Don't Marry Your Contractor*

Chapter 24 - Sweet Seventeen

Fourteen Years Earlier:

On the day of Charlotte's 17th birthday, she and Carl drove to the airport just as they had done so many times over the previous five years. As they arrived at the hangar and got out of the Mustang, Carl smiled at his Granddaughter. "Well, my love, you are the next generation of pilots in the family, so let's just show that bast... I mean nice man from the FAA what we Janssens can do."

"Okay, I will. But Gramps, can you do me a small favor and you know, just chill? If you don't mind, just fade into the background a bit. I want to pass this check ride on my own, not as Colonel Carl Janssen's granddaughter."

The old man smiled. "I could not have said it better Charlotte. I'll just go to the lounge and look for a stale doughnut, some awful airport coffee and watch Sports Center. Good luck and all of that."

Charlotte removed her phone from her pocket and asked. "Do you want to take a picture?"

Carl shook his head and laughed. "No, never take a photo before a mission, it's bad juju!"

Charlotte rolled her eyes "Another fighter pilot superstition Gramps?"

"You don't mess with the aviation gods. Good luck and fair winds."

Charlotte pulled the airplane out of the hangar, pre-flighted everything and got her gear all set. She looked down at her Casio pilot's watch and wondered where the government man was. Finally, the FAA Designated Examiner showed up ten minutes late at just after 8 AM Charlotte knew better than to say anything other than. "Good morning, sir."

The fifty-something man who had a mustache right out of late 1970s insurance salesman gave her a look of what she assumed was an unkind appraisal of the tall, lanky teen girl. The man was professionally dressed in an FAA polo and twill slacks. Charlotte was glad to see that he was her height but not a heavyweight. Gramp's old Piper Cub, even with the upgraded engine was not exactly a heavy hauler. The man from the government held out his hand and gave the lanky teen another thorough appraisal. "Good morning and happy birthday Ms. Janssen."

Charlotte nodded. "Thank you, sir, this seemed like a nice way to celebrate."

The man frowned just a bit. "Yes, of course, I've done a few of these 17th birthday check rides, but not always with satisfactory results I'm afraid. However, I'm sure you'll do just fine."

Charlotte made sure not to roll her eyes and answered stoically. "I'll do my best sir."

"I received all of your personal paperwork last week and everything was in order. I was impressed by your perfect score on the written exam. But now please show me the aircraft logs, records and documentation. If that is all satisfactory you shall proceed with the pre-flight of the aircraft and if you satisfactorily complete that task, we will go to an office at the FBO for the oral exam. If you successfully pass the oral, we will proceed with the flight portion. Is all of that understood Ms. Janssen?"

"Yes, it is sir, shall we proceed."

Under the careful scrutiny of the examiner, Charlotte pre-flighted the half-century-old aircraft making sure that the checklist was in her hand for each item. She quickly but thoroughly followed each step under the careful eye of the examiner. As they were walking around the airplane in a clockwise fashion, he asked several questions about the airplane and associated rules and regulations. Charlotte answered each question correctly and without hesitation. She didn't think that he was trying to trick her, but some of the questions did seem to be a bit obscure. Nonetheless, the young pilot answered them all correctly. At one point the man thought he had finally caught her off guard with a question about inspecting the engine's internal oil screen. Charlotte thought a moment and hesitated before answering and knit her brows. "Um no, sir, this aircraft doesn't have one of those, I think you are referring to the old original Continental engine. This plane has an STC for an up-graded Lycoming O-360 which has an external spin-on oil filter, not an internal screen. Is that what you mean? Do you need to see the STC paperwork, it's all documented in the maintenance logs?"