ZHONGNANHAI, BEIJING, PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
THE NEXT MORNING
“I met with Acting President Gao and the chief of the Politburo late last night, in response to the rioting that took place last night in Shanghai and that has been erupting throughout our country over the past few months,” Colonel General Zu Kai said, reading from a script he held in front of him. He was broadcasting a radio and television message from the broadcasting center inside the central government building in Beijing. “Over three- dozen police were killed last night in Shanghai, and since the protests began last year there have been over a thousand police killed. The president and the Politburo chief want the violence to end, and they informed me that it was time to act to prevent any more senseless deaths by these criminal murderers.
“President Gao informed me that the office of the president, the National People’s Congress, and the Politburo agreed to be subordinated to the military on a temporary basis,” Zu went on. “Under our constitution, the military may from time to time be permitted to step forward in order to ensure peace and security, and that is what I have been ordered to do. Here is what I have been directed to put into place and enforce, with the use of our military forces, in all of the cities, provinces, and independent municipalities in China.
“A curfew has been put in place from dusk to dawn, and anyone violating it without an official work or transit permit will be arrested,” Zu continued. “Food rationing will begin immediately. Looters will be shot on sight, and food hoarders or anyone engaging in black market sale of food or medicine will be arrested. The military will assist local and provincial police forces in controlling crime and distributing commodities.”
Zu put the script down, removed his glasses, and looked directly into the camera. “I know this is a difficult time for our country, my fellow citizens,” he said. “China has not faced such a severe economic drawdown in a generation. The government is doing everything possible to reopen factories and regain full employment. Acting President Gao will address the government’s efforts shortly.
“But I wish to say that it is my duty to see to it that order is maintained while our economy and our way of life are restored, and I demand every citizen’s cooperation. Riots have torn our cities apart, and the violence must end. My military forces will work closely with local and provincial authorities to maintain order, but we need your help to see to it that the violence ends. If you see looters or black marketers, inform the police or a soldier. If you hear of a riot or protest being organized, tell us right away so that we may ensure peace. That is all.”
OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN
A FEW DAYS LATER
“Slipway doors are open,” Tom Hoffman said. He was in the pilot’s seat of a newly refurbished XB-1 Excalibur bomber, but he wasn’t flying the plane and had not done much flying at all on this trip, because Brad McLanahan insisted on doing most of it. But this was the first time Brad was going to try aerial refueling for real. He had done it from the right seat plenty of times in the dozen simulator sessions they had accomplished, and he got to watch Hoffman do the first real one just west of Hawaii, but now it was his turn.
They had a third crewmember along on this trip. Sondra Eddington was a few years older than Brad and was one of the first persons to go through Tom Hoffman’s accelerated flight training program at Warbirds Forever, except she had a bit more money saved up than Brad and could afford an apartment, a car, and attend the University of Nevada–Reno for her bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s in business adminstration instead of having to stay in a storeroom and work at the company.
After a corporate stint for a few years flying everything from Piper Cheyenne turboprops to Gulfstream bizjets, the tall, blond, blue-eyed pilot returned to Warbirds Forever by special invitation from Tom Hoffman to be part of the Excalibur project. She had already ferried several Excaliburs to Guam, but on this hop she was the relief pilot, spending most of her time in the bunk reading or napping and fixing the others cups of coffee or Ramen noodles. Now, in preparation for air refueling, she was strapped into the jump seat between the pilot and copilot, wearing her helmet plugged into oxygen and intercom, gloves, and a parachute. In an emergency, after the two pilots safely ejected, her task was to make her way aft to the entry hatch, blow the nose gear down, and jump—not an appealing prospect, especially if the jet was not straight and level, but her only option.
“Okay, remember your sight picture, Brad,” Hoffman said. “You’re on the right side, but it’ll look exactly the same from over there.”
“Yes, sir,” Brad said. He looked eminently confident and relaxed at the controls of the big jet.
“Masters One-Four, Cajun Two-One, how do you read your boom operator, sir?”
“Loud and clear,” Brad responded.
“Loud and clear up here, too. I have you in sight. Cleared to precontact position, Two-One is ready.”
“One-Four is cleared to precontact.” All the director lights on the belly of the KC-10 Extender aerial refueling tanker ahead of them flashed briefly, and then two green lights began flashing, verifying that he was cleared to precontact position. The tanker’s flying boom was already lowered and the nozzle extended slightly.
“Very smooth, gradual control inputs,” Hoffman coached Brad in a quiet voice. “You’ll find it much easier than the simulator. You don’t even have to move the stick. It’s like moving the planchette on an Ouija board—you just barely touch the stick and
The boom started to get larger as Brad crept up and forward. “Don’t focus on the nozzle, Brad,” Hoffman said. “Keep your scan going—director lights, nozzle, window bow, tanker belly. Keep scanning. You’re looking for that precontact picture: aft row of the director lights right at the top of the window bow, nozzle centered, director lights telling you to come on in, checking for closure rate or elevation warnings, then repeat. Nice and easy.”
Now Hoffman was starting to see Brad clenching and unclenching his hands and swallowing hard—the first sign of nervousness he’d seen Brad have past the first few simulator sessions. “Nice easy grip on the stick, Brad— don’t fight her. You got this. The B-1 is the easiest plane to air refuel but the slipway is in front of you, not behind as it is on most planes, and you tend to get the feeling that nozzle is coming right through the windscreen. The boomer won’t let that happen, believe me. Don’t focus on it. Relax. Scan.”
Brad forced himself to relax, and soon his hands were starting to make the tiny adjustments needed to form the sight picture he had practiced so many times in the simulator. Now he was making only quick glances at the approaching nozzle, and even though he knew this was for real and not a simulation, he got into the rhythm of forming the sight picture and using a quick and easy scan to . . .
. . . and before he knew it,
“Roger, stabilized precontact,” Brad responded, pulling off just a tiny bit of power to stop the forward motion. Before he knew it he saw the boom come down a bit, the nozzle extended, and he heard and felt the satisfying
“Contact, Two-One,” the boom operator said.
Hoffman checked his multifunction display. “Contact,” he reported.
“Contact, One-Four,” Brad replied.
“Taking fuel,” Hoffman reported. “We’re not going to take on much fuel, but just be aware that if we were taking on a normal onload you’d have to make very slight power changes as the gross weight increases.”
Now the director lights on the tanker’s belly had changed: Brad’s job was to keep the boom aligned with the yellow centerline and respond to the director lights, which would tell him if was too high or too low or too close or too far away. Brad found that the lighter his touch on the control stick, the easier it was to stay in the center of the refueling envelope.
They took on just a token amount of fuel—Hoffman had already accomplished the first refueling that would be sure to take them all the way to Guam, and Sondra had gotten a few practice contacts from the left seat as well—
