Dreamland

Flight School

I'm living in the dorm on the campus of a flight school. I'm learning to fly passenger jets. There are people I know from work also attending the school, and we hang out together, have lunch in the cafeteria, and go swimming in the nearby lake after class.

There are also other people I don't know in the classes, I think most of them are from the military. We are teamed up in pairs for the testing and actual flight training. My partner is one of the military students, an OK guy but kinda quiet.

One of the guys from work accuses my partner of cheating on a test, and the class is cancelled for the day while the teachers investigate. It proves to be untrue, but the guy is mad at me, thinks I'm involved. I try to reassure him that I had nothing to do with it, I know he's a man of honor, not the type to cheat on a test.

The day comes when it's time for us to fly our first passenger carrying flight to graduate from the school. It has recently snowed, but the runways have been plowed clear. The instructor is sitting in the copilots seat, and thirty passengers are in the back.

I'm taxiing towards the runway. I'm very nervous. The instructor is watching every move I make, I'm trying hard not to screw up. I accidentally pull the lever that causes the landing gear to go up. The plane starts lowering to the ground. I realize my mistake, push the lever back in, but the gear jams halfway on one side, the plane is listing badly to the right.

The instructor tells me to pull the plane off to the side, let the other students pass. I do this, and the right wing plows into a snow bank. The passengers in back are all disappointed, and voice their disdain of my piloting skills. It's obvious that I've failed the test. My partner from class waves at me from the cockpit of his jet as he taxis by, confidently headed for the runway.