Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:58:30 -0800 From: Tom Baxter Subject: Pensacola - 11 This story is fantasy. It never happened. If it is illegal or inappropriate for you to read this, don't. This story is the property of the author. The author encourages others to read it, download it, and even print it for their own use. Any commercial use, mass reproduction or reposting to another website, however, would require permission from the author in advance. Copyright 2009 --------------------------------- Pensacola - Chapter 11 --------------------------------- Josh was reviewing flight procedures in the Study Center Monday afternoon when Ryan came in from the flight line. "Hey Josh!" "Hey Ryan!" Ryan sat down at Josh's table. "How are things goin out there?" Josh asked in a concerned tone. "You know, I think I'm beatin this thing dude, I'm getting an upset stomach, but I'm not getting sick. My instructors don't even know bout it anymore" replied Ryan. "That's cool dude, but performing in the cockpit would be so much easier if you felt good!" suggested Josh. "It's already easier, and getting easier every day, thanks to you" Ryan confided. Josh smiled at his friend "I talked to my dad this morning and he checked with his office about the condo in New Orleans. It turns out the condo is booked on weekends all the way till the Fall. But there's some good news and bad news... The good news is that there was a cancellation, the bad news is that it is this weekend!" Ryan explained. "So we can have it this weekend if we want it?" asked Josh excitedly. "Ya, but can we set it up that fast? I gotta figure out Spence and you even gotta get permission for Brandon" Ryan answered. "Brandon is really good at explaining things to his mom when he needs to... Brandon can make it happen. I'm more concerned about you and Spence" said Josh in a concerned tone. "Well I'm hangin with him this evening, but I don't really want to come right out and ask him what he thinks about gays on our first `date'" Ryan chuckled. "Ya, it would probably be best to take that a little slower" agreed Josh. "Shit, he would need to get his mom's permission too. There just isn't going to be time!" Ryan fretted. "Well, you could ask him to go with us tonight, before you address the whole gay thing" Josh suggested. "I thought of that" Ryan agreed. "But then you, Brandon and me can't be ourselves on the trip. We would have to act straight" Ryan added. "Ya, and we gotta be careful about Brandon's reputation at school. Spence is super popular, and if he finds out Brandon is gay and doesn't like it, he could make things real nasty for Brandon" Josh said concerned. "I'll feel Spence out a little this evening and if I don't get a good vibe, I guess I won't even invite him" Ryan conceded. "That sucks, too bad we don't have more time" Josh concluded. "Hey, on another note, I was noticing that we both have early flights on Thursday. We could get out of here early, go pick up Brandon and Spence and come back for a simulator session" Josh suggested. "Ya, that would be cool! Do you wanna see if you could schedule us some `sim' time? You're the one everyone loves around here!" Ryan agreed. Josh laughed "Ya, I'll see what I can do." Josh went over to the simulator building and scheduled a one hour time slot at 4:00pm Thursday afternoon. Josh was pleased to see that Colonel Jackson, a retired air force fighter pilot was scheduled to be the instructor for that time slot. Col Jackson liked Josh and would aid him and Ryan in showing their guests a good time. Josh text Brandon to tell him about the simulator and to have him invite Spence. Brandon text back that he was scared to approach Spence at school. Josh reassured him that Spence really wanted to do this and he would be happy to hear it from Brandon. During afternoon break, Brandon went to the `Quad' to seek out Spence. Sure enough, he was there surrounded by the most popular jocks in the school as well as the girls that were trying to win their attentions. Brandon approached him apprehensively. "Hey Brandon!" Spence greeted him. "Hey Spence" Brandon replied nervously as everyone looked at the outsider that was penetrating their group. "Josh and Ryan got us time in the airplane simulator Thursday afternoon and wanna take us up flyin in it" said Brandon. "Fucking Cool!" announced Spence. "This dude has got the coolest friends an they're hookin Brandon and me up with Navy airplanes and shit!" Spence told his buddies about Brandon. The group smiled and nodded their heads in approval. A smile crept onto Brandon's face. "So meet us at Josh's at 3 on Thursday" said Brandon, now feeling more a bit more confident. "Awesome dude, ur the coolest! I'll see you guys then" Spence agreed. Brandon text Josh to let him know that he had invited Spence. "... and he was really cool to me even in front of all his friends!" Brandon text. "of course he was dude, ur the best!" Josh text back. As Josh drove back to Pensacola that afternoon, he was really looking forward to seeing Brandon. They had been hanging out with other people so much lately that they hadn't had time to really enjoy each other one-on-one. Josh daydreamed earlier that afternoon about his evening with Brandon on the deck out at Pete's beach house. How wonderful it had been, just the two of them in that exquisite setting. The stars, the surf, the golden light of the tiki torches, and the warmth of Brandon's body pressed against his. They planned this evening to be just the two of them once again. Josh picked up Brandon on his way home. Josh thought Brandon looked particularly hot that afternoon. He was dressed in some new clothes Josh had gotten him and just looked clean, fresh, and happy. Brandon