Distinctly Montana Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.distinctlymontana.com/i/41771
Crosscur- rents and ed- dies battered the machine. Cromwell saw the effect it had on the smoke and braced for turbulence, gripping the wheel tighter. The machine was so light the slightest loss of balance could upset the craft and bring the flight to a sudden and tragic end. Cromwell thought of a previous avia- tor losing altitude over the mountains. He thought of the peculiar suction that had pulled him to the ground. The atmo- spheric conditions had the final say with that pilot, but Crom- well didn't plan to let his flight end without a fight. He'd go down kicking—if he went down at all. Easy as she flies, he told himself. Maintain altitude. Ride her through. The treetops drew closer to the wheels as he soared over the gulches and knolls. Gaining more altitude wasn't an op- tion. As hard as he tried—giving it more throttle, more speed—the aeroplane wouldn't climb any higher. Hold the course, he thought. He gave the machine all it had, the engine roaring, the wings rocking and dipping. Damn, he thought. Choppy mountain air! He responded to each slap of wind, holding his ground against the cur- rents that swirled up on invisible streams, or pressed down from above. The propeller whined with a feverish pitch, the blades slicing the air. He was almost there. He could see the pass, the bon- fire, even smell the smoke. He could see the men remove their caps, waving him in. He aligned the aeroplane with the meadow below. How's this going to end? he wondered, his body erect. The field was approaching fast, the men growing larger, the smoke growing darker. Cromwell wiped his gog- gles. The ground was rising fast. Flat terrain was in short supply. The entire field sloped away, rolling softly down the mountain toward the valley below. Tall pine trees surrounded the clearing and rocks and holes pocketed the meadow, a gopher's lair. The key was to come in slow. Focus, he told himself. Never mind the fuel. He rolled his shoulders to ease the tension as the engine roared behind him. This is the moment. 74 DISTINCTLY MONTANA • AUTUMN 2011