Flying Into the Night

By Freya Velander

A woman airline pilot finds herself drawn into a world of intrigue filled with sexy heroic men - who have and keep secrets, and who are very good at much more than flying jets. New to the jet-set, major-airline scene, she encounters a lifestyle beyond her wildest dreams, exciting and seductive, countered with bouts of terror.

Freya Velander, of Norse descent, grew up on the beaches of Southern California. A feminine tomboy, she rode dirt bikes before she was old enough to drive cars. Racing cars became her next passion and then flying planes. She has been a corporate captain, a regional captain, and a flight officer at a major airline. She now lives with her husband in Southwestern Florida.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Mar 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483408583

Book preview

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CHAPTER ONE

E ldora stood in the drab, sparsely furnished waiting room of Southern Airways’ training center, a bit early for her appointment with the check airman. This was the man who’d decide if she had the right stuff to become a Flight Of ficer.

She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the one window that offered the slightest bit of natural light. At five foot four inches, she could have worn a little heel to complement her navy, pinstriped power suit. She made a face at her reflection. This was not the time to think like a girly girl. She adjusted the collar of her crisp white shirt but stopped herself from fussing with her business-length bobbed blonde hair. Act as confident as you look, girl. She turned her back on her reflection as the door opened.

Hello, Miss. I’m Rick Cunningham, here for my first captain’s check. The tall slim man wore a dark blue suit. May I ask your name?" His suit complemented his cool, blue eyes. Oh, he was the total image of a southern gentleman, right out of Gone with the Wind.

She hoped the blush she felt in her cheeks wasn’t showing. I’m Eldora Silva, and I’m here for my first proficiency check with this company. She took a deep breath. And it’s my birthday! Oops. She instantly regretted that nervous outburst.

Well then, Happy Birthday! His tone had the smoothness of the double malt scotch she imagined him sipping. You’ll have a lot to celebrate tonight. He gave her a slow, appraising smile. You certainly don’t look Latin with those big blue eyes.

I must absolutely pass today. It would be unacceptable to fail on such an epic birthday. She puffed up to her full height, show him her confidence. As for celebrating, I’m not from around here so I wouldn’t know where to go. I’m from a small, sleepy border town. And, my name means golden girl, by the way.

Then you must like margaritas. He gave her a wink and a charming smile. Oh, this guy was good. I’m a margarita connoisseur. She returned the smile, but not the wink.

I can only guarantee the quality of mojitos here in Miami, not margaritas, but no young woman should be alone on her birthday. May I buy you a margarita to celebrate?

Her name was called before she could come up with some graceful way out. Fresh off a divorce, she was not about to clutter up her already intense life with the complications of men, in any way.

With a gulp, she headed off in the direction of her summons, completely forgetting to make final pleasantries with the first person she had met in Miami. Well, it was a proficiency check. And her new job, if she passed it.

I’ll be at the Amigo Mexican restaurant, two blocks south of here, for margaritas tonight at 1900. Hope to see you there, he called after her.

She barely heard him. Right now she must win, or lose everything. She was too focused on the forthcoming test to say anything.

The check airman, also dressed in a blue suit, was pleasant, but very professional. At least she got the suit color right, she commended herself. He led her down a drab hallway to a small room, the walls bare but for a chalkboard, without even a window to break the dull gray paint. The only furnishings were a small gray metal table with two matching chairs, like an interrogation room. Pressure for sure, but you’ll never see me flinch, Mr. Check Airman, she thought to herself. Game on.

I see your documents are in order here, so let’s discuss the various operating systems of the Boeing 727. He got right down to the oral portion of the test with questions about every system the 727 had.

As the oral examination continued, she started to relax a little when she realized all her extensive preparations had paid off. With true confidence and pride she answered even his offbeat questions.

One last task, the check airman said with a Cheshire cat grin. Please draw from memory the electrical system we just discussed. I’m going to check on the simulator, I’ll be back shortly. He produced chalk and an eraser.

Ouch! Maybe she had been a little hasty rushing through all those questions like she knew all the answers. Determined to finish before her task master returned, she struggled with the schematic, glad for the eraser.