came bouncing down off the trailer deck towards the Beamer before Josh even had the opportunity to turn the car off. Josh hit the door un-lock button. "Hey Josh!" Brandon said cheerfully as he opened the passenger door. "Hey cutie!" Josh replied as Brandon smiled and blushed a little. "So what are we doing this evening?" asked Brandon. "What do you want to do?" replied Josh. They discussed their options and decided to go out for dinner and then go bowling. "Shit, I've only bowled once in my life and I was like only ten years old, so I don't think I did very well" said Brandon. "We should be well matched then dude, I suck too!" Josh laughed. Josh changed out of his flight suit and into a stylish pair of plaid shorts along with a polo shirt. Brandon enjoyed watching Josh change because Josh always wore skimpy underwear that showed off his package. "How come you never wear boxers under ur flight suit like Ryan does?" asked Brandon. "I did at first, but as I walked around, my dick would find its way through the fly in the boxers and rub on the flight suit zipper!" Josh laughed as Brandon cringed a little visualizing that. "So I just think it's more comfortable to wear briefs" Josh concluded as Brandon chuckled and smiled in agreement. "So Brandon, Ryan got us a condo in New Orleans, but it has to be this weekend. Do you think you could convince your mom to let you go with such short notice?" asked Josh. "That sounds cool! What should I tell her we'll be doing there besides the obvious partyin?" laughed Brandon. "Well, there's a zoo, and the aquarium, and we could go on a river boat ride to a plantation, or maybe a swamp tour. If that's not enough, maybe you should tell her that we'll find out what there is to do when we get there" Josh suggested. "I'll convince her!" Brandon confidently announced. "Besides, right now she's in love with you!" "Whaaat?!" Josh replied startled. "I don't mean she `loves' you dude" Brandon cracked up. "I mean that she really likes you. She keeps sayin a bunch of crap about how I've changed for the better since I started hangin out with you." "I know what she's talking about Brandon, I've seen it too!" said Josh "but I don't think it's me, I think it's you!". At Brandon's request, they went for pizza. But Josh was interested in a little nicer, more romantic meal, so he chose the California Pizza Kitchen where they served upscale `designer' pizzas. Brandon thought it was neat that he could choose his own pizza but was disappointed to find strange pizza toppings like pears, avocados, bbq chicken, and cucumbers on the menu. "You can just order a boring pepperoni pizza if you want, but why don't you explore a little and try something new!" Josh suggested. Brandon searched the menu and did find a pizza that appealed to him, the `Taco Pizza' which was basically a pizza crust heaped with taco toppings. Josh went with Brandon on the Mexican theme as well and chose the `Carne Asada' Pizza. As they ate, they both reflected on how much they enjoyed each others company. Josh looked at Brandon's smiling, animated face and realized how much joy his relationship with this boy had brought him. Before he met Brandon, he spent a lot of time alone, and now he was able to share the love that he and Brandon felt for one another. As they walked out to the car after dinner Brandon socked Josh in the arm and joked "Ur in there tryin to feed me pizza with squid heads and pine cones an shit!" Josh laughed grabbing Brandon, trapping his head against his side while he rubbed his knuckles back and forth across Brandon's scalp. "If I want you to eat a pizza covered with curdled mayonnaise and goat penis I want you to say `thank you sir, may I have another!" Josh teased. "Aaah! I give up!" Brandon cried for mercy and Josh released his head. They were both smiling as Brandon looked at his reflection in the car window to fix his hair. "Really my pizza was very good, thanks!" said Brandon as he crawled into the car. "Ur welcome, but they do have some funky toppings in there, huh?" Josh snickered. "Ya!" Brandon agreed. They drove to the local bowling alley. They rented shoes, were assigned a lane, and then walked up and down long racks of balls choosing just the right one. "Stylish shoes dude!" Josh joked looking at Brandon standing there in his shorts and multi-colored leather bowling shoes. "Fuck you dude! At least my shoes don't match my shorts" Brandon laughed referring to Josh's plaid shorts. Josh laughed. They decided to each throw a practice frame before beginning the game. Brandon got a total of 8 pins in two balls and Josh threw a gutter ball followed by knocking down 6 pins. "I hope that's not an indication of what's to come!" Josh joked at his poor performance. They started the game and though they weren't playing well, they rolled the occasional `spare'. At the fifth frame, Josh had a 43 compared to Brandon's 52. "I want to try to break 100" commented Brandon. Josh was throwing the ball inconsistently and this bothered him. He was proud of his dexterity and ability to quickly pick up on any physical activity, but it just wasn't happening today. Brandon continued to pull ahead and had 89 points in the eighth frame compared to Josh's 67. Josh didn't mind losing to Brandon and would actually throw a game just to see Brandon smile, but not being able to beat Brandon when he was actually trying perturbed him. Josh began to get a little testy and short tempered. "It's ur fucking turn, go!" Josh said tersely. "Ok, ok!" Brandon replied. Brandon was having a great time. After a strike in the ninth frame, he would certainly break 100! Josh wasn't smiling, however. Brandon ended up winning the game 113 to 81. "Ya!" screamed Brandon proud that he had beaten