The Ship: The New Frontiers Series, Book One by Jack L Knapp

Author:Jack L Knapp [Knapp, Jack L]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jack L Knapp
Published: 2015-12-12T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Will and Frenchy arrived back at the plant the following Monday. They were met by Lina, who walked up as they finished tying down the Piper.

Frenchy hugged her, then asked, “What happened to Chuck?”

“He was doing the first hover test with the King. Something went wrong and it almost flipped over. He had a high current reading on one of the bow impellers, but said he thought it was okay. It was, but then suddenly it pitched up and the rear section hit the floor. The King is a wreck, the frame is bent, one of the batteries caught on fire and the other one is bent, and Chuck hit the control panel. He has two cracked ribs and the King is going to need rebuilding, probably from scratch. One of the batteries is ruined and maybe the other one is too; we sent it off to the factory to see if they can salvage any of the cells. We need the replacements, so maybe they can do something with the wrecked ones. Mel has added a roll bar to the Bedstead, and when the King is rebuilt it will have one too. The Bedstead’s bar is mounted behind the pilot’s seat and extends above his head. It’s also wide enough to provide some protection to his arms. Chuck didn’t roll the King, it was too close to the surface, but it could happen when they’re out on the test course. This one was easy to install. Mel bought it from a tractor supply company; roll bars are required on small tractors, I think.”

Will nodded thoughtfully. “Good idea. At least I’ll have wings and controls if I have to shut down the impellers in flight. How much will the ribs affect Chuck’s schedule?”

“He says he can keep going. He can’t do heavy lifting, but he can do drilling and riveting. Mel and I can lift things and help do what has to be done, and it won’t be all that bad. We’ve got the overhead crane for lifting heavy things like the batteries.”

“Don’t let him overdo it, Lina.”

“He’s pretty stubborn, dad. Reminds me a lot of you.” She grinned as Frenchy winced.

“So how did the cruise go? You were out all day, weren’t you?”

“Right, we came into port after dusk, tied back up to the same mooring buoy after Sven lowered the anchor. Almost everything worked as expected. We did have to shut down the anti-roll system. I sent Morty a message suggesting that we might install four of the smaller impeller units and use them as a dedicated anti-roll anti-pitch system. In a pinch they could also help with maneuvering, but we didn’t have a problem during the cruise. Everything else worked as expected.

“I was a bit disappointed that Morty passed up the chance.”

“He has some sort of bug, or maybe it’s allergies. They’ve been rough this year.”

“Welcome to New Mexico. Even the plants fight back out here. But he’s a tough old coot.”

“Remember that he’s old, dad. I didn’t like the way he looked, so Chuck and I talked him into taking a few days off and resting.

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