Chapter 43
Roger smiled at the receptionist as he approached her desk. "I'm here to see the Colonel, he's expecting me, Roger Tate's the name."
She smiled at him, looked Freya up and down and called her boss, "There's a Roger Tate here to see you, Mr. Sanders."
She listened a moment, smiled and replied, "I'm sending them in right now."
She smiled at them and said cheerfully, "Go right on in, he's expecting you."
Roger entered Tom Sanders' office and held the door for Freya who had to duck to pass through the doorway.
When she straightened up again Tom's eyes widened and he finally exclaimed, "Young lady, Ah do b'lieve you're th' tallest lady ah've ever beheld."
Roger shook hands with Tom as he rose from behind his desk, he himself was no small man being somewhat over six feet tall.
The fact that Freya was nearly a foot and a half taller than him and her head barely cleared the ceiling made for quite the first impression.
"Tom this is Freya, she will be my co-pilot for the foreseeable future."
Tom grinned and said cheerfully as he shook hands with her, "Miss, It's a genuine pleasure to meet the little lady Roger had us do all the refitting inside the cockpit for."
Freya smiled and replied, "An' Ah thenk ye fer aw th' wark ye did!"
Tom smiled and remarked playfully, "And Northerners comment on my accent!"
He grinned and said, "C'mon, let me show y'all around! Right this way..."
Leaving his office he said to his receptionist, "I'll be out of the office for about an hour, just take any messages and I'll call them back."
Tom led them straight to the flight line and they spent that hour walking along looking over the various flight ready planes on display there.
The massive B-36 Peacemaker bomber was almost overwhelming in its sheer scale and the two of them freely gaped while looking up at it.
Tom chuckled at their expressions and said cheerfully, "Yeah, we get that a lot. This one is really expensive to fly so we don't take her out very often except for our annual trip to Oshkosh and the bomber fly in."
Roger smiled at him and remarked, "I'll bet it's the star of the show when it does go out."
Tom grinned and replied, "You could say that she is, the show!"
A little while later they were standing outside the workshop hangar looking over the newly refurbished Martin Mariner.
Gone was the machine gun turrets fore and aft, gone was the waist gunner positions and gone was the bulky radome.
The engines were no longer the somewhat overtaxed 2,000 HP Wright Cyclone R-2600 14 cylinder radials.
Now the engine nacelles were stuffed chock full of the newer 3,000 HP Curtiss-Wright R-3350 18 cylinder radial engines.
Climbing out of an alpine lake valley would not be an issue any more.
Roger stood there smiling as he looked over their aircraft.
Newly painted white and painted with a blue logo reading "Museum of Cryptozoology" it bore little resemblance to its former self.
A voice called out in heavily accented English,"Shes a beauty eh? I'll bet the Canal Zone police would like us to drop in now!"
Roger grinned as he saw Eduardo Castillo rapidly approaching and replied, "Yes, they'll not be so quick to ask us to leave now!"
He and Eduardo engaged in a bit of manly backslapping and bro hugs as they grinned at each other.
Eduardo smiled at Freya and said, "Young miss, you are becoming a beautiful young woman...How much you have grown since last I saw you!"
Freya smiled at him and replied, "Thenk ye fer yoor kind words. It is guid tae see ye again."
Eduardo shook hands with her and said to Tom, "Last I saw her she was a mere girl of six foot six. Now she's even taller. Now you know why I insisted on doing the work, I knew who would be benefiting from my skills."
They paused for a couple of minutes while a Lockheed P-38 Lightning roared into the sky.
Roger grinned when he saw it was Helen and Deneve sitting in the cockpit as the warbird clawed its way into the sky.
Tom smiled and said wistfully, "I never get tired of hearing that sound."
He smiled at Roger and said, "Welp, she's all gassed up and ready to fly!"
Eduardo opened up the side door and the four of them climbed inside.
The interior seemed a lot more cavernous now as part of the second floor deck had been removed to make headroom for an adult Freya.
The flight deck now had a couple of adjustable pedestals for the pilot and co-pilot positions.
The flight engineer's position was now a bank of LED indicator lights monitoring the status of the engines in front of the co-pilots chair and it's former location now sported a couple of comfy passenger chairs.
As did the former navigator and radioman positions.
The former waist gunner positions were now observation windows for viewing the countryside they flew over.
In all, it was fairly luxurious compared to the military aircraft it had once been
Tom grinned and remarked, "When all that old equipment came out of there, we picked up a lot of extra room and lost almost 500 pounds of weight right there. Removing the turrets and the extra guns eliminated another 1,000 pounds and the radome took off another 500 pounds."