his boyfriend that was always better than him at everything. Josh tried to muster a smile and said "good job dude" in a tone that didn't display much enthusiasm. They started into their second game and Brandon was bowling even better than before. Josh got even grumpier after he threw a gutter ball in the third frame. "Fuck!" he yelled. Brandon started losing his excitement as well as he was not receiving much support or even acknowledgement of his excellent performance. Josh would not be so childish to be mad that Brandon was winning, he was only mad at himself, but Josh was taking it out on Brandon anyway. The second game finished with Brandon winning 127 to 96. "Wanna play another one" Josh asked Brandon. "Na, not really" Brandon replied. So they took off their shoes, paid their bill and climbed into the BMW. "I'm sorry I beat you Josh" Brandon said sincerely. He had enjoyed playing well and winning, but not if it upset his boyfriend. "No dude! You played well and you beat me, don't be sorry about that" Josh replied. "Well, you just got kinda grumpy. I thought you were mad at me for winning" reasoned Brandon. "Shit, I'm sorry. I was just mad at myself for not playing better. I never meant to take it out on you. I'm really sorry Brandon" Josh apologized. Josh reflected on his behavior and realized that he had been a dick to Brandon as he was being beaten. Josh didn't want to be that kind of person. He realized that he was an extremely competitive person and now, once again, he saw that aspect of his personality bringing out behavior that he was not proud of. "God I'm such an asshole! Let me make it up to you, do you wanna go get some ice cream?" Josh suggested. "I don't want ice cream, I just want to see you smiling" Brandon sulked. Josh looked at Brandon and gave him a genuine loving smile. He knew he wasn't perfect, hell Brandon wasn't perfect either, but they both loved each other so much that they could work their way through issues like this and come out with even a stronger love on the other side. As Josh unlocked the door to his apartment, they both heard the movement of Lorna's blinds and shared a knowing smile and chuckle. They went in and plopped down onto the sofa together. Josh put his arm around Brandon and pulled him in close to his body. Brandon raised his hand to Josh's chest and hugged him in return. They hadn't even turned on the television or the stereo, they just sat in this embrace while the only sounds in the room were their breathing and the tick-tock of the clock on the wall. =============== Ryan had plans to hang out with Spence, so he stopped at the school and watched the last bit of Spence's baseball practice. Spence noticed Ryan in the bleachers and was pleased he was being watched as he hit a triple. "Nice hit Spence! Now how bout some double coverage out there at second!" the coach screamed. Spence looked up at Ryan and saw that he was on his feet clapping. "Ok, that's it for the day. Hit the showers!" the coach yelled. "Hey Ryan!" Spence greeted him as he approached the backstop. "Hey Spence, nice hit!" "Thanks, I gotta shower and change, then I'll be ready to go. You can come with me if you want" Spence suggested. Ryan wasn't sure if Spence meant for him to actually follow him into the locker room, or to wait outside, but Spence never paused his conversation with Ryan all the way to his locker, so Ryan followed him on in. Ryan watched closely as Spence took off his baseball uniform. He wasn't disappointed. Spence was well built with a nice chest and tight trim stomach. When he had only his boxers on, Spence said "I'm gonna go shower, I'll be back in a minute." Ryan then noticed that there were a lot of other guys in various states of undress all around him. When Spence returned, he was wrapped in a towel and was holding his boxers in his hand. He grabbed a fresh pair of underwear from his gym bag and turned around as he peeled off the towel and stepped into his clean boxers. Ryan admired Spence's bubble butt and when Spence bent over, Ryan could see the back of his balls between his legs. Spence introduced Ryan to some of his baseball buddies. Ryan could tell that Spence held a much higher social position with these boys than Ryan ever held with any of the boys when he was in school. Yet, because Ryan was older, a Navy pilot, and Spence told everybody how cool he was, Ryan was afforded `super-stud' status among this group and that made Ryan feel good. They went to the Red Robin, a gourmet hamburger restaurant. They chose their burgers and ordered. "So are you going to be able to make that simulator on Thursday?" asked Ryan. "Ya, I wouldn't miss it for anything! Thanks so much for inviting me" replied Spence. "I think it's cool that you're so interested. It makes it fun for me to show it to you" said Ryan. The waitress came with two plates covered with gigantic burgers and loads of fries. "This looks great!" said Spence as he looked at his plate. He was always really hungry when he finished ball practice. Ryan smiled in acknowledgement. "You got a lot of friends" Ryan observed as they munched on their burgers. "Well, I've lived here my whole life, and I've always been on one team or another, so I know a lot of guys" Spence agreed. "Did you play any sports in school?" asked Spence. "I was on the swim team. That's not really a sport... Well, I guess it's a sport, but it's not like a `team game'" replied Ryan. "Swimming is cool" stated Ryan. "Ya, but the swim team is a bunch of individual's performing on their own. It's not the same sort of teamwork as baseball, so we didn't get as close" Ryan reflected. Ryan had actually excelled in swimming for just this reason. He was very athletic, but never `clicked' with the