Why You Wear A Flight Helmet
Sidewinder was not near as afraid of the catapult as she was of the arresting cable. She knelt down on her nose wheel and placed the little launch bar attached to it in the catapult shuttle. A jet blast deflector was raised behind her. She let long flames shoot out her tail. She was then flung into the air. She flew upward gracefully with her wings spread.
Sidewinder loved flying. Once she was well into the air she did a flip.
"Oh we got ourselves a goofball!" It was Scrappy pulling up alongside her. "Did you know horseplay is for horses—not Jet Fighters?"
"Why don't you just leave her alone!" said Scoot pulling up to the other side of her. "Besides she's my flight partner".
"Wing Woman," snickered Scrappy. "I'll leave you two losers to yourselves".
"Is he always that way?" asked Sidewinder.
"He's that way to the new members of the Squadron. I checked in a month ago. He's bullied the Pitties into not washing me".
"Oh Dear!" Sidewinder exclaimed.
"You may end up being a dirty bird too since you are a junior Jet", Scoot explained.
"I don't know if Rogers will go for that. He seem pretty picky," Sidewinder replied. "He got all on my case about me powdering my face".
"Oh the little things on your cheeks. Yeah," said Scoot. "Better listen to him. You don't want to get dirt or powder in those things. My sister did and her wings cramped up real bad! After a trip to the doctor she was wearing hot pads on her back for three days. In fact Rogers might be making covers for you to wear on them".
"That's just great, as if this bulky helmet wasn't bad enough," Sidewinder complained.
Echo and Bravo joined up with the four jets. "Today you fellas and lady will be doing refueling practice. We need to break our new squadron mate in on air refueling. Be nice to her, boys", Bravo admonished.
Scrappy got an evil look in his eyes when the two tankers appeared on the horizon. One was lagging behind the other. The lagging tanker was brown mottled looking and he flew on the right. "This is gonna be rich!" Scrappy said with an evil grin.
Scrappy flipped over putting himself on the left side of the formation. His wing man Speed followed suit. "OK, said Scrappy. "We will take the green tanker- Henry, Sidewinder and Scoot get the brown one, Wally".
There was a reason why Scrappy and Speed didn't want to drink from Wally's hoses, especially the one under his right wing.
As the six Jets approached, they could see that Wally had himself painted up as 'Wally's Flying Soup Kitchen'. Under each wing was a fuel tank with a hose that reeled out. Wally's tanks looked like they needed a fresh coat of paint. This made Sidewinder frown. Wally didn't take care of his gear.
"Ok fellas," Wally began. "You approach the basket on the end of the hose slowly. These little guys do not like it when you march up to them too fast. They might smack you in the face. Go slowly like a butterfly drinking nectar. Put out your little bug tongues, plug in and put a slight bend in the hose".
Sidewinder scowled as she looked at that basket. Did she really want to drink from that? Drinking like a butterfly. That was degrading even for her. Her mother had taught her to keep her probe in. She remembered the times when Mother scrubbed her probe door out with soap when she was caught sticking it out in public. It was rude to stick it out.
"What's the matter Ensign Shins? Your probe broke too?" Scrappy mocked.
Sidewinder gritted her teeth and opened up her probe. She approached that metal basket. Just as she was about to stick her probe in to get a drink, the hose started to flail and hit her across the helmet and visor with that metal basket. Her probe door clapped shut and she rolled away from that wild hose.
"Wally, keep you wild snake in line," She scolded.
"Speed, you will take Wally's number two hose," Bravo ordered.
"Why me?" Speed complained.
"Because you have more experience," Bravo explained. "Sidewinder, you will take number two hose on Henry".
Sidewinder's vision was a bit streaky from the scratches on her visor. But she could still see to line up with Henry's hose on the right side. She extended her probe again. She approached that metal basket. She squinted half expecting it to smack her in the face. But it just floated there in the air allowing her to plug her probe into the hose. The flow of sweet fuel started. Refreshing. She did feel like an insect drinking nectar! She took her time drinking until she was full. Then she backed away and closed up her probe.
"Did good there, Sidewinder," Bravo encouraged.
"The trick is going to be getting back on the boat," she said.
"We are going to be doing some flight exercises, to burn off some that gas before we make you land," Bravo said. "We don't make you trap with a full belly".
"Thank you," she said.
"The next phase of this training exercise you will enjoy", said Echo.
Sidewinder felt the tension in her wings starting to leave. For the first time since checking aboard the Jolly Wrenches, she thought she might enjoy herself.
You'll have to wait and see what happens in the next installment. Things are starting to look up for our Lady Jet Fighter.