He returned with the announcement that the simulator was ready and news that an additional candidate would be joining them. He motioned her through the door.

She stared at him in anticipation. Wasn’t he at least going to acknowledge all her hard work on the chalkboard? He gave it a cursory glance as he ushered her out of the room, and she allowed herself a silent sigh of relief. Either she had gotten it right or he had just been stalling for time. Either way, she had done okay.

A genuine shudder came over her when she entered the full motion simulator, so very real it was like stepping into the cockpit of an actual aircraft. She looked out the front windscreen and saw the runway just like it really looked on a gray sort of day. She dared not screw up here. Internally, she gave herself a little pep talk. Get a grip. You know your stuff. Remember the jingle taught in training, the singsong ditty checklist of what to do in situations if you’re not sure - the save all. She sang it again to herself.

The other guy went first. Whew!

He sat in the hot seat, the engineer’s seat, and looked around as if he was lost. The check airman was busy setting up his panel for the predetermined test and didn’t notice the candidate’s apparent confusion. When he was ready to begin, the check airman turned around, clearly expecting his applicant to be ready also. He was not. A discussion ensued about what should have been done to this point; the preflight setup. The airline wannabe was saying something about his wife had left him and he was distracted, but he was up to speed now. Here she’d thought she was going to learn something by going second. Ha! She wished she didn’t have to witness this embarrassing turn of events.

The session started with a problem to be solved and quickly got more difficult. The candidate stared at the situation in front of him as if in a trance.

What are you going to do? The now edgy check airman yelled in the stupefied applicant’s left ear.

Calmly, the applicant turned to him and said, I’m going to sing. You’re what? Apparently, the check airman didn’t know about the ditty being taught as a memory aid under pressure.

He turned to Eldora and asked her to leave the simulator, he needed a few minutes. She paced the dark hallway outside the simulator, her mind racing. Happy Birthday to me! How was her monumental check ride going to go down, now that the check airman was totally pissed? She needed him to be impressed, to know she knew what she was doing. The most experienced pilot can have a bad day, but she had too much at risk to lose now.

Her pace quickened with the intensity of her thoughts. I have to fly with these southern good-ole-boys, she reminded herself. I must have their respect. On a dark stormy night no one wanted a crew member on board because she was a statistic to meet some discrimination criteria, or because she was good in bed. She’d gotten plenty of those looks before, for sure. You had to prove yourself.

After all she’d been through and sacrificed, she’d earned the right to be here. She’d worked herself up into a frenzy of determination by the time the check airman beckoned her back into the simulator. Bring it on.

No sign of the other guy, and bring it on he did. They had barely taken off when the left engine quit which caused the loss of the associated hydraulic system. She was prepared for this scenario, had practiced it many times in training. She set up for an engine out approach only to have it end in a missed approach. Okay, Buckaroo, I can do this. Is that all you got? She gritted her teeth.

The pretend airport tower that felt so very real vectored them around for another approach. She set up for another engine-out approach. Suddenly the center engine quit. There were now no hydraulics to lower the landing gear. One engine could not keep the current weight of this aircraft in the air. No time for the ditty, this was too real.

She felt the turn towards final approach as she directed her attention toward the back wall of the cockpit to dump fuel fast as possible to reduce their weight. Too bad for whomever or whatever was on the ground below, this was an emergency.

With only the right engine remaining, the electrical load on its generator must be shed quickly before it, too, quit. She turned off power to the galley. Sorry, Captain, no coffee. He would probably prefer a few of those little bottles of booze after this. Me too, she thought.

She turned off the gasper vents and cabin lights. Sorry, no air or lights for the passengers. Forget about reading the emergency card, maybe you should have paid attention to the flight attendant briefing before takeoff.

Oh my goddess, she exclaimed to herself, the fuel! Dumping fuel can quickly cause a huge imbalance, making control of the aircraft difficult, if not impossible. She hurriedly transferred fuel between fuel tanks to maintain balance. She turned her attention to the fuel panel. Had she made it in time?

Oh no! She still had to hand crank the gear down from a panel on the floor - before landing of course. Oh, and there were checklists to run.