other athletes. Swimming was a sport where he could stand out on his own without the necessity of `bonding' with a team. Ryan looked at Spence as they ate. He was attracted to him on several levels. First, was the obvious sexual attraction. Spence was a seriously hot guy. Next was his personality. Ryan thought that Spence just had a `magnetic' personality. From the first time Spence opened his mouth, Ryan was interested in what he had to say. And finally, Ryan was envious of Spence's aura of confidence because it was in such contrast to his own. Ryan knew that Spence could walk into any room at his school and command the attention of everyone, and now even in a social environment away from the school, Spence held his head high, spoke clearly and looked Ryan in the eye. Ryan almost felt intimidated by this boy, several years his junior, feeling so secure in his presence. Oddly enough, Spence did not feel as confident as he appeared. Spence was in awe of Ryan, a cool guy, with a good look, that had a job that they make movies about. On top of that, Ryan was nice to him and was willing to share a little bit of Naval Aviation with him. Spence was on his best behavior, he didn't want to screw this up! They shared their perspectives on life and Ryan learned that Spence had already considered pursuing a career in Naval Aviation even before he met Ryan. Ryan told Spence about his possible career paths after Pensacola. "I'll finish up primary flight training in another three or four months and they will select me to go either jets, helicopters, or props and then I might be transferred to Mississippi or Texas to complete that training" Ryan explained. "Do you get a choice?" asked Spence. "The top guys fly jets, and they don't really get a choice. We call it the `jet draft' cuz if you have the grades, they just send you to jets whether you like it or not... and if you don't have the grades, you can't get jets even if you want em" Ryan continued. Spence eagerly continued to listen. "If you don't get jets, then you can usually pick between props or helos" Ryan concluded. "How bout you and Josh?" asked Spence. "Fuckin Josh! They're already mapping out his career through jets right on up to admiral!" joked Ryan. "No really, he's got such good grades he will fly jets whether he wants to or not... and I know he wants to, so that's cool." "And you?" Spence asked enthusiastically. "I'm doing a bit better than average, so I might get jets or I might not" Ryan explained. Ryan tried to steer the conversation towards sex and girls. "So do you have a girlfriend?" Ryan asked. "Ya, if you can call her that!" Spence joked. "What do you mean?" Ryan laughed. "Well, I like getting some now and then, but I don't really have time for all the bullshit that comes along with havin a girlfriend, so I would just assume take care of myself" Spence smiled as he held up his stroking hand. Ryan laughed and said "Ya, I know where ur coming from. Sometimes it's just easier that way!" "How bout you dude? Any girlfriends?" asked Spence. "Na, I'm like you. I just don't have the time for the bullshit. But I still need to get off, so I'm doin a lot of jackin too!" Ryan giggled and blushed a little as he divulged this intimate detail. The boys had a great evening together. They learned a lot about one another and including a few personal details. They both felt much closer to one another and bonded as friends. But could this bond translate into an intimate relationship? Ryan knew that they were a long ways from this. Since Ryan knew that his time in Pensacola was short, he felt that he might even be able to muster the courage to actually tell Spence how he felt. But then he was reminded of Josh's statement that Spence could make Brandon's life difficult if Spence was homophobic and Ryan knew that Brandon's time in Pensacola was not short. Ryan loved Brandon too much to put him through that sort of hell so he realized that opening himself up to Spence was not an option. =============== Josh and Brandon finished watching a movie and had settled into Josh's bed. "Brandon, I need to tell you something" Josh said in a concerned tone. Brandon, the worrier, instantly began thinking the worst fears that he possibly could and Josh could see it on his face. "Aw sweetie, I love you so much, don't look like that!" Josh reassured him. Brandon relaxed a little. "I fooled around with Ryan the other night" Josh confided as he searched Brandon's face for a reaction. "I figured you would, he's so in love with you" Brandon replied. "Well, how does that make you feel?" Josh inquired. "Are we still boyfriends?" Brandon asked. "Ya, and I love you more than ever" answered Josh. "Then I got no problem, I just wished I coulda been there too, I think Ryan is hot!" said Brandon. "I'm just not sure if I want to share you with him, though" Josh reasoned. "Shit, turn that around and ur sayin that you don't wanna share him with me. That's fucked up!" Brandon figured. Josh thought about this for a moment and realized Brandon was right. If Josh wanted to fool around with Ryan, he would have to include Brandon, or just not do it at all. "What can I say dude, ur right" Josh agreed as he once again realized how sharp his younger boyfriend really was. "Can we agree on one thing dude?" asked Brandon. "What's that cutie?" replied Josh with a smile. "Can we keep one thing that's just between us? Something that makes our relationship more special than anybody else?" Brandon continued. "Sure dude, what is that?" Josh could feel Brandon's concern. "Let's save fucking for just the two of us, ok?" Brandon suggested. "Ya, let's do that. That's a good idea" Josh agreed. "Now, if no one else can fuck me, then how bout you take care of