He smiled crookedly and said, "Of course when we installed the auxiliary fuel tanks, much of that was regained. But that extra 2,000 mile range makes it all worthwhile."
He grinned and said cheerfully, "Removing all that military hardware helped it to pick up about 50 MPH in airspeed. Pedro Tovar saw it cruising steadily at 220 MPH and it will do 250 maximum. Not the fastest but nothing to be ashamed of either, for such an old design."
Roger grinned at Tom and said enthusiastically, "We'll take it! Has the bill been settled yet?"
Tom smiled and said, "Yep, everything's all paid for. Though I do recommend you bring her back here every so often for a look see at her fuselage and powerplants."
Roger nodded in agreement and said, "Makes sense, you guys know her better than anyone else especially Eduardo here, she's really more his baby than mine."
Eduardo smiled and said, "True, but you helped me get her out of Brazil even if we did have a few scary moments while doing so. It was all worth it to see her today!"
"So, when are you taking off?" Asked Tom.
"We'll be taking off in the morning around 9 A.M. No sense flying across country in the dark where we can't enjoy the view." Replied Roger.
Tom grinned and remarked, "Yeah that's one of the best parts about heading off to a show, flying there is half the fun, just flying along looking over this great country of ours!"
Taking their leave of Tom and Eduardo, the two of them went to a local coffee shop and had a simple dinner while ignoring the sidelong glances at Freya's size and looks.
They meant no harm and simply were a fact of life, she stood out and attracted attention by virtue of her very appearance.
Leaving the coffee shop and a generous tip behind, they went to the budget motel Roger had registered at online before leaving Portland.
Leaving Freya in the rental car, Roger handled the transaction and soon, they were safely ensconced in a typical middle class motel room.
The movie offerings were boring and the regular channels offered little better, after a while Roger muttered and finally turned the TV off.
Freya got up and took a shower, emerging a few minutes later in her tee shirt and panties, her usual night time attire.
Roger did the same and when he emerged from the bathroom, he saw that Freya was already under the covers as best she could, meaning her bare feet were protruding out from under the blankets.
Roger was about to lie down on the other bed when Freya said softly, "Sleep wi' me tonicht, please?"
He hesitated a moment, it wasn't their first time sleeping together and it certainly wasn't going to be their last time either.
He slipped under the covers alongside his towering young companion, where sleep soon claimed the two of them.
The next morning saw them climbing into the bulky Martin Mariner.
They were armed with a thermos full of coffee and a cooler full of munchables.
Closing up the doors behind them, they spent a few minutes looking over the maps and planning out their flight ahead.
Roger settled into the pilot's chair and after running through the list of preflight checks.
He looked out the side window and gave Eduardo a thumbs up gesture, everything was a go!
Eduardo grinned and returned his gesture while pulling away the wheel chocks.
Roger glanced over at Freya who was doing the same thing with Tom who was on her side of the plane.
She grinned at him and flashed him a thumbs up.
Roger started the left side engine, it cranked over a few times and began that throaty coughing as one by one, the eighteen cylinders caught and added their own sounds to the engine's rumbling.
After a few minutes, he repeated the performance with the right engine and before long it too, was rumbling merrily.
Satisfied that all was well, they eased onto the runway and began following the traffic pattern before take off.
Roger couldn't help noticing how much more powerful the engines felt over the older fourteen cylinder engines it had come with.
He glanced over at his lovely companion, her bright blue eyes were shining with excitement and she grinned broadly showing off her pearly white teeth.
He reached over and they briefly clasped hands.
The tower gave the go signal and Roger held on the brakes and throttled up the engines to full power.
Moments later, he released the brakes and the bulky Martin Mariner surged forward with a deafening roar.
They charged down the runway until the vibrations ceased at lift off and Roger began stowing the landing gear as the plane climbed higher and higher into the morning sky.
With the landing gear now stowed, the plane seemed a lot smoother now with surprisingly little buffeting noises and whistling.
They had also added sound proofing insulation to the interior.
Once they were at cruising altitude, Roger engaged the auto pilot on the heading he had chosen and he unbuckled his seat belt.
He grinned at Freya and said cheerfully, "The next time you go home, you're going to be flying this thing. I want your folks to see you at the controls!"
Freya smiled as she unbuckled her own seat belt and said, " Ah want tae pinch meself tae see if Ah'm really livin' thes dream Ah'm havin'"
With the plane flying on the level, Roger climbed down from the flight deck and looked out the observation ports at the countryside rolling beneath their wings.
