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A Flightsim Adventure Part Two


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My phone is not real good with encrypted e-mails, and this one was no different. It took me a few tries to get it open, but eventually it worked. There was much in terms of information, but the basics were to get to the United Nations building in New York and call the number they gave me. What could go wrong?

 

2020-4-10_21-8-30-327.jpg

Spent way too much time using these sims...

FS 5.1, FS-98, FS-2000, FS-2002, FS-2004, FSX, Flight, FSW, P3Dv3, P3Dv4, MSFS

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It was after dark by the time I arrived in New York, just a little before 10:00.

 

2020-4-10_22-18-11-58.jpg

 

I landed and immediately got myself into something to take me to the destination.

 

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The flight only took a few minutes. When I landed I didn't know if anyone would still be there. I dialed the number.

 

"Took you long enough. Don't move." With that the line went dead. I waited about two minutes when a man dressed in an army uniform appeared next to the helicopter. He was about the same height as me, and he reached out one hand as I climbed from the chopper.

 

2020-4-10_22-26-58-43.jpg

 

Once I was on the ground he offered a half-hearted salute. "Lt. Samuelson," he said. "Follow me."

 

He wasn't much for conversation. Ignoring the main entrance, Samuelson led me to a door around the side of the building, and as we passed though we were in a small foyer with elevator doors ahead. He pressed the button and the doors slid open immediately.

 

You know how on tv and in movies elevator rides take so long people can have entire conversations? Ever been in an elevator that took that long? Me neither. Until now. Samuelson pressed one of only two buttons and we started down. It was a long ride, and I began to worry.

 

Finally, the doors slid open and Samuelson led me down a long corridor.

 

Image3.jpg

Spent way too much time using these sims...

FS 5.1, FS-98, FS-2000, FS-2002, FS-2004, FSX, Flight, FSW, P3Dv3, P3Dv4, MSFS

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On to the mysterious! Pretty cool Andy. :cool:

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We passed through the door at the end of the hall to a room with so many computers it might have been mission control,. All conversation in the room faded away as I was led to the front, where I was looked up and down by someone with a bunch of stars on his sleeve.

 

"I suppose you know why you're here?" he asked.

 

"I don't have a clue."

 

"What? You haven't been briefed?" I shook my head and he rolled his eyes. "Follow me." He led me to a tiny office off to the left of the room, and closed the door on Samuelson, who attempted to follow. "We have an ongoing mission down south, and we need someone who won't be too conspicuous to help us out. You'll be told what to do only on a need to know basis. Don't ask questions, just follow orders." He opened the door and bellowed out, "Matthews, get in here!" Another soldier appeared. "This is Captain Matthews, he'll be flying with you. Go!"

 

I was pushed out of the office, and Matthews led me back into the hall. As we walked along, he tried to be a little more friendly. " Luke Matthews," he said. "We need your help, and we'll be relying on you."

 

Soon we were back above ground and in the helicopter as Matthews gave me directions as to which way to go. We climbed above the buildings of Manhattan and over to a smaller airport on the Jersey side of the river. I think it was Teterboro.

 

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We landed, and as I shut the helicopter down, he climbed out before turning to me. "I want you to wait here. Just so you're aware, it may be a while."

 

That was an understatement. As the time dragged on, my eyes got heavy, and I eventually dozed off if the pilot seat. I awoke to the door being opened, and the sky was already a little light. Matthews led me around the corner of one of the buildings where a small jet waited.

 

2020-4-11_16-52-15-892.jpg

Spent way too much time using these sims...

FS 5.1, FS-98, FS-2000, FS-2002, FS-2004, FSX, Flight, FSW, P3Dv3, P3Dv4, MSFS

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Taken in by the military huh? OK, waiting for the next episode. :cool:

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I'm not proud of what I did to Matthews, but I freely admit it. I laughed, in his face.

 

"I've never flown anything like this," I said as he climbed into the forward seat.

 

"You'd better learn fast, cause neither of us have a say in the matter."

 

Despite myself, I got into the rear seat just as Matthews nudged the craft forward until we were lined up with the runway. "You have the aircraft," he said.