that?" Brandon asked Josh seductively. "God, I love you!" Josh announced smiling as he hugged and kissed his sexy boyfriend. By now, they had worked out the mechanics of male intercourse pretty well. They preferred the missionary position so they could look at each other and kiss as Josh lovingly pumped his hardness in and out of Brandon's ass. Once Brandon got into position on the bed, Josh scooted up over him so Brandon could suck him a little to get him extra hard, making penetration easier. As Josh inched up his torso, his balls touched Brandon's chin. Brandon got a charge of sexual excitement from this and gently grabbed Josh's balls as he wildly licked and sucked at his scrotum. "Watch out dude, ur getting me so excited I might just jiz in ur face and we might be done!" Josh warned. "No, don't do that! Let me grab a condom" said Brandon. Brandon unrolled the condom down Josh's stone hard shaft and lubed it up, rubbing his hand up and down his cock. Josh scooted back down, lifted Brandon's legs and pressed his hardness against Brandon's puckered hole. Brandon probably experienced nearly as much pain as the first time he was penetrated, but knowing what it would feel like, both in pleasure and pain, gave him the strength and courage to take Josh's entire length without hesitation. His ass quickly accommodated the intrusion and the sensual ecstasy began. Brandon loved jacking himself as Josh thrust in and out. What really turned Brandon on was the feeling of his insides being filled by Josh's cock, and knowing that this hardness was caused by a sexual attraction to him. It made him feel sexy, desired, and loved. Brandon ejaculated forcefully sending several warm, thick white strings of teen cum high onto his chest. Josh watched this explosive display and within another 20 seconds he too was at the point of no return. Josh pulled out of Brandon's hole, tore the condom off and began jacking his cock in one continuous movement. Three or four pumps of his hand later, Josh began pumping his load onto Brandon's chest as well. Brandon pushed his head forward and stuck out his tongue hoping to catch some and managed to get just a taste. Josh collapsed onto Brandon and the product of both of their orgasms acted as a lubricant between their chests. As Josh lifted his body above Brandon's, Brandon put his hand into the gooey mess and giggled as he rubbed his fingers through it as if it were finger paint. By mixing their orgasmic fluids, he felt like he was inseparably tying their spirits together. Josh too felt sensed this symbolic reference, and it made him feel the same connection to Brandon. Suddenly, however, Josh had the realization that his training would end relatively soon. "And then what happens?" Josh fretted to himself. "It's not like I can take Brandon with me." This was the first time that Josh had seriously considered the inevitable fact that as much as he and Brandon loved each other; their relationship was fast approaching a forced end, perhaps in as quickly as three months. =============== Josh smiled as he rolled his aircraft back upright from an inverted attitude. Josh always enjoyed flying alone, there was no pressure and he could work on his maneuvers at his own pace. Periodically, throughout the flight training syllabus there were solo flights scheduled, allowing the students to practice their flight skills on their own and build their self confidence as pilots. Though everybody thought that Josh was over-flowing with this self confidence already, he really didn't feel this way. He enjoyed these flights because he could relax a little and realize that he really was capable of flying the aircraft without an instructor. Josh decided that he would practice four-point rolls which he had seen the Blue Angels perform in an air show. This wasn't actually part of his training syllabus, but rather was a more refined version of the aileron roll, which was one of his required aerobatics. In the four point roll, he would roll the aircraft a full 360 degrees, but would stop the roll abruptly and precisely every 90 degrees. This movement was like a ticking second hand on a clock, where it moves quickly, then stops completely. Only in this maneuver, the entire roll would be completed in 4 movements instead of the 60 that a second hand would take. The challenge was to roll the aircraft quickly and stop the roll exactly when the wings were perpendicular to the horizon, when the aircraft was inverted, when the wings were perpendicular again, and when the aircraft returned to straight and level flight. If the individual stopping points were not precisely at these 90 degree indices, the maneuver would look sloppy. Josh spent about 15 minutes of his valuable flight time training his arm and eyes to quickly throw the stick and pull it back at just the right interval to achieve the desired points. Josh was pleased at how he managed to teach himself the movements required. He visualized himself performing the maneuver 100 feet above a runway in an F-18 before a crowd of thousands of screaming spectators. Josh requested a `carrier break' entry into the landing pattern at Navy Outlying Field Summerdale. This was a maneuver that Lt Pride had shown him and was used by carrier jet pilots to get into the landing pattern and get on deck as quickly as possible. After Josh was cleared, he pressed the throttle all the way forward to get the fastest speed he possibly could from his aircraft. He flew wide of the normal traffic pattern and chose his interval as he screamed past the field at nearly 250 knots. Once he had what he estimated to be the correct spacing with the aircraft ahead of him, he jammed the stick all the way left as fast as he could, throwing the aircraft into