ours, the FBI, and the local law enforcement people were assisted by a platoon of National Guard MPs that have just rotated back to the states. They were perfect in the way they professionally assisted us standing guard at night and for the protection we experienced going to the hearing. I want some form of unit citation for them, maybe a Homeland Security award," I explained, before asking, "What do you think you can do?"

I could hear the amusement in Sam's voice, "You called me before eight on a Saturday morning to ask me this?"

With a laugh I confirmed, "You know me, no time like the present."

"I know, I know, you just thought of it and felt it couldn't wait another second," Sam said and paused in thought before continuing, "I'll wait until your Marshal wakes up and have him call a couple generals. They will take care of it. Good idea, though. Anytime we get help from someone, they need to be recognized. I'll take care of it, and now, I'll have to stay up. The family knows I'm awake. I'll get you for this."

It was his turn to hang up on me as I was going to thank him. I had to smile thinking about how fast and easily Sam had taken to his new position.

Lisa and I went to the airpark and were assigned students by seven-thirty. My student was on his fifteenth lesson and was scheduled for two hours today. I checked his log book to see what we needed to do and saw that he would have his requirements complete and be able to test when we were finished for the day.

We took one of the LSA coupes up today and made three takeoffs and landings before getting some altitude and practicing stalls and a possible loss of power. The student had learned well and was enthusiastic about testing for his license.

When we parked the aircraft next to the fuel pumps and pumped the tanks full, I congratulated the student as he flew as well as any that I have worked with so far. We started the aircraft and taxied back to the charter office area so another student could take the aircraft up.

DeDe came out and informed me, "I know I told you that I needed you all morning, but a few charter pilots showed up to give lessons. I can break Steve, Sue, and Mercy, along with you and Lisa loose so you can go to Miami. Steve already has a Lear ready to go. Lisa's moving her student up to the hangar right now. Let's get any paperwork done so you two can get out of here."

As I was walking out of the charter office, Steve was having an intense discussion with Wes. The closer I moved toward them, the more I was concerned about what was going on.

Wes was telling Steve, "You really need to fly my twin. It's been certified, and I really think it is something special. Please, Steve, I know it isn't as fast as the Lear, but it's faster than a King Air. My new twin is really fast and solid. I want you to drive it so you can see how well your people build an aircraft. Do it for me, Steve, so I know I'm on the right track."

Steve looked at me and raised his eyebrows. He asked me, "Want to fly right or left seat in Wes' new twin? He says it's certified, so it has been tested and the FAA has given it their certification blessing."

Wes spoke up, "The instrumentation and all of the gauges mirror a B-200. It's so much like a King Air; you will think you're flying one. The big difference is that the dash is less cluttered looking with the flat screen for aircraft information as well as navigation."

"Sure, Steve," I replied, "As long as Wes comes along with us. If he trusts it to make it to Miami and back, I will too."

Wes was grinning when he said, "Let me grab DeDe and we'll give you one hell of a ride."

Steve and I put the Lear back into the hangar as Wes brought his new twin around the other hangars to the charter office. He hopped off the tow motor and handed Steve, Lisa, Sue, and me preflight inspection lists. He walked us through the checks to show us that there were a few differences from the King Air.

The twin was a strange looking bird. It had a dolphin shape and was configured similar to the Piaggio from Italy as it had the wings set pretty far back on the fuselage. In front of that, forward of the cockpit, almost at the nose, were canards or short wings that were obviously aerodynamic. The strangest part of the aircraft was the engines. This was a pusher so the engines were mounted facing back toward the tail. Speaking of the tail, it was different as well with a tall vertical stabilizer with the horizontal stabilizers at the top instead of the bottom. Below the tail were two more canards that looked like an inverted V-tail of the old Bonanzas.

