Read Online Hidden Courage (Atlantis) by Christopher David Petersen - Free Book Online
Authors: Christopher David Petersen
Ads: Link
the downward flow into the valley. He flashed a look at the altimeter and realized he was losing altitude as the wind pushed him lower. At the rate he was descending, he knew he wasn’t going to clear the mountain pass. Jack surveyed the narrow valley behind him. He thought about turning around and flying back down the valley to gain a higher altitude, but realized that there wasn’t enough room to do so. The valley just wasn’t wide enough for him to make a U-turn.
Frantically, he pushed the throttle to full power and pulled back on the stick. At that high altitude already, the performance of the tiny plane was unimpressive. With only a minute before impact, he was still losing altitude. He looked at the side of the mountain on his left. There was less than 200 feet between his wingtip and the rocky face.
Carefully, he entered a shallow bank toward the mountainside, hoping to find a spot with less of a downdraft. While fighting the turbulence to keep his wings steady, he looked down at the altimeter and noticed it had stop descending. Holding his position, he watched as the altitude slowly inched back up to 12,000 feet.
“Come on, baby, climb, CLIMB,” Jack yelled out, as fear raged inside him.
He was so close to the saddle that he could now see the high elevation scrub brush that dotted the top, as well as several large boulders. Jack watched in horror as he closed on the ridge.
“Oh no, I’m gonna hit,” Jack exclaimed in disbelief.
In his panicked state, he searched for a location that would yield the softest impact. On the right side of the saddle was a ragged cliff and some boulders. On the left side of the saddle, he spotted some dense looking bushes hugging the steep upward sloping terrain. This was it. If he was going to crash, the brush would be his only chance for survival.
As he flew along the left side of the mountain, he banked slightly right toward the saddle and headed for the brush. Suddenly, he caught a slight updraft. Looking out in front of him, he was now moving slightly higher than the saddle.
Jack saw a glimmer of hope.
Jack knew that, on his present course, he was going to impact the mountain. His chance of survival was practically nonexistent. His only hope for survival was the slight updraft he was now flying in. He calculated that if he continued on his course and banked sharply toward the saddle at the last possible second, he might clear it before the downdraft forced him to impact the mountain.
Jack was mere feet from the side of the mountain, his wingtip nearly touching it as he flew. He could see he was a couple hundred feet above the saddle and inching higher. It was now or never.
In one fast movement, he snapped the stick full right and stomped on the rudder, breaking his flight path off right at the last second of impact. He was now out of danger of impacting the mountainside, having cleared it by a few feet, and was now skimming across its side as he headed into the downdraft.
Jack stared directly at the saddle. It formed a U shape, where the tops of the U were the mountaintops and the bottom of the U was the bottom of the saddle. He was rapidly descending from the left side of the U into the saddle, with less than one hundred feet of clearance. The further he moved into the downdraft, the faster he descended.
Frantically, Jack searched his mind, hoping to find another solution that would yield a safe outcome – but there was none to be had. He wasn’t sure if he was going to clear the saddle. It was going to be close.
As Jack began to enter the saddle, he watched the ground race up toward him. He glanced at his gauges and took note that his altitude was temporarily holding.
With his floats just feet above the rocky land, Jack worked the controls and anxiously waited for impact.
As he crossed the apex of the saddle, he could see the needles of the tiny pine trees that sparsely lined the top of the
Frantically, he pushed the throttle to full power and pulled back on the stick. At that high altitude already, the performance of the tiny plane was unimpressive. With only a minute before impact, he was still losing altitude. He looked at the side of the mountain on his left. There was less than 200 feet between his wingtip and the rocky face.
Carefully, he entered a shallow bank toward the mountainside, hoping to find a spot with less of a downdraft. While fighting the turbulence to keep his wings steady, he looked down at the altimeter and noticed it had stop descending. Holding his position, he watched as the altitude slowly inched back up to 12,000 feet.
“Come on, baby, climb, CLIMB,” Jack yelled out, as fear raged inside him.
He was so close to the saddle that he could now see the high elevation scrub brush that dotted the top, as well as several large boulders. Jack watched in horror as he closed on the ridge.
“Oh no, I’m gonna hit,” Jack exclaimed in disbelief.
In his panicked state, he searched for a location that would yield the softest impact. On the right side of the saddle was a ragged cliff and some boulders. On the left side of the saddle, he spotted some dense looking bushes hugging the steep upward sloping terrain. This was it. If he was going to crash, the brush would be his only chance for survival.
As he flew along the left side of the mountain, he banked slightly right toward the saddle and headed for the brush. Suddenly, he caught a slight updraft. Looking out in front of him, he was now moving slightly higher than the saddle.
Jack saw a glimmer of hope.
Jack knew that, on his present course, he was going to impact the mountain. His chance of survival was practically nonexistent. His only hope for survival was the slight updraft he was now flying in. He calculated that if he continued on his course and banked sharply toward the saddle at the last possible second, he might clear it before the downdraft forced him to impact the mountain.
Jack was mere feet from the side of the mountain, his wingtip nearly touching it as he flew. He could see he was a couple hundred feet above the saddle and inching higher. It was now or never.
In one fast movement, he snapped the stick full right and stomped on the rudder, breaking his flight path off right at the last second of impact. He was now out of danger of impacting the mountainside, having cleared it by a few feet, and was now skimming across its side as he headed into the downdraft.
Jack stared directly at the saddle. It formed a U shape, where the tops of the U were the mountaintops and the bottom of the U was the bottom of the saddle. He was rapidly descending from the left side of the U into the saddle, with less than one hundred feet of clearance. The further he moved into the downdraft, the faster he descended.
Frantically, Jack searched his mind, hoping to find another solution that would yield a safe outcome – but there was none to be had. He wasn’t sure if he was going to clear the saddle. It was going to be close.
As Jack began to enter the saddle, he watched the ground race up toward him. He glanced at his gauges and took note that his altitude was temporarily holding.
With his floats just feet above the rocky land, Jack worked the controls and anxiously waited for impact.
As he crossed the apex of the saddle, he could see the needles of the tiny pine trees that sparsely lined the top of the
Similar Books