a near 90 degree angle of bank. Then as he pulled the throttle to idle, he fed in a 4G pull and decelerated the aircraft to landing gear speed while he made the 180 degree turn to the downwind leg. As he passed gear speed his left hand flew up and threw the landing gear handle down and set full flaps. His right hand adjusted the angle of bank and pull to maintain altitude and to roll out into the correct position on the downwind leg of the pattern. He madly trimmed out the forces in the stick as the aircraft slowed and the configuration changed. The power, drag, lift, center of gravity, and angle of attack of the aircraft were all changing in a period of about 30 seconds and Josh needed to make adjustments for all of these as he struggled to maintain altitude in a 90 degree angle of bank pull. Unfortunately, his extreme speed through the break put him too tight on the aircraft ahead of him. Whereas he needed an interval of about 1/4 mile, he only had about 200 yards. He could have fixed his interval by extending off the 180, but that would only screw everybody behind him for his mistake, so he accepted his screw-up and called "Three Two Two abeam, three down and locked, going around for interval." He waved off his first approach to maintain the landing pattern's integrity and learned from his error. Now he knew that at that speed he needed to increase his interval by about two or three times as much as he just had. This is why the Navy had him out here practicing... practice makes perfect! Josh always felt a little cocky after he parked his aircraft following a solo flight. He had taken this valuable piece of high performance machinery from its parking place up into the sky, put it through amazing aerobatic maneuvers at tremendous speeds, and then returned the aircraft safely, just a few hundred pounds of fuel lighter than when he took it. He felt that when he walked down the street, he looked like everybody else, but other people had no clue that he had these abilities. After some routine post-flight paperwork, Josh drove over to the study center to find Ryan. "Hey Ryan!" "Hey dude! How are ya?" Ryan replied. "Shit, I just had a really cool solo flight!" said Josh. "I love solos" Ryan agreed. "So, why don't we both go down to Pensacola in my car, then after the simulator you can take Spence alone in your car" Josh suggested. "Sounds good!" Ryan agreed. "So what happened on your `date' with Spence the other night?" Josh asked as they sped down highway 90 towards Josh's place. "That dude is so cool! I love him!" Ryan exclaimed. "Ya, but is he gay?" Josh asked. "I have no fuckin idea, and I don't think I'm gonna find out before this weekend" Ryan concluded disappointedly. "That sucks" Josh consoled him. "I asked Spence about girlfriends, and he basically said he had one cuz he has to" said Ryan. "No, wait a minute... What exactly did he say?" Josh asked Ryan to explain more precisely. "Well... he said that he has a girlfriend, but said that he doesn't really enjoy spending time with her. He just likes to `get some' now and then" Ryan paraphrased from his memory. Josh nodded "Well, that sounds encouraging, but certainly not conclusive." "So what do you want to do about the trip? Brandon has already gotten permission from his mom" Josh inquired. "Well, let me see what happens this afternoon. Maybe Spence will grab me and profess his love" Ryan joked. "Ya, in ur dreams lover boy!" Josh said doubtfully. "Should we invite Steve? I guarantee that he would be a lot of fun in New Orleans" Josh suggested. "Would he be able to go at this late date? Shit we're leaving tomorrow afternoon" Ryan questioned. "Fuck, from what I understand, his folks wouldn't even notice that he was gone. I don't think that's a problem" replied Josh. "Let's see what happens with Spence this afternoon, but I imagine we'll probably be inviting Steve" Ryan concluded. When Ryan and Josh arrived at Josh's apartment at about 2:15, they found Brandon and Spence already sitting on Josh's porch. "Hey guys, cool, ur already here!" Josh greeted them. "Ya, we just walked together straight from school" said Brandon. Josh was pleased at this comment as it demonstrated that Spence was eager to hang with Brandon. "Those shorts and t-shirts are gonna be `out-of-uniform' up at the base today though" Ryan said with a frown. "What are we supposed to do? This is what we wear" Brandon fretted. "I brought two extra flight suits today for you guys to wear!" Ryan announced. "Cool!" said Spence. They all went to Josh's bedroom and the boys stripped off their shorts to put on the flight suits. Today, Spence was wearing boxer briefs that showed a bit of what they were covering, just as Brandon was. There was a sexually excited air about the bedroom as this change of clothing was going down. Josh couldn't determine, however, if Spence was a part of it, or even felt it, for that matter. They hopped into the Beamer and drove back up to Milton where Whiting Field was. Josh briefed the boys that since they were in flight suits, they should salute the Marine sentry along with Josh and Ryan, so it didn't appear that they were being disrespectful. The base was much busier than it had been on their previous visit. There were Marines on both sides of the vehicle that snapped to attention and saluted the four presumed pilots as Josh drove through the gate. Josh and Ryan returned their salutes and Brandon and Spence did the same from the back seat. "Cool!" said Spence. They had a little more than 30 minutes before their scheduled simulator time, so Josh drove out to the flight line. "We won't be able to go out onto the line today, but we can look at the action through the fence" Josh suggested. "Wow, ur right Josh, this