Wes explained that the wings toward the rear of the aircraft helped keep the cabin area quieter than most twin turbo prop aircraft. He told us that he had to go through several engine configurations to find one that wasn't as loud as the Piaggio. As he swept his hand toward the entire aircraft he said, "Not only is this a good looking aircraft, but it's even faster than the Piaggio, which is one of the fastest twin turbo props around. This baby will cruise at over three hundred and sixty-knots. That's over four hundred miles per hour. The design is also for fuel efficiency. At cruise, it uses less than ninety gallons an hour. We had to license a couple of designs from Piaggio, but now they are paying us for our secret to keep the ground and takeoff noise level down.

"The next step for this aircraft will be to broaden the body for a cargo version but keep the same cabin height. The wider body will give the ship more lift so we should be able to carry a significant amount of weight with the existing power plants. All of this can be done because of our ability to create a strong composite body."

I had to ask, "Wes, how did you get this certified so fast. Doesn't it take literally years to develop and certify an aircraft?"

Wes smiled, "First of all, the aircraft is still designated experimental, so, technically, not fully certified, and second, so far S&S, or rather CS&S, designs have been as near perfect as you could ask. The slowest part of the design process was building the composite fuselage and getting computer models made for for the simulated wind tunnel testing. Because we invited the inspectors to every step of our build out and testing, they knew this aircraft as well as we did. We were able to prove every area they questioned. We're probably still a year away from a commercial rollout because of all the flight testing required, which has to be done according to a standardized FAA sequence, even though we've essentially verified the operating limitations and determined that there are no scary corners of the flight envelope on this ship."

As we completed the exterior inspection Wes bragged to us, "The persons most responsible for our ability to get this off the ground have been Jeff and Gerry. They were able to come up with a couple of processes that sped up the construction by months. In addition to that, they've developed a paint that's a lot like Teflon — non-stick so as to reduce drag — that boosts both speed and fuel economy, and we're going to be putting that on our other airplanes as they come due for repainting. John knows turbines as well as anyone and was able to borrow various turbines to find one that was the least noisy."

We began loading people next, and Wes put all of the women into passenger chairs. When I entered the aircraft, I thought I was in one of the tricked out King Airs. The interior was beautiful. A lot of what looked to be mahogany and real leather. This was one plush aircraft.

Wes pointed to the front and declared, "You do left seat on the way down, and Steve can do it on the way back. I'll sit behind you and help you through prep, start, and takeoff."

Everything on this was similar to the King Air. All of the controls, knobs, switches, and instruments were within easy reach and very visible. As Steve read off the startup procedures, I was able to find everything at my fingertips. When I released the parking brake, the aircraft actually lurched forward. Wes mused, "I guess I need to bring idle power down a little for taxiing."

The first thing I noticed was how quiet it was in the cockpit. I wondered if it was that quiet in the cabin.

When we rolled onto the runway, Wes said to do a run up so we could experience a short field take off. When we released the brakes, the aircraft jumped down the runway and leaped off the ground at a little over a thousand feet. Our climb was really steep, and Wes kept saying that we were not nearing any performance limits.

Steve was going over the navigation setup, telling me it was exactly the same as the Lear and my Citation. The cabin was pressurized and we were topping out over twenty thousand. The one thing I noticed as we penetrated some tall cumulus clouds was how stable the aircraft stayed when we went through some of the lifts and downdrafts of the tall clouds.

As we were flying, Steve pointed at our airspeed indicator and said, "This aircraft is a lot faster than a King Air. We're doing a almost four hundred knots at about seventy percent power." Turning to look at Wes, Steve challenged, "You did that on purpose, didn't you, Wes? How fast will this cruise?"

Wes smiled, "It was certified for a max cruise of four hundred, but I don't have enough data to get it raised yet."

Wes began a pitch for some new equipment. "Chuck, Steve, I've spent a lot of money doing the wind tunnel testing. Actually it's almost impossible to get the time in the chambers and if we were to use the small chambers it could get even more expensive building and rebuilding models.

"We could own our own supercomputers like a Cray for a reasonable amount if we were to use it for our needs but also rent out computing time while we were not using it. Gerry, Donny, and Jeff would benefit by it especially in their ceramics development. Abe would be able to finish that special high performance multi-use engine he has been trying to develop. The motor group could use it to develop some new ways to make their engines that much better but keep them legal.