Freya joined him and they spontaneously embraced, Roger squeezed her tenderly while she did the same to him.
Moments later, he looked up at her and saw a tender look on her pretty face.
Her kiss came as no surprise and it lingered for a few moments before their lips reluctantly parted.
They held each other for a few moments more, then regretfully separated.
Roger felt his heart pounding from the after effects of her kiss and sought to distract himself by pouring himself a large cup of coffee.
He poured one for Freya and she thanked him quietly before they climbed back up to the flight deck and resumed watching the skies around them.
Each of them lost in their own thoughts.
The course Roger had plotted out was intended to avoid the higher elevations over the more direct route.
While it added about two hundred miles in distance and about an hour in flight time, it lessened the possibility of needing oxygen at the higher altitudes the more direct route would entail.
They flew westerly just above and well inside the U.S. - Mexico border looking down at the desert terrain below them.
Cruising at a little more than 200 MPH left them with plenty of time for sight seeing.
Freya laughed when at the four and half hour mark, they banked and did a slow flyover of George and Mia's house.
Roger deliberately flew low enough for George to come out of their house and do a double take when he saw the markings on the side of the bulky airplane circling over his house.
The logo "Museum of Cryptozoology" being plainly visible along the fuselage.
George laughed and frantically waved while beckoning to the others, soon the whole family of lamias and human males was outside smiling and waving up at them as they circled lazily overhead.
Roger waggled the wings and they resumed course westward.
Freya grinned and said, "Ah'll bet they didnae expect 'at!"
Roger chuckled and replied, "I hadn't planned it that way but while planning the route, I noticed we would be right nearby, so I figured why not? Let's give them something to talk about!"
They continued westerly until they approached the California coastline, then at Roger's instructions, Freya gently banked the big airplane and began flying north along the coastline.
Roger got up and fetched the cooler, he rummaged around and handed Freya a sandwich and took one for himself.
He opened up a couple of cold drinks and set one in her cup holder while keeping one for himself.
They noshed on their sandwiches and sipped at their drinks while the big seaplane loafed along at 2,000 foot altitude and 200 MPH just off shore.
The engines lazily turning at little more than a fast idle, to conserve fuel.
Roger pointed out some of the more interesting things along the coastline while they flew by.
The huge mansions of the rich in Malibu simply baffled Freya and she commented, "Whit guid does havin' aw tha' big a hoose dae fer someone? Sae much tae clean an' caur fer. Naethin' but troobles Ah think."
Roger just laughed at her comment and said, "You're wiser than you know dear. I don't get it either."
When they passed the town of Santa Maria, Roger took advantage of the relative lack of watercraft to practice a few water landings and take offs again.
The big Martin Mariner took them in stride after all, wasn't it a sea plane?
Roger grinned at Freya and said, "You're next kiddo!"
She visibly gulped and nodded as she took the controls while Roger said calmly, "You've watched how I do it, just copy my movements. Don't worry honey, I'll be right here if you get in a jam."
Freya gritted her teeth and repeated what she saw Roger do during a water take off and a few minutes later they were airborne again.
She laughed in her delight and Roger grinned at her evilly before saying, "Okay, now land it again."
Her landing wasn't as smooth as Roger's and he smiled at her before saying, "You're doing better than I did when I was a fledgling pilot, getting taught by Henri was a crash course in survival flying!"
They continued practicing the water landings and take offs until they were approaching San Francisco and its busy harbor, too many ships to contend with remarked Roger.
It was early evening as they approached Portland.
Roger had already contacted the airfield and was following their instructions.
At their direction he eased them into the flight pattern and followed a much smaller private plane into the runways below.
He and Freya watched the small plane make its landing and quickly exit the runway.
Moments later their landing gear took up the weight of the heavy sea plane as it settled onto the hard surface and they slowed rapidly until they too, exited the runway.
Just ahead of a jumbo jet airliner, they were home!
A ground service vehicle led them to the parking spot reserved for them near the vintage aircraft club's hangar and its B-17 occupant.
As the bulky airplane stopped and the wheels were chocked, Roger let the engines idle down while he checked the engine management systems.
All the lights were green and he shut off the engines, then activated the post flight cool down system installed by Eduardo Castillo, he had claimed it would extend the life of the engine by making sure the big engines were cooled down evenly.
It had made sense to Roger and he agreed to the conversion.
With the engines now stopped, Roger looked over at Freya and said cheerfully, "We did it, we're home! You flew very well, I'm proud of you and yes, I will be bragging about you to your folks."
