good old Friday

agman

Airborne.
South Australia
Mid 1970s

Yippee its Friday.

The weekend at last.

I have a date in Melbourne tonight, with a sweet lady,
whom I have made a few dates with before, but was unable to keep them due to flight commitments.

I think she thought I was giving her the run around, so this week-end I will be on my best behaviour.
But this time is different! I'm all organised, nothing can stop me now?
I feel really happy that finally its going to happen, my first leave in 10 weeks.

I'm at 7500 feet in a Hercules and I'm preparing to jump out the back and parachute on to an RAAF base, as part of my training to keep my parachute wings and then I get a ride to Melbourne in a vampire training jet to Laverton airport in Victoria, how cool is that? then it's shower, clean uniform, into a cab and on to Melbourne. beauty! isn't dating so cool?

The noise levels inside the Hercules are unbearable without protection, so I'm wearing ear muffs.
I notice the caution lights coming on and I look forward to the cockpit, my mate was waving through the curtain at me.
I stand up to have my kit  fully checked, by the load master, I hook my rip cord on and stand ready,

There are 7 SAS guys also standing ready  they are going out about 3 minutes after me and they will land  about 9 miles from the base and have to force march back, they were laughing and joking that they would beat me back to the shower block (tough bastards).

It's crazy really here I am standing at the door of the Hercules ready to jump out! normally this would give me such a buzz, but no! all I can think of is my weekend in Melbourne.
I get the green light and I launch myself out into the blue sky, I felt the tug of my rip cord and my chute started to deploy.

Out side temperature was around 23C, that would make it about 30C on the ground, just nice.
I look around there isn't a cloud to be seen, I see the airfield below me, and I spill a little air from my chute putting me right over the field, I have a quick check of my kit, all's well, so I start to play about, going round in circle slowing down speeding up, swinging like a pendulum, it certainly was a lovely day.

At 80 feet I look towards the wind sock so I could set my self up for an into wind contact with the ground,
Shit! I had forgotten the sea breeze that visits this airfield most sunny days, the wind sock filled and indicated a least 30 mph, more than I would have expected or liked, I'd better get her on the ground quickly, as I got lower I noticed alarmingly that I was going down wind a good rate of knots and  approaching the perimeter of the field, I quickly turned into wind, the violence of the manoeuvre nearly turned me upside down, swinging back down I made contact with the ground, next I was being dragged along by my chute and I was struggling to collapse it, as I released it, and it just blew away.
I just lay there thinking to myself, what a balls up I made of the landing.

Trying to move I felt a sharp pain in my left ankle,which only got more intense as I lay there, I was unable to get up, in fact my mind was swimming in a pool of pain! so I decided to just wait,

I won't bore you with all the details! about dope! ambulances! medi-vac to a main hospital and all that?
needless to say when I came too 3 days later, I was feeling quite sorry for myself, and all my efforts to contact my lady, didn't work, my letters! phone calls! all no good? seems she has had enough  of pilots for now?
Me? well I will be flying a desk for a few months,

She was a sweet thing?
You Know? sods law is such a bitch?
Just when you think it will never get any worse, it does and when you think it never get any better, it does.

Sometimes when I dismount from my aircraft, a tiny wee pain in my ankle reminds me of the day, I let this lady slip away.

Laying outside at night, beneath the stars, I and listen expanding my senses and try to remember her face and recall her last words to me.
But alas the Universe, will not share this moment with me.

Agman