 

I wasn't sure what to do. But I put the flaps to half and pushed the throttle lever all the way forward. I had no idea what the speeds were for this plane, so I gave a guess and pulled back on the stick. It lifted off and I retracted the flaps and gear.

 

2020-4-11_16-58-57-428.jpg

 

Matthews went about setting the autopilot and we were off to a destination I still didn't know.

 

2020-4-11_16-59-21-366.jpg

Spent way too much time using these sims...

FS 5.1, FS-98, FS-2000, FS-2002, FS-2004, FSX, Flight, FSW, P3Dv3, P3Dv4, MSFS

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We were a bit out from our destination when Matthews told me to take control of the plane before switching off the autopilot. It was the only chance I was going to get to practice. I tried, without much success, to hold a steady altitude until Matthews drew my attention to the map on one of the displays.

 

"That's where we're going, take us down."

 

I played with a few buttons and got the display to show me the ICAO of the field, KDAL, which I recognized to be in Dallas. I pulled the throttle all the way back and the aircraft settled into a gentle descent. It didn't take long for me to figure out that I was going to have to dive a lot steeper to make it. I extended the spoilers, which caused the nose to rise at first as the speed bled off. Then we were dropping. Ten degrees, fifteen, even then I knew it wasn't enough. I could see the field just a few miles away at my two o'clock, so I pushed the nose down and rolled to the right before pulling back hard on the stick. We got down to about 3500 feet before I retracted the spoilers again and gave it a bit more power.

 

"Okay," Matthews said. "I have a better view of what's in front of us, so I'm taking control." He called the tower and was cleared to land on 31L. the landing way not terrible, though we skidded as we exited the runway, I thought we were done for.

 

Obligatory image, self portrait of me imagining what I must have looked like realizing I was being put in charge of that plane.

 

Image1.jpg

Spent way too much time using these sims...

FS 5.1, FS-98, FS-2000, FS-2002, FS-2004, FSX, Flight, FSW, P3Dv3, P3Dv4, MSFS

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You know that old cliché of "it was quiet, too quiet." That's how I felt. I could hear Matthews tapping on his phone, and wondered what new orders he might be getting. The answer came pretty quick.

 

Without warning, the engines fired up again as Matthews swung us around 180 degrees onto the runway. We were airborne almost before I had a chance to wonder what was happening.

 

We passed downtown, and then the plane banked sharp to the right. Matthews pulled back hard and the G-forces sucked me into the seat. I could hardly breathe, and just a my vision started to go dark, the pressure relaxed as the plane turned inverted. We were ridiculously close to the ground, and then a roaring filled my ears. The plane's nose dropped and we were going down even further.

 

I grabbed the stick and jammed into one side until the plane was right side up again before pushing the throttle forwards and pulling back.

 

"Matthews, are you okay?" I yelled into my headset. "Luke?" There was no response.

 

I pressed the button on the display in front of me that showed all the nearby airfields. Going back to Dallas Love was the closest, it was almost right underneath us. But I had never landed a plane like this, I could hardly see over the panel in front of me. I flew past the airport while gaining altitude before turning back. I was going to have to make a steep approach if I wanted to be able to see.

 

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How I managed to get it down in one piece, I'll never know. I opened the canopy and climbed around to Matthews's seat, where he was slumped with blood pooled around the right side of his neck. I looked at the glass and it didn't take long to find the single bullet hole.

Edited by andyjohnston

Spent way too much time using these sims...

FS 5.1, FS-98, FS-2000, FS-2002, FS-2004, FSX, Flight, FSW, P3Dv3, P3Dv4, MSFS

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Heck yeah! The bullet to the throat was an interesting twist.

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I felt Matthews's neck for a pulse, though I knew I wouldn't find one. By that time I should've known what would happen next, but I wasn't watching as the pickup truck pulled up beside me. It was old, red and heavily rusted.

 

"Get in," the driver said as he leaned out the window. He was at least as old as the truck, with a grey beard, and wrinkled hard skin on his face. I did what I was told, and he silently drove me to a spot at the field where a small jet waited.