They exited the plane to a small group of onlookers who had come out of the hangar to see what had pulled up next door.
Robert was standing there with a big grin on his rugged face as he declared, "Now this, is a sea plane! Only two planes would be cooler, a Martin Mars or a Boeing 314, but I'm happy with a Martin Mariner!"
Roger grinned at him and replied, "Sorry, a Mariner was the best I could do."
They shook hands and Robert grinned at Freya as she stood there smiling shyly while Roger was declaring, "I let her take the controls for most of the flight and we practiced a bunch of touch and goes between Santa Maria and San Francisco. Freya learns pretty quickly and did pretty good if you ask me."
Robert grinned and remarked, "Well, she was one of my better student pilots, it only stands to reason she could handle a beast like this thing!"
There was a brief pause in their conversation when there was the whine of a starter motor, the engines turned over a bit and the whirring of cooling fans kicked on.
It was Ted who blurted out "What th' hell was that? I thought this thing was shut down!"
Roger smiled and replied," It's a post flight cool down system. Eduardo Castillo, the Brazilian mechanic who helped me get this plane out of Brazil had developed it for the Brazilian Air Force and he highly recommended it for the bigger radial aircraft engines. I'm told he's designing a similar system for for the commemorative Flight Museum's B-36 and B-29 combined fleet."
Roger thought a moment and remarked, "I guess we'll have to look into getting some traffic cones to warn people off while this thing's cooling down. Wouldn't want someone to get spooked about being clouted on the head by a propeller suddenly turning."
Ted's grandson Alex suddenly trotted off and returned a few seconds later with some orange plastic cones and he placed them around each engine.
He grinned at Roger and said brightly, "Like this?"
One of the older men was shining a flashlight into the engine nacelle nearest him and said, "What kind of engines are these? I thought the Martin Mariner had Wright Cyclone R 2600's, these look like R-3350's."
"They are 3350's, we traded the original engines for the bigger and much newer Curtiss Wright R 3350 with turbo chargers, fuel injection and water injection for just in case."
The man looked at him and remarked, "I've known Tom Sanders for years, you must've made him a deal he couldn't refuse!"
Roger smiled at him and replied, "In addition to the engines, we threw in eight brand new, still in cosmoline, world war two era 50 caliber machine guns. The turrets, the radome and all the old electrical bits he needs for his restoration projects. He gave us the engines and the work needed to modify this bird into a research craft, that can fly a very long ways without having to refuel."
Freya during all this, quietly took out her cell phone and called Ildico, after a few moments of chatting pleasantly Freya closed up the phone and announced, " Ildico is oan her way tae get us."
Roger grinned at her and said, "Thanks!"
Freya grinned and remarked, "'Tis nae problem, Ah figgered ye'd be a gabbin' an' ye'd ferget tae call her."
Roger just laughed and said, "Does she know me or what?"
Ted grinned and said playfully, "You'd better watch it, you'll end up marryin' her if you're not careful!"
Freya's pretty face flushed scarlet and she averted her gaze, clearly his jest had struck a nerve.
Roger quickly spoke up, "Easy boys, she's not even thirteen yet, go easy on her."
The man with the flashlight said quietly, "If she's this tall now, how much taller will she get?"
Without batting a lash, Roger replied, "About nine feet, if her mom is any indicator."
The man whistled softly and remarked, "So she really is one of those giants I've read about living up in Canada. All this time right under the government's noses too!"
He cackled with glee and remarked, "Score one for the people, screw the government and their petty bureaucrats!"
He smiled at Freya and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you missy, a true pleasure!"
Freya smiled shyly and said, "Thenk ye kindly."
The arrival of Roger's van with Ildico behind the wheel interrupted further conversation as Freya with almost indecent haste, quickly hopped into the van with her bag in hand.
Roger grinned at everyone and said, "Well guys, I must be off!"
And he too hopped inside the idling van.
Ildico spent a few moments looking out the window at the bulky Martin Mariner then commented, "It's freaking huge! That's the plane you two went to Brazil to get? I thought it was like an old wreck or something."
Roger grinned and replied, "It was actually a museum piece in storage and we practically stole it right from under the local drug lord's nose."
He laughed and said cheerfully, "Someday I'll write down some of my adventures and make a fortune selling the movie rights!"
Ildico rolled her eyes and muttered, "Don't be getting a big head just yet, first you've gotta write them down!"
Roger just laughed as they pulled away from the small group of men and the looming presence of the newly arrived Martin Mariner.