"Steve, there would be a need for a special building or addition to the R&D department but you're building on over there again anyway. That type of investment is never wasted. "We will need some brains to run the thing. I think we could get Sandy Flowers out on the trail of some University professor who wants to get away from academia. I think I have a couple of leads on that. We should be able to hire at least one experienced Phd and possibly a newly graduated talent to learn from and assist the department head. Once we are up and running, the department could give Phil what we would charge for time and processes. In no time at all, we would be paying for a valuable tool."

I asked the question I was sure he was holding his breath over, "What kind of investment would we be talking about Wes? Can you readily buy the equipment or do you have to have it designed and made separately?"

"Ah, it sounds like a lot but for the value it's dirt cheap. The whole thing, setup, building, super broad band communication and initial software would be way under twenty."

I fell for it, "Twenty dollars, twenty-thousand, or are you talking more zeros?"

"Million Chuck, but probably only sixteen to seventeen. Considering the cost of developing an airframe would then be reduced that much more and our time to market would shorten up. We could be a major player in not only aircraft design but computer designed products throughout S&S product lines."

Steve told Wes, "Sounds like something we should do. Put everything you just sold us or rather told us on paper with some reference material and your implementation plan. I'll have Tiny run the numbers and let him help you get this started if the plan is good."

Wes sat back in the jump seat and breathed a sigh of relief. I could tell he had been really uptight about asking for something like this. I'm sure almost all major industries are using supercomputers to do their development testing now so why wouldn't we do it that way on our own.

As we set up for our landing in Miami, I knew that Lisa should be landing rather than me. She was always super smooth, while I had a tendency to hit a little hard. Surprisingly, when I flared and set down on the main gear, I actually did it without a bounce.

I like this aircraft. It felt light but strong and was extremely fast for a turboprop driven aircraft. Steve said, "This aircraft seems to be easy to fly. I'm looking forward to getting some more time in it."

Wes was beaming as we exited the aircraft. "I'm going to go over the aircraft to make sure everything stayed together the way it was supposed to. Call me when you get ready to come back, and I'll do a thorough flight inspection so it'll be ready to go."

I could see DeDe and Wes hugging as we left, congratulating each other on the construction of a hell of an aircraft.

Steve

The flight down to Miami was really nice. Wes' aircraft was definitely something special. With the economy the way it is, I wonder if an aircraft like this will have any market value. I'm sure Wes has designed the aircraft to cost way below the comparable market pricing, but will it sell or will one of the major companies want to buy Wes' design?

While I talked to Wes, Chuck rented a car for us to drive to Magellan. When the six of us arrived at the huge building that housed the Magellan boat company, we were met by a couple of the Magellan brothers who had been waiting for us. Tiny announced, "I brought these two down for you to show them the boats you have created just for them."

We were led into the plant area, which was surprisingly busy for a Saturday. The first boat we saw was a very large catamaran. It had to be nearly a hundred feet long. We climbed the stairway to step onto the deck, and surprise, surprise, Gerry and Donny were standing on the deck. "The entire boat is constructed with our special composite that is not only stronger than almost anything made, it is also barnacle resistant. We get some algae, but no barnacles," Gerry explained, and pointing at the brothers, invited, "Let these men show you the boat."

It was explained to us that this was to ferry passengers between Limon and the island resorts. It would easily carry over a hundred and fifty passengers and was extremely efficient to operate. One of the brothers promised, "We will take a ride in a completed craft when we're through looking at what else we have."

We next looked at a couple of catamaran sailboats in the thirty-five to forty-five foot class. These were to be some of our island charter boats. There were also a couple of forty foot motor yachts that were similar to the boat Tiny loved so much.

