E is for Eagle
Dusty was fast…at least he was fast for a single-engine prop plane but as he sat on the tarmac watching as the jets above him streaked through the course it was clear that they were in a league of their own. As he watched the F-15 Eagle current on the course make yet another lap through the obstacles it was a little bit difficult for the Air Tractor to keep his mouth shut because of the sheer awe of the sight.
"I thought you would enjoy this." Skipper stated as he settled just a little bit lower on his tires.
"Like is an understatement." Dusty said with his eyes still tracking the blur moving low across the desert to thread a few obstacles. "This is amazing! I kind of feel sorry that not everyone gets to see this."
The Corsair gave a low chuckle. "Well, there are a whole lot of amazing things that are OPSEC. All the planes that are participating in this race are military planes, and so it is best to keep their flight characteristics hush, hush."
Dusty swallowed hard and gave a solemn bob of his wings. "I will make sure that no one ever knows that I was ever here."
"That is the spirit." Skipper slapped the younger plane playfully with a wingtip. "But now that you have the clearances to be here, make sure that enjoy it!"
Dusty simply nodded. At first, he was a bit nervous…what if he saw something he wasn't supposed to see and got in trouble? But the nerves didn't stay long Dusty quickly felt himself get sucked into the excitement of the race. Plane after plane moved through the course. Some dove through it with blinding speed. Others with a precision that took Dusty's breath away. And still, others flew with a grace that made the smaller plane's engine ache with envy. The jets flew and flew until shadows grew long and the sun dipped towards the desert horizon. As day turned to twilight, the event finally came to an end when the last plane's tires kissed the tarmac with a familiar screech of tires breaking hard against asphalt.
"So…" Skipper said with a knowing smile playing across his lips. "Was it worth the trip?"
"Yes!" The little plane practically squealed. He opened his mouth to stay more, but one of the F-15s spoke first.
"You two coming, or are you going to sit on the tarmac talking all night?"
"We're coming, Eddie." Skipper replied with a relaxed yawn and a quick nudge of Dusty's tail to get the smaller craft to move. "We're coming."
"Good." The F-15 Eagle replied slightly ruffling his flaps. "If you stay out much longer there will not be any food left at the BBQ for you."
The gentle warning was, in fact, a joke. Both Skipper and Dusty consumed avgas while the jets around them happily guzzled jet fuel. While the jets could technically sip on avgas without too many ill effects, jet fuel would leave Skipper and Dusty a nasty tankache so their hosts had arranged food to be produced just for them.
As Dusty and his mentor gathered around the bonfire with all of the chatty military aircraft, the former crop duster couldn't help but feel a bit amused and smug. While the jet planes had him outclassed in both speed and maneuverability, there was one Dusty was clearly superior these sleek predators…fuel efficiency. Slurping on his avgas, the little plane hummed softly to himself, knowing that he could fly halfway across the country with the same amount of fuel he guzzled to be able to perform that 15-minute race and that gave Dusty a level of freedom that all of those overpowered jets could only dream of.
McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle: The F-15 Eagle is an all-weather tactical fighter aircraft. Lighter and faster than its predecessors, it was designed as the United State's answer to the Soviet MiG-21. This design proved to be incredibly formidable during aerial combat, with this aircraft type now claiming in excess of 100 air combat victories while suffering zero combat losses.