is a totally different place on a weekday" Brandon yelled over the roar of the beating propeller blades. The air was thick with the smell of jet exhaust and the group could see pilots, helmets on, climbing into their cockpits and getting strapped in with the assistance of their plane captains. "Cool!" said Spence. "Ensign Scott! Good to see you!" Colonel Jackson greeted Josh as their group walked into the simulator building. "Good afternoon sir" Josh responded with traditional military protocol. If you don't already know him, this is Ensign Young, and two boys from our neighborhood who are interested in Naval Aviation... Brandon Thompson and Spencer Adams. This is Colonel Jackson, he's a former Air Force F-4 Phantom pilot" Josh introduced. "So, we're doing a demonstration hop for a couple of up and coming pilots today, huh?" the colonel took note of Spence and Brandon standing there in flight suits. Brandon and Spence shook hands with the colonel and he invited the group to follow him into the simulator room. Spence and Brandon's jaws dropped when they went through the door. It was a cavernous space about half the size of a football field. There were eight gigantic hydraulic platforms each the size of a two story house. Atop each platform was the cockpit of a T-34 aircraft with video monitors on each part of the canopy to provide video imaging to the pilot in place of being able to see out the window. "Wow! This is cool, do we get to go up there?" Brandon asked. "Yes son, we're on Platform #3, over here, this afternoon" the colonel responded. They climbed the 28 steps to get them up to the simulator platform level. There was a deck with a large console of computer screens and control panels. Next to this there was a retractable bridge that led onto the hydraulic platform and the simulator cockpit. "Ok, we only have about an hour," the colonel announced "so let's get started. Who's first?" "Why don't you guys go?" Ryan suggested to Josh and Brandon. Josh explained how since it was only a one seat cockpit, and he would be outside, while Brandon sat inside with the canopy open, they would have to leave the motion of hydraulic platform turned off, or it would throw him to the ground. Ryan and Spence sat with the colonel up at the instructor's control station as they set the simulator up for flight. Brandon sat in the cockpit and donned the helmet. Josh sat on a fold-down seat on the side of the aircraft and put on a head set. The colonel provided Spence and Ryan headsets, up at the console, as well. "ICS check everyone" said Col Jackson. "Loud & clear" Josh & Ryan instinctively replied, "loud and clear" said Brandon and Spence after they figured out what was going on. "Ok Josh, why don't you verify all your switches and we'll get this thing in the air" Col Jackson instructed. Josh looked the cockpit over, putting all of the controls to where they would be as the aircraft sat on the runway ready for takeoff. "We're all set sir!" Josh announced. "Navy Three Zero Three, winds are two nine zero at six knots, you are cleared for takeoff, runway three two" the colonel cleared Brandon for takeoff. "Three zero three cleared for takeoff" Josh responded. "Now Brandon, push this throttle all the forward and steer with your feet as you roll down the runway" Josh instructed. Brandon was shocked as the simulator vibrated and made the noise of a roaring propeller as he pushed the throttle forward. Out the front of his windscreen, he could see the runway quickly accelerating beneath him. "Feed in right rudder, ur right foot!" Josh shrieked as he saw the airplane going off the runway. "Don't worry Josh, I have the crash override on. The boys won't be able to crash today even if they wanted to" the colonel chuckled. Josh watched the airspeed of Brandon's aircraft climb as they were rolling across Whiting Field headed straight for the maintenance hangar. "Rotation speed! Pull straight back on the stick" Josh instructed as he held his hand on top of Brandon's on the stick to ensure Brandon pulled the right amount. The aircraft rose into the air just before it crashed into the hangar. "Now raise the landing gear" Josh instructed as he pointed to the landing gear handle. Brandon reached over and pulled the handle up. "Raise the flaps" Josh instructed. And they climbed into the `simulated' skies of the Florida panhandle. Up at the console, Ryan and Spence were able to see the same video that Brandon saw through his windscreen. Ryan explained what was going on to Spence so that he wouldn't be quite as surprised as Brandon once he was in the cockpit himself. "You see, this really is Pensacola down there. There's the I-10 bridge over the bay" Ryan pointed out a prominent landmark on the monitor to show Spence. "Ok Josh, we don't need to fly all the way out to an operating area today, why don't you lead Brandon through some maneuvers" the colonel suggested. "Aye aye sir!" Josh replied. "Ok Brandon, keep the throttle at max and let keep the wings level and pull the aircraft through a loop" Josh suggested. Brandon did as he was instructed and began to pull. "Pull harder!... harder!... it's gotta be harder Brandon!" Josh prompted. "Keep the wings level!" Up at the console, the colonel pointed out the airspeed, angle of attack, and nose attitude to Ryan. "What does that mean?" asked Spence. "He's not gonna make it over the top" Ryan replied. "What do you mean?" "He's gonna stall on his back, nose up! This is gonna be ugly!" Ryan said concerned. Josh was noticing the same indications in the cockpit and grabbed the top of the stick above Brandon's hand to pull the nose through the vertical attitude. The aircraft stalled and because of the unusual attitude it was in began to oscillate