Up in the Air
Day 29 of Writing
An important action sequence takes place in the air. It was inspired by 9-11, but it is not at all what it seems. I have been thinking about 9-11 as I look up at the skies and see no planes. We are not that far from three major airports (Burbank, Van Nuys, LAX) so that it is quite noticeable. It was worse after 9-11 when everything was grounded. Now the cause is that no one wants to fly and expose themselves to Covid-19 while trapped in a metal tube.
I remember well when Belle got me out of bed that Tuesday morning in 2001, telling me I had to see what was on TV. It was early in the morning for me. The first tower had been hit, and we were glued to the television for hours. The second tower was hit, then word came out about the Pentagon. There was lots of information that turned out to be wrong, such as reports about car bombs on the National Mall and at the State Department. We watched in horror as both towers fell. We learned about United 93 and much later about the heroism of the passengers, whose actions saved the U.S. Capital building.
It was like watching an over the top disaster movie, except it was real and broadcast live. It imprinted strongly on everyone who watched it- the Pearl Harbor of the twenty-first century.
What we are going through now is much slower, and the impact will last much longer. Close to 3,000 people died in the terrorist attacks on 9-11. Covid-19 has taken more lives than that just in the United States, and it is killing people everywhere, not just here. The terror attack did somewhere around $10 billion in infrastructure damage. That is a drop in the bucket compared to the ultimate costs to the economy of this pandemic.
There were a lot of 9-11 heroes, especially the fire fighters, of whom 343 lost their lives. The heroes in today’s disaster are the nurses and doctors on the front lines, risking their lives to help others while facing critical equipment shortages that impair their ability to treat people and keep themselves safe.
With all this going on, I began work on the chapter titled “The Unfriendly Skies.” I have to get a main character from a military transport plane to a passenger jet while both are in flight. Determining the appropriate craft took a bit of research. I chose a 777 because they will still be in service in a decade, and can handle the long haul flight required.
How do you get on board a jet in flight without depressurizing it? I had no idea, but on the Internet I was able to find schematics of just about every aspect of the 777. By studying these carefully, I found a way. I don’t know if it could be done in reality, but it is good enough for the story. It makes sense and does seem at least plausible. It does not involve going through the wheel well or through the cargo hold.
I knew much less about military transports, but the Internet once again provided. The U.S. has a fleet of C-17s. While the last one rolled off the assembly line in 2015, they have a long service life, and should be around well into the 2030s. I found lots of pictures of the interior of the C-17, allowing me to get a pretty good feel for what it looks like inside.
There has been talk about upgrading the engines on them, but that it would probably take a decade. Works for me, since the story takes place a little over a decade into the future. The potential upgrade explains the line in the book, “He was hustled directly onto a modified C-17 with the new faster engines.”
The way the character gets from one aircraft to the other was inspired by the Jet Wings developed by ‘Jetman’ Yves Rossy. He began work on it in 1993. He has been developing different prototypes since. Earlier versions had to be launched from a helicopter, but his latest version has an autonomous VTOL system that lets him take off straight up from the ground. He can even hover in it. You really should check out the videos on YouTube, especially the Dubai ones. It is amazing to watch, especially the one where he flies with fighter jets. It is as close to flying like Superman as you can get, since you steer it with your body. In my story, the Jet Wings are much more advanced and go much faster than the 125 mph of the current Jet Wings.
‘Jetman’ Yves Rossy
What’s Up with Us
I have been working on the book for a month now. Belle is working from home and we have the official shelter in place order. In California they have called out the National Guard to help distribute food.
It has been mostly cloudy and cold in the San Fernando Valley, alternating with brief days of sunshine. Unfortunately, that means the barometer changes a lot, which is a trigger for my symptoms. I am spending a lot of time in bed writing. With our central heater broken, we had ordered an extra portable heater from Amazon but it is taking so long we just went and bought another from a hardware store.
Although we just got the official order, Belle and I have been essentially sheltering in place for awhile now. It is not something we are used to here. Unlike places that can get huge snowstorms that keep you inside for days, that is just not the way of life here. We are always on the go, with things going on all the time. We pay the big bucks to live here for the sunshine.
Being stuck at home is very uncomfortable. This is already much less fun than I imagined, and I suspect this is only the beginning. I can’t imagine how hard this is on people who are single. If I did not have Belle I can’t imagine getting through this.