We were ushered out to the dock that Mercy and I had spent the night on to be shown another of the huge catamaran passenger boats. An operating crew helped us on board and released the lines so we could move away from the dock. What must have been huge engines pushed us out into the bay area and motored us out to sea. As the boat was cruising at about thirty knots, the brothers showed us through the pontoon areas below. There was a small gift shop and a snack bar on one side. On the other side was a very nice bar with tables in the front of the area.

Up top, we were able to walk around the deck equipped with substantial railings all around the boat. The bridge, or helm, was in a cabin on top of the main passenger cabin. It had three hundred and sixty degree visibility, while spacious and comfortable for the captain. The inside of the main deck cabin area ran almost the full length of the boat, and had seats around the outside, plus two rows of seats opposing each other in the center. This was a really a nice passenger boat.

Back at the dock, the brothers wanted us to experience one of the sailboats. We motored out to the open water and used electric motors to raise sail. We were at full sail in minutes, skimming the water as only a sailboat can do. Each of us took a turn at the wheel and controls to get a feel for the boat. It was extremely easy to handle and very responsive. This would make an inexperienced sailor look like an old salt.

Back inside the manufacturing plant, the Magellan brothers told all of us, "We want to thank you for bailing us out of our near failure. We have built some of the premier sailboats around the area, but we were not selling them for the money they were worth. You came in, evaluated our business, showed us what to manufacture and how to sell for some cash flow, and now look at us. We have an order backlog of at least nine months in front of us. Thank you, thank you from all of us."

One of the brothers came up to the group and asked, "Aren't we going to show them the patrol boats we're building?"

We went to a corner of the huge building to see what looked like about a thirty-five foot catamaran that had a relatively small cabin, but a lot of deck space for people to stand. They explained, "When Chuck said he needed to find a boat for his people to patrol around the island and keep unwanted reporters and photographers away, the Coast Guard helped us work on a design, and here it is. This boat is not only built for observation, but also for speed. It can go almost fifty knots, and can handle almost any sea condition. I want to thank all of you as well."

Tiny, slapping the man on the back, asserted, "See those two guys? They are the reason this place is a success now. They are a lucky charm to everything they touch. Come up to our place, spend a weekend with us, and see how you feel when you leave. Let Steve inject his perfect attitude here, and you'll see production and profits rise like you wouldn't believe. When you're ready to come, we'll send an airplane for you. Please, do it for our sake. Do it for your sake."

After a lot of handshaking and back slapping, we headed back to the airport. On the way, Tiny called Wes to tell him to get the aircraft ready.

As we loaded up, Chuck said, "I think I'll sit back here in steerage. I noticed the bar was stocked, so you go ahead and get some left seat time."

I laughed at Chuck. "How about Sue and Lisa fight over left seat? I'm going to sit back here with you, Tiny, and Mercy, if you don't mind."

Wes was almost put off, as he didn't understand that Chuck and I were partners in almost everything we did and would want to talk over what we had just experienced.

On the trip home, Chuck, Tiny, Mercy, DeDe, and I enjoyed some beverage that would have made it illegal for us to pilot any aircraft. We could see Sue in the left seat, and Lisa in the right, having a good time flying the aircraft. Wes was still hovering over their shoulder.

I told Tiny, "You did a good job getting Magellan to build boats for the island's needs."

"Actually, Mark sent a drawing with some specs for the Magellan brothers to begin work," Tiny replied, "And John has been down to look over the boats as they have been built and offered a lot of suggestions for the charter sailboats. He wants to have a couple up in Clearwater to rent out to want-a-be sailors."

Chuck asked, "Are two of the big passenger boats going to be sufficient? That's only about three hundred people at a time. What if we have more?"

"From what I've been told, you will have a staff of about a hundred twenty-five a shift with the day workers, making it almost two hundred for the morning and evening runs," Tiny responded, "And I figured you would probably bust the shifts up so the boats would be at near half capacity both ways all the time. That would keep it safer, yet move people back and forth as needed."

I inquired, "Chuck said a lot of customers would be flying into Limon instead of his island airport. Are you suggesting we ferry them on the big boats?"