She heard the beeping of the final approach fix - very little time left. She stopped the fuel dump, dropped to her knees and frantically cranked the gear down. She felt the touchdown and instantly looked to the gear indicator for the green lights that meant gear down and locked. There were no green lights! She froze in fear. Will we crash? Have I failed?

During the rollout the green lights flickered on. Whew, that was close! She jumped back into her seat and called out the crash equipment anyway, just to cover her butt.

Sweaty, her heart pounding, she started to tremble. Hide it! Captain Buckaroo check airman must not see her insecurity. She wasn’t sure if she had passed.

All business, the check airman shut down the simulator without any indication of success or defeat. His check ride had challenged her, required her to think on her feet and most significantly had shown exactly what she knew.

With head up, chin forward, she showed herself proud, walked her own pilot swagger out of the simulator and through the hallways, this time to a conference room as directed by Captain Buckaroo. Well, she thought, this well furnished room had to mean something, a big step up from the dingy little interrogation room.

Welcome aboard, Second Officer Silva. Captain check airman held out his hand to Eldora.

She felt an uncontrollable grin spread across her face as she shook his hand. Have a seat. He indicated a chair. And let’s talk about your check ride. Whatever, she thought with monumental relief. I’m now an official Flight Officer! I did this! I worked hard, endured and prevailed! Now, pay attention. She sat up straight.

You did well for the most part, Ms Silva, but I urge you to review engine out fuel transfer procedures. This one thing nearly cost you the check ride as a fail.

Yes, Sir. You can count on it.

As if on cue, the head of operations entered the room and extended his hand. Congratulations, Flight Officer Silva. We’re happy to have you on board.

Thank you, Sir. After the ops man made himself comfortable, she took a deep breath. I can now tell you today is my fortieth birthday, one I’ll never forget. She couldn’t help the grin.

Both men looked down at her paperwork. So it is! The ops man was first to reply. Did you plan to do this on your birthday?

Oh no, it just happened. I would never put that kind of pressure on myself on purpose.

You realize your annual check from here on could land on your birthday too. Of course it was Buckaroo check airman who thought of this, but they all chuckled at the thought. See you next year for your annual check, he said as he got up to leave. He would always be Buckaroo to her.

We have some business here with paperwork. The ops man busiest himself with the contents of a file folder. I see you still need your obit picture."

What? Certainly, she must have misunderstood.

The ops man paused to peer at her over the top of his glasses. Oh, guess it got overlooked. Before you leave here today, go down to the photo department where you’ll get your I.D. and let them know you also need your obit picture. We keep a black and white photo in your file for the newspaper. It’s really all purpose, you know, for whatever the occasion. Other than death, you may be held hostage in a foreign country, or disappear, or do something news worthy. They’ll explain it all in orientation.

Oh, wouldn’t my ex love this, was her first thought. She could just see him putting it up on his fridge with the word obit scrawled across it.

You’ll be based in Washington D.C. The ops man made notations on his paperwork. How soon can you be there?

I’ll need enough time to put my furniture in storage and drive across the country. How much time can you give me? She didn’t tell him that she had never been to D.C.

We’ll need you there within a week to ten days, but do stay in touch with operations there. Here’s their contact information. He handed her a business card as they stood to leave. Again, congratulations and good luck. He shook her hand again. We train our pilots well here, but we hire pilots who have natural capabilities that cannot be taught; decision makers with the ability to think on their feet. You can be proud to be a Skyways pilot, you’re the best out there. He smiled at her like a proud papa and left.

I’m going to love this airline! Her mind overwhelmed with the day’s events, Eldora walked the few blocks to her hotel in the sunny Miami heat and humidity. Today had changed her life forever. What would the future hold? From here on, things would probably be very different from anything she’d ever known. She’d go to all those places with the strange names, experience new and exciting adventures, see things she couldn’t even imagine today and it was all so very awesome.

I will always remember this day as the beginning, the first day of the rest of my life, she promised herself. Always.

Was she going to tonight’s happy hour at the hotel, even though it was the one the handsome new captain said he would attend? Yes. She smiled. Absolutely! Does life start at forty? Hell, yes!