 

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I climbed aboard and waited for the driver to follow, but he didn't and pulled away. I hadn't noticed before but the truck belched out a lot of exhaust, and made an incredible racket as it drove. Alone, I wandered into the cockpit. A flightplan was already loaded into the GPS, and I got the hint. It would take me down into Central America.

 

The autopilot was the most ridiculously awful system I'd ever had the misfortune of dealing with, and I had to fight with it a lot. The flight gave me time to think about my situation. Why was I bothering to do all this? Someone with my qualifications could easily get a job...in the average fast food chain.

 

I sighed.

Spent way too much time using these sims...

FS 5.1, FS-98, FS-2000, FS-2002, FS-2004, FSX, Flight, FSW, P3Dv3, P3Dv4, MSFS

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When I landed, I was greeted for the first time by someone who was willing to speak to me.

 

"Hello, so glad you made it." He was a little over five feet tall with short dark hair and an accent so thick that sometimes it was hard to understand him. "My name is Luis."

 

Luis led me to where an old DC-3 sat in the grass.

 

2020-4-13_21-57-59-557.jpg

 

I climbed into the pilot seat, and Luis sat next to me. He pulled out a piece of paper. "Here are the instructions I am to give you. You are to go south-east to the two-six-zero endeb."

 

"The what?"

 

"The endeb," Luis repeated.

 

I took the paper from his hand and read it for myself. "The 260 NDB."

 

Luis shrugged. "I am not a pilot, I don't know these things."

 

"No problem." I taxied down to the active runway and took off, setting the simple autopilot to go to the south-east. I used the pitch control to maintain about 10,000 feet. A few gusts of wind really knocked us around shortly after takeoff, and I was glad to be wearing the seat belt. Luis was as well, but for a few minutes he looked a little green. I was tempted to ask him to go elsewhere if he was going to throw up, but I bit my tongue. In the end it wasn't required.

 

"Luis, can you tell me what's going on? I have no idea what's happening."

 

Luis crinkled his brow. "I can tell you some," he finally said. "There is a drug ring operating here, and the United States government wants to stop them."

 

"And me?"

 

"You will act as a pilot, they won't suspect you." I was worried, and I'm sure it showed on my face. "There is no reason for concern. As far as they know, you are nothing but the pilot who is there to help out."

Spent way too much time using these sims...

FS 5.1, FS-98, FS-2000, FS-2002, FS-2004, FSX, Flight, FSW, P3Dv3, P3Dv4, MSFS

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"the what?"

 

"the endeb," luis repeated.

 

I took the paper from his hand and read it for myself. "the 260 ndb."

 

luis shrugged. "i am not a pilot, i don't know these things."

 

 

lol! ;)

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Luis gave me few other frequencies until we landed at a small strip on the eastern coast.

 

2020-4-14_10-44-20-658.jpg

 

The plane came to a halt as I pulled off into the grass. Luis lowered the door and a small number of people were already approaching him. They slowed as they saw him, although they seemed to be a bit suspicious of me coming up behind.

 

Luis passed into the small crowd, speaking a few words to the different people there (my Spanish consists of the words "si" and...not a lot more.) Finally, he stopped in front of one individual who had dark hair and a dark moustache, with a much lighter complexion that the others . He waved me forward and I joined him.

 

"This is Jefe," he said. I admit that it was another of the few words I knew. Jefe wasn't a name but a title identifying him as the boss.

 

He nodded in my direction. "You ready to work?" To my surprise, he didn't have any trace of an accent, he sounded more like an American than anything.

 

"Of course," I said.

 

He looked back at Luis. "Start loading the plane." Luis nodded and gave me a quick look before turning away.

 

Jefe looked in my direction. "Goodbye," he said. I got the hint and turned back toward the plane.

 

I climbed back up into the cockpit as several workers loaded boxes into the cabin.

Spent way too much time using these sims...

FS 5.1, FS-98, FS-2000, FS-2002, FS-2004, FSX, Flight, FSW, P3Dv3, P3Dv4, MSFS

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Another aside, still enjoying? Thoughts?

