“Conflict
at Rotate!”
It was a cold almost snowing
South Dakota wintry morning as I walked toward Base Operations. The temperature had dropped overnight well
below freezing. Though it had warmed up
some, still in all it was cold and the wind.
Oh, the wind. It was howling and gusting out of the north—the north of
Canada that is. It blew south as if it
had made its journey with me in its sights.
My flight suit and jacket did little to stop it—forget the flight
gloves.
“Hoser 54, taxi and hold short
of the active for traffic on final.” It
was now three hours after I had arrived at base ops. As I sat there in the jump seat watching, it
always fascinated me to watch the pilots as we had taxied and now were waiting for
takeoff.
Pre-flight
I had joined the aircrew at the
weather brief. Weather had reported
“Temperature is 35, with winds out of the North at 15. Snow is in the forecast but should not get
here until 2000 this evening. It may be
a bit bumpy as you climb out as there are winds aloft. No weather at altitude in route or on the
refueling track.” The sergeant continued, “Any questions?” There were none.
The pilot that had the takeoff,
in this case the aircraft commander gave a quick brief that included take off
speeds, mission, refueling track, etc.
It concluded with, “…if we have problems after pickle we will rotate and
work our problems in the air.” Then we
boarded the crew bus and headed out to the airframe. It was a KC 135 R Model.
As we exited the crew bus into
the cold wind, we were met with the sound of the AGE equipment as it had been
supplying power to the airplane so maintenance could do their pre-flight
checks. It was cold and so once the
airplane was loaded, it was a relief to climb the crew entry ladder and get out
of the wind. Soon there was engine
start, the crew ladder was pulled up, the crew entry door closed and sealed,
and the grate over the entryway dropped into place. We were as they say, "Buttoned up." There I was center and back of the two pilots where I had a clear view of the panel.
Taxiing
After a short while we taxied
out of our parking spot and bumped our way down the taxiway toward the active
runway. If there ever was anything that
said an airplane is built for the air and not the ground, taxing proved the
point. Then came the radios call, “Hoser
54, hold short of the active for traffic on final.”
We taxied off of the taxiway,
made the turn onto the hammer head and held there waiting for clearance. The four CFM-56 engines are now at idle. We waited for the traffic to land and clear
the active runway. I sat feeling
privileged to be sitting on the cold wood of the jump seat. The cushion had long ago been lost. I listened on the inner-phone as there was
the normal chit-chat banter and talk of the mission. It was a great day to be a “blue suited”
chaplain in “jet jammies” riding along with an aircrew on an aerial refueling
mission.
Take Off!!
Soon the call came, “Hoser 54
cleared for takeoff.” The aircraft
commander acknowledged the call, kicked off the brakes, and advanced the
throttles. The sound of the engines
spindling up was noticeable. The flight
deck grew quiet except for the creaks and cracks of an airframe built before
the aircrew had been born. We made the
turn onto center line of the active runway and began our takeoff roll.
Soon the aircraft commander
would further advanced the throttles and the airframe gathered more and more
speed. The pilot in the right seat
called out speeds. “S1,” “Pickle,” then
it came, “Rotate.” It was then that the
aircraft commander pulled back on the yoke and….
Abort, Abort, Abort
No, the takeoff was not aborted. It was too late for that anyhow as we had passed,
“pickle.” However, for a minute let us
abort the story and consider that in the moment of rotate there came a
conflict. Not among the air crew, though
I have seen such happen. There came a
conflict between two warriors, each of whom would contend with the other in
order to win the battle for the airplane.
On one side was a warrior, her
name was Gravity. At her disposal were
all of her laws and physics. Now she was
quite happy when we went through all the crew briefings, road the crew bus,
started engines, taxied, and rolled out onto the active. She had absolutely no problem with any of
what we had done because she was in complete control. However when we achieved “rotate” and the aircraft
commander pulled back on the yoke, she suddenly came alive because another
warrior showed up to try to take control.
The other warrior was named Aeronautics. At her disposal were all of her laws and
physics. Now she too did not care much
when we were on the ground but when we hit “rotate” she decided to take
charge. Problem was that that the two warriors, Gravity
and Aeronautics were each trying to be in control.
Both warriors were determined to
win the conflict. Both fought their
battle valiantly, one to maintain control and the other to gain control. Only one could win.
Life’s Conflicts
Such is so with many of the
dichotomies of life. There is the
difference and even conflict between,
What we want and what we know is right.
What was done and what should have been
done.
What we find pleasurable and what we find
productive.
What is in the immediate and what is in the
long-term.
What we understanding by reason and what we
understand by faith.
This also is the difficulty with
coming to faith in Jesus Christ. There
is one who seeks to keep control of each of us usually with incorrect thoughts, weak resolve, sometimes
with appetites run rampant, emotions that inflame, and so much more but control none the less. He does not give up easily.
However, there is another who comes only by invitation and with permission. It is He who seeks to come into one’s life to
provide healing, help, and hope. The conflict between the two
is the conflict of the ages. It has lasted longer than any other conflict in
history. It is the battle for the soul of man and mankind. No one is exempted from the conflict.
View from Altitude – II
The second post is forthcoming
in a day or two. It poses the question, “Pain
with Purpose” or “Pain without Purpose?”