wildly. It began to spin. "Shit, we're spinning!" shrieked Josh. Brandon threw his hands up afraid he had broken the multi-million dollar machine. "No Brandon, I need you! Put both hands on the stick and hold it perfectly centered. Push the right pedal to the floor" Josh continued. Brandon dutifully did as instructed. "Now push the stick forward slightly." Josh remembered the trick that Lt Pride had taught him for spin recovery. Bam!! The simulator made a horrible noise and the image on the screen bounced as the aircraft impacted the earth. "You're dead!" announced Colonel Jackson. "And that is why we don't practice those types of maneuvers that close to the ground. You had the correct inputs in Brandon; you just didn't have the altitude to recover. Let me put you up at 10,000 feet and then you can resume flying." Josh and Brandon looked out the windscreen as the aircraft rose like an elevator to two miles above Pensacola Bay and once again Brandon was flying. He was much more timid now that he had already killed himself on his first attempt at piloting. Josh realized that this whole scenario wasn't really fair to Brandon. He pretty much just threw Brandon in the cockpit and expected him to fly a complex maneuver without any instruction. He now led him through some much more benign exercises. At 4:30 Josh and Brandon swapped places with Ryan and Spence. Brandon was relieved. He was intimidated by the entire simulator building. He knew that they were essentially `playing' with millions of dollars worth of equipment and he was a bit frightened by the whole thing. Ryan and Spence learned a lot watching Josh and Brandon. Ryan kept Spence flying basically straight and level until it came time to return to Whiting Field to land. Brandon was interested in watching Spence do something difficult like he had, as Spence was `showing-up' Brandon by flying all of this easy shit. "Pull the throttle about half way back... Ok, there's gear speed, put down the gear and set half flaps" Ryan instructed as he showed Spence where each control was. "Ok, you can see the airfield over there at 10:00, so we need to come way left in order to line up for the runway" Ryan reached into the cockpit and guided Spence's hand on the control stick. Ryan was enjoying this close contact with Spence, his face was inches from Spence's and his hand was frequently on Spence's directing his movements. Spence had a huge grin and Ryan knew he was thoroughly enjoying every minute of this. "Ok, put the flaps the rest of the way down and let's run through the landing checklist" said Ryan before reciting the checklist. Up at the console, Brandon followed through the landing checklist with Ryan as this was something he had studied thoroughly with Josh and he knew it by heart. Spence was way off on his line-up for the runway, so Ryan did what he could to help him out, though it was difficult flying leaning over Spence from outside the cockpit. "Navy three zero three, you are cleared to land runway three two" the colonel called. "Roger, three zero three cleared to land" Ryan threw in quickly as he was frantically reaching over Spence trying to salvage the approach. They ended up landing about 100 yards to the left of the runway and rolled out actually driving through the lines of parked T-34's, but like the colonel had said, the crash override was on, so it was all good. "So you're dead too son!" the colonel chuckled "Now you can see why your Navy buddies here work so hard to learn this stuff, it's difficult isn't it?" he asked. "Ya, it is" both Spence and Brandon agreed. Spence climbed out of the cockpit grinning from ear to ear. "That was Awesome! Thanks Ryan!" Spence said as they crossed the bridge back to the control deck. "I think it's great that young men like you show interest like this, hopefully I'll be seeing the two of you back here in a few years as student aviators yourselves" the colonel commented as they all shook hands, thanked him and said goodbye. "So what did you guys think?" asked Josh as they stepped back out into the sun. "That was soooo COOL!" replied Spence. "Ya, that was Great!" said Brandon, "I was just afraid that I would break something!" "That's the whole point of flyin in the simulator dude! You don't break anything when you crash!" laughed Ryan. Josh and Brandon climbed into the Beamer as Ryan and Spence got into Ryan's Honda. Spence could not stop talking about his experience. He relived every minute of his flight, recalling what it felt like to sit in the cockpit seat surrounded by buttons and gauges. "God Ryan, gettin to sit in the real airplane last week and now getting to fly the simulator have been the funnest things I have ever done!" Spence declared. "I'm glad you had so much fun, I had fun showin those things to you!" replied Ryan. "You are just so cool Ryan, why would you want to hang with a punk like me?" said Spence. "Shit, I was thinkin the same thing about why you would hang with me!" Ryan laughed. "What?!" Spence said surprised "hell, I'll hang with you any time, anywhere, doin anything!" Spence told Ryan. "Man! Do I invite him on the trip? I want to so bad!" Ryan thought to himself. "Fuck, I'll enjoy his company, but it will ruin Josh and Brandon's trip cuz we'll all have to act `straight'. I can't do it" Ryan resolved himself. "Are you zoning out on me dude?" Spence asked, bringing Ryan back to reality. "Na, I was just thinking about how much fun we've had together" said Ryan as he reached over and squeezed Spence's knee. --------------------------------- Let me know if you're still reading! I have photos of Brandon and Ryan available to share. Email me your request. (These are the same photos offered in previous chapters). Tbax93722@hotmail.com