 

It takes a lot to come up with ideas.

 

I have something coming up, but not sure how to get there. Be patient.

Spent way too much time using these sims...

FS 5.1, FS-98, FS-2000, FS-2002, FS-2004, FSX, Flight, FSW, P3Dv3, P3Dv4, MSFS

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The number two engine caught fire part way through the flight, and I used my little GPS unit to find us the nearest place where we could set down. The landing was terribly bouncy, the plane ran off the runway but came to a stop before hitting the trees.

 

2020-4-14_11-41-8-936.jpg

 

It was getting dark by then as Luis and I wandered along the field. A noise it the distance caught our attention as a small aircraft landed and taxied over to the remains of our plane. We got close just in time for the door to swing down, and Jefe stepped down with his pilot. He strolled across the grass to meet us before giving Luis a hard look. "You were supposed to get in this evening. I have a deadline to meet."

 

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"Yes Jefe, but we couldn't help it. It was the plane."

 

"The plane, the plane," Jefe mimicked him. He pulled a gun and pointed it at Luis. "I hate it when people disappoint me."

 

We circled each other slowly while Luis begged Jefe not to hurt him, switching between English and Spanish. After a few minutes, I was closer to the plane than anyone else. Luis's hands were held high as I glanced between Jefe and the pilot.

 

"No no no no," Luis was saying and then an incredible bang filled my ears. I'd never heard a gun fired before, and it was much louder than what you hear in movies.

 

Luis spun around and I caught him before he fell, rushing him to the steps of the plane, which I pulled up behind us. I ran to the cockpit and started the engines, through the window I could see Jefe pointing at me. But he didn't fire, I wondered if he didn't want to hit the plane.

 

I put the flaps out and jammed the throttles forward, and the plane jolted. Jefe had to jump to stay out of the way. I pulled back on the controls and left the field behind. I set the autopilot before hurrying back into the cabin where Luis was slumped in on of the seats. I grabbed him. "Are you okay?"

 

Luis tried to speak but nothing came out.

 

"Just hang on, I'm going to get us some help."

 

With a grimace, Luis shook his head and took my hand.

 

With his last breath, he whispered two words which chilled me to the bone: "David Straka."

Spent way too much time using these sims...

FS 5.1, FS-98, FS-2000, FS-2002, FS-2004, FSX, Flight, FSW, P3Dv3, P3Dv4, MSFS

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Oh now! How did I get into this drama?! ;) Now I’m really interested as to what he knew about where I fit in!

 

I’m thinking there is a shady business man up next in here :confused:

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REX Worldwide Airports HD

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ORBX Global BASE

ORBX Freeware Airports

ORBX HD Trees

 

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David Straka... Who just happened to become available after a long journey.

Coincidence? I think not!

 

Yes! Quite suspicious :eek:

Senior Rookie Bragware: FSX Gold - Acceleration | HP Omen Obelisk Desktop | Intel Core i7 3.2 Ghz |16GB | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 | 1TB HD | 256 GB SSD (Gaming Computer)

 

REX Worldwide Airports HD

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ORBX Global BASE

ORBX Freeware Airports

ORBX HD Trees

 

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As I left Central America, I really didn't have any idea what I could do, other than retrace my steps. I set a course for Dallas Love, but after a while began to doubt I had enough fuel. So instead I changed destinations to Miami.

 

2020-4-14_22-4-54-862.jpg

 

I landed and called the police. With a dead body in the back of the plane, there wasn't much I could say.

 

Image1.jpg

 

I gave as much of my story as I could without revealing anything I thought might be considered secret. After a number of hours, and leaving my contact information so they could reach me to ask more questions, I found my way to the airport.

 

Image3.jpg

 

On the plane, I finally was alone with my thoughts. David Straka, it was a name everyone knew. One of the most ruthless drug kingpins in the world. And I had stood not more than a few feet from him while he murdered Luis in cold blood.

Spent way too much time using these sims...

FS 5.1, FS-98, FS-2000, FS-2002, FS-2004, FSX, Flight, FSW, P3Dv3, P3Dv4, MSFS

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