"We are going to build some fifty foot cats to handle one customer group at a time," Tiny explained, "We will probably have three of those, and, considering it will only be a little more than an hour round trip, we should be able to handle the customer traffic. The difference will be that the smaller boats will offer more attention to the customer, while the big boats will have the amenities, but the customer will have to go to them."

It was a little after five when we arrived home. Supper of ribs and chicken was being served. Donny and Gerry were already home somehow and were helping at the grills. Chuck's ladies were busy putting out huge bowls of potato salad and baked beans, along with some great homemade garlic bread.

As usual, the crowd consumed mass quantities of food and beverage. As we were eating, Charlie asked, "What do you think, Steve, want to go for a ride?"

I looked over at Chuck, who was smiling, and replied, "Let's do it, Charlie. I just need to put my boots on, and I think Chuck needs to change into some jeans."

Chuck left with Lisa and soon returned on his bike. All of the people who rode were lined up for an excursion to the popular bars. The first place we went to was Jonah's. Chuck was tossed around by the huge Millie as if she was going to devour him. The two of them were laughing their asses off as they bantered back and forth. Millie did almost the same to Lisa, who clung to the giant and gave her a serious buss on the mouth to all of the bar's approval. A lot of cheers and hoots were expressed as the two kissed.

When we wanted to go to our next stop, Stormy motioned to me before signing to Sue. "We're supposed to head straight to St. Pete for a party they are having tonight," she translated.

All of us blasted across the Howard Franklin Bridge and south on I-275 to the club bar. As soon as we rode in, prospects showed us where we were to park. We hardly had our kickstands down before Hap was physically picked up and carried into the bar. When we got inside, Hap was in a chair on top of one of the pool tables with a topless waitress on each knee. The entire bar began singing "Happy Birthday" to Hap. There couldn't have been a nicer way to honor the former prez of one of the chapters than the way they were treating him. Margie happily looked on.

All of us were treated as royalty, the same way we were always treated. Stormy was funny as he kept bringing some of the topless waitresses to us, cupping their breasts, and offering them to us. Charlie's shoulder was hurting after he fondled a couple of the offered babes, as Shawna was being possessive tonight.

I thought Sue, Mercy, and the Andys were going to make off with a couple of cuties, but they finally let them get back to their duties after us guys had a couple of beers.

We rode up to New Port Richey for some of their supposedly "As Good As Clam Jammers" onion rings. They were good, but their grouper sandwich wasn't there yet. The biker community was spoiled by the excellent food that used to come from the tiny kitchen at the old place.

We rode home a little more sedately than the way we left. Probably a good idea, as by this time of night, the law cars were out in force. None of them wanted to challenge twenty bikes, so we were able to get back to the park without being hassled.

When we pulled up to the patio, Charlie announced, "I was going to suggest a little hot tub time, but you know what? I'm beat and think I need to sleep more than I want strange."

"Geez, you're getting old and feeble. You're really gonna pass up some strange pussy?" Shawna wondered, paused in thought to look around, and then asked, "I guess it isn't all that strange, but are you okay, Honey?"

Hugging his tiny redhead, Charlie replied, "I'm sure. You're all a man could ask for, and besides, it's almost our anniversary. I'd rather it's me deep inside my bride as the clock strikes twelve than any of these letches waiting to get their hands on the primo redheaded pussy of the park."

That caused everyone to laugh, but Charlie received some very serious kisses for his proclamation.

It wasn't long until Chuck and Lisa said they were done for the night and left. This left me with Mercy, Sue, Kathy, Mickey, and the Andys. It was one hell of an effort, but I was able to work my way through all of the women before I gave out. That is some awesome loving.

Six months later:

Steve

We had gathered on the patio in preparation to flying down to Costa Rica for the grand opening of the resort.

Chuck was dancing around as if he had to go to the bathroom. He didn't know which way to turn. We were about to takeoff from the patio for the airpark, but Brandy was making it known she was about to become a mommy. Chuck told the rest of us to go ahead and leave; the baby was more important to him.