altimeter, and outside hoping to pick up the runway soon.
“500 feet,” he calls out through the microphone. I can feel the tension from the girls. Well, I can feel it from me as well. I have been a long time out of the aircraft and here I am flying a night, GPS only approach to a foreign airfield that has no lights. What could be more relaxing?
“300 feet.”
Suddenly, the lights pick up the threshold of a runway with the white threshold markings, then more of the runway and its surroundings illuminate as we draw closer. “I have a visual,” I call out transitioning to a total visual approach. “We’re going to do a low fly-by to check out the runway.” For all I know, there are wrecked aircraft all over it or deer deciding the runway is a good place to gather and I have already had enough surprises for one day.
About 100 feet off the ground, I push the power up leaving the gear down so we can have the lights. We lumber down the runway for the length of it. I try to get a visual on the wind sock but it is lost in the darkness when I realize forgot to have Robert check the nav system for wind direction and speed. Well, it’s not like I have a choice on which runway to land on. I can’t exactly circle around to an unlit runway. I mean, I could but it is just like any other dark patch of land below us and winding up on an exact final would be a matter of luck.
We climb away after seeing the runway clear and clean up the aircraft, turning once more towards the markers I set in the nav and align with the runway again, this time with the intention of landing. I pick up the runway at about the same point as the last time with our gear down and call for full flaps. Robert checks on the wind and it shows that we have a very slight tailwind. Nothing to worry about. This time, rather than powering up, I pull the throttle and control wheel slowly back, flaring over the threshold. I wouldn’t so much call what we did scant seconds later a landing but more of an arrival. Thump! Welcome to Brunswick! Night landings can do that but at least the wheels stay on the ground and the wings are still attached. Lowering the nose, I pull the throttles over the detent and apply reverse thrust. The aircraft leans forward and our airspeed diminishes.
“Holy shit!” Both Robert and I say at the same time as there is suddenly someone standing in the glare of the lights. I mean, just standing right on the runway and just to the left of our path.
“Was that what I think was?” Michelle asks from her seat.
“Yeah, I think so,” Robert responds.
“Should we go see if they are alright?” Nicole asks.
“I’m not sure that’s going do any good Nicole,” Robert says still incredulous.
“Besides, we’re not going out at night. I’m pretty sure that was one of those things because no sane person would be standing in the middle of a runway with a plane landing,” I add.
I exit off the at the end of the runway and turn the aircraft around so we are facing the runway. I would just park on the runway ready to take off again but there is the off chance that someone could come in and try to land. The runway wouldn’t be the best place to be if that were to happen as they won’t see us until too late. Shutting down but shunting the electrical power to battery and setting the parking brake, we head to the cargo area. Drawing curtains across the cockpit, I also put covers over the cargo compartment windows. The covers are for blackout operations and allow lighting within the cargo area without emitting any outside. With the cargo compartment lights on, I check the doors and have everyone else ready the sleeping bags and get some food out. There are three cots available within.
“Bri, Nicole, you have the two middle cots between the tanks,” I say pointing. “Michelle, you have the one over the window.”
They take out their bags, unfurling them on the cots with Robert unrolling his under Michelle’s location. Smiling inside, I unroll mine in the aisle by the front door. We find some small pillows in the storage compartments and heat up some canned food after arranging our beds and hunker down for some dinner. We are all exhausted so eat mostly in silence with little small talk.
“We’ll get some rest and head out of here in the morning,” I say as we finish dinner. “Flashlights by your bed in case you need to get up in the night. I’ll take the first watch.”
With everyone in their bags, I head up to the cockpit and flip the electrical system off plunging the aircraft into darkness. My path illuminated by flashlight, I head over to my bag and climb inside, laying the M-4 and pistol by my side and switching off the light. We all say our goodnights in the darkness.
I am just about to lay my head down and keep watch from inside my bag when a loud thump reverberates through the aircraft. Nicole gives a small yelp. “What was that?” Robert asks sitting up in the darkness. A shriek sounds outside.
“I guess that answers your question,” I say climbing out of my bag and grabbing my weapons.
Another thump as something slams into the side from outside, this one close behind me by the front crew door. It is followed by another close to the rear of the aircraft on the other side. Several shrieks sound out in the night and I hear growling outside, muted by the metallic skin of the fuselage. The thumps against the fuselage increase with the shrieks and growling growing in intensity and numbers. Apparently more are arriving outside the aircraft.
“Don’t worry guys and be absolutely quiet,” I whisper loud enough for everyone to hear just as two simultaneous thumps echo inside from opposite sides of the 130. “This thing took the beating the thunderstorms gave it so we are quite safe here. And, unless they know how to manipulate the doors, they can’t get inside.”
The slams and shrieks become a constant with the muted growls filling any void in-between. Exhaustion fills us but we are unable to sleep with the noise outside coupled with the tension that so many things prowling around brings.
“Okay!! Enough of this crap!” I say after three solid hours of this constant barrage on our senses. “This has got to stop!”
“What are you going to do?” Robert asks as I turn on my flashlight and start toward the curtains at the bottom of the cockpit stairs.
“End this shit,” I say drawing the curtains back enough to slip inside and up the stairs.
I sit, buckle in, and put my helmet on. Robert slides into his seat and buckles in. “Are we taking off?” He says after plugging into the intercom.
“No,” I reply switching on the battery and ensuring the fuel control panel is set correctly.
With the helmet on, the thumps and shrieks are muted even further; the thumps more felt than heard and the constant growling muted altogether. If the helmets muted everything altogether, perhaps we could just put them on and enjoy some quiet, but well, that’s just not the case. I don’t know how many are gathered outside trying to bash their way in, but from the sound of it, there are quite a few.
“Are we just going to move then? Won’t they just follow us?” Robert asks as I attach the NVG’s to my helmet and rotate them over my eyes.
“We’re going to move alright and I hope they do follow us.”
I glance out my side window. The runway and surrounding area is bathed in a greenish glow. Depth perception is a little off but details are not. I see at least fifty gathered on my side and in front; some just milling around but others running at the aircraft only to disappear below my line of sight, the only indication that their run continues is a solid thump against the aircraft. My line of sight cannot see much past our inboard engine toward the fuselage but I imagine it is the same all around us.
“There are about fifty over here. How’s your side?” I ask looking over at Robert to see he has put his NVG’s on.
“About the same I think,” he answers as the girls step into the cockpit and buckle into their seats.
“Are we leaving?” Bri asks once she attaches her comm cord.
“Nope.”
“What are we going to do then?” She asks only to be interrupted by Robert. “How are we going to start the engines with those things around them?”
“We just are,” I answer back as four sets of eyes turn toward me and I raise my NVG’s.