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CHAPTER TWO

"H ey little girl, want some candy?" The familiar voice came from behind her as she walked back to her hotel from the training center. Her hometown friend, Joel, a Naval Aviator, always made her giggle. He rolled to a stop next to her on a beat up old neon-green bicycle. Considerably younger than she and just a bit short for a man, he was very fit and good looking with dark hair and eyes. She always said they had cast Tom Cruise for Top Gun after meeting Joel.

I do declare, you always know the perfect thing to say, you sly devil. She added a wink to the giggle in true southern-belle style. If you stole that bike, I bet the owner’s glad it’s gone.

How did it go today? He ignored her comment, his eyes on her face.

Well, I aced it of course. She tossed her head and continued on her way. No, really, do tell. You know I’m here for my interview, too. He kept pace, while walking the unsightly bike beside her.

Are you coming to Happy Hour tonight? I’ll tell you all about it then, but I’ll tell you what else happened today. I met a southern airline captain, charming as any slow-talking, slow-walking southern gentleman could ever be.

Joel looked at her with absolute disgust.

She ignored that and fluttered her eyes. But Joel, the talk is not just southern slow, it’s oh so low and oh so sexy and the walk is not just that southern sway, it’s oh so pilot swagger.

You mean like the kind of man all women want to be with, and all men want to be like? Joel’s sarcasm was without humor. Does he happen to drink Dos Equis as well?

No, he drinks margaritas. Ha! Don’t give me that you’re-in-over-your-head look. I’m over-the-hill at forty with everything to lose. You know, if I don’t make it here, I’ll be living on a park bench. She stopped, leveled her eyes at him. Lighten up, Joel. He offered to buy me a drink because it’s my birthday and I passed the check ride, unlike present company. So, there. She gave him another toss of her head and continued her trek past all the palm trees to the hotel entrance.

Be careful, Baby Girl. His tone was serious.

If you want to know every little detail of my check ride, come to Happy Hour, she called after him as he sped off on that obnoxious bike. But then, she was walking. She giggled to herself.

Back at her shabby hotel room where the bugs were so big you could hear them scurrying about at night, Eldora enjoyed a long, hot shower, unlike at home where the hot water always ran out before she was done. She took deep breaths of steam laden air and let herself relax for the first time in weeks. The tears of relief flowed. Against all odds, you may have made it after all.

She felt renewed and refreshed and even a little girly-pretty as she left her room, but one little thought caused her pause. Did the captain know she was staying at the hotel where the bright and cheerful Amigo restaurant was located?

She hesitated at the entrance to scan the noisy, festive main seating area of the crowded restaurant. She breathed in the aroma of the serve-yourself table set up with make-your-own tacos ingredients. The source of all the noise, a three-man mariachi band was performing at the far end. Maybe they’d stay there. The tall, debonair Captain Rick Cunningham had already spotted her and stood to get her attention. A true gentleman, he pulled out a chair for her and greeted her with that charming smile and that slow, deep sexy voice. The margaritas here are not up to San Diego standards, I must warn you.

"I have faith that cheap alcohol, part of the charming aroma wafting about, will kill anything unhealthy, but I’d be suspicious of any worm at the bottom. They probably found it in the garbage

Reviews for Flying Into the Night

[jbarr5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Flying Into the Night by Freya VelanderWhat first attracted me to this book was the simple cover of the plane flying off into the sunset. The synopsis also grabbed my attention as the book has a bit of romance, travel and mystery.What I got from the book was so much more. It starts out on the first day of her getting a job at the big airlines. When the company goes on strike and leaves Eldora without a job. She finds other means of income and friendship among her friends who are also unemployed.She takes on other jobs and some that lead her into danger. Love the mystery behind why the flights are taken when they are and other details. Found book full of new information for me. Not sure I understood a lot of the capitalized terms used or some of the Spanish phrases but it didn't hold me back from reading and enjoying the book.Romance and friendship and traveling to new places and all the action packed adventures makes this a book worthwhile reading. Learned so much from the pilot view and glad I was along for the rides. Hope author does continue to write more from the female side of this career as I found it fascinating.I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.