Flight & Flying [Friday, May 18, 2nd period]

[sith_happened]

Anakin stood in front of the door of the miraculously unscathed flight shed and waited for the workshop students to arrive, his hands tucked into the sleeves of his dark robes.

"Welcome," he said, giving them a nod. "I'm Master Skywalker, and I'll be your instructor for flight this session. I'm from a space-based culture, so my expertise is primarily in those sorts of aircraft, but we'll also be working with the way people fly on this planet. We'll begin with simulators and if you convince me of your attention to detail and your ability not to die in stupid ways, you'll eventually be allowed to fly the real things." He pointed at Aeryn with a small smile. "This is Aeryn Sun, and she'll be the TA for this workshop. Listen to her instructions and recommendations just as carefully as you do mine--she's one hell of a pilot."

He waved a hand lazily at the doors and they slid open to reveal two podracing simulators sitting side-by-side.

"All right," he said, pointing at the controls, "everything you need to fly a podracer is located on the handlebars. You push them forward to go faster, pull back to slow down, and pull one or the other towards you to turn." He pointed at the buttons in the center of the console. "That controls the engines," he said. "You push the big button to light them up, and on these two models, you can push it again for an extra burst of speed." He looked at the class. "Which burns your fuel very, very quickly, so save that until you need it."

He raised an eyebrow. "Normally, these are attached to enormous engines--6 or 7 meter long engines--but these aren't real, and the simulator won't really give you the noise that's normally associated with the podracer. But the simulator has been programmed to go very, very quickly." He pointed to the simulator on the left-hand side. "This one, properly piloted, can get up to 950 kilometers an hour. The other can get up to 900. To fly a podracer at those kinds of speed requires iron nerves and split-second reflexes."

He clasped his hands in front of him. "Today you can take a turn learning how the simulators work, then pair up to fly against each other." He gave them a slightly predatory smile. "If you choose, you can fly against me. I built the real version of this podracer," he patted the left-hand simulator, "and used it to win a race when I was nine years old. And I won't give you a head start."

Comments

Individual flight

[sith_happened]

Anakin has cut you absolutely no slack on the first simulation. It's set for the way he raced it years ago--and for reflexes that no one else has.

He's making a point--listen to his instructions or die ugly.

The second run-through has been slowed down and set for more normal reaction times.

Re: Individual flight

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

A hungover Mel should probably not be at the controls but the thought of being in a flying anything erased any thoughts of backing out.

"Any advice?" she asked as she crawled into the cockpit.

Re: Individual flight

[sith_happened]

"Flying hungover is painful?" Anakin began. "The engines are loud, the controls require incredible concentration...it's generally a recipe for disaster. That being said..." he ran through an explanation of how to make the podracer perform well, ending with "and the first turn out of the start is at about a 90 degree angle. Don't end up as a canyon smear."

Re: Individual flight

[sixstandingby.livejournal.com]

It felt good to be back in something that went fast. He doesn't have much experience with podracers but that doesn't stop him from kicking up the speed and testing his reflexes. First run didn't go too badly but he'd lost control a few times and did a complete 360 before righting himself and finishing.

During his second run, he's much more in control of the podracer and manages to finish the course without losing control or spinning out.

He had a feeling he was going to like this class.

Re: Individual flight

[sith_happened]

Anakin cocked up an eyebrow. "Have you flown podracers before?" he asked.

Re: Individual flight

[solo_sword]

There really was part of Jaina thinking that if Anakin could do this when he was nine, she would have no problem.

Sometimes Jaina needed a kicking.

Re: Individual flight

[sith_happened]

Anakin's slightly smug smirk was probably not helping matters.

"Go on."

Re: Individual flight

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel took a seat, not giving off any nervous vibes at all. Nope, none. Really.

Re: Individual flight

[sith_happened]

Anakin smiled. "It's not real," he assured her. "Crash and burn and do it again."

Re: Individual flight

[fantastic-torch.livejournal.com]

Johnny couldn't contain his excitement as he slid into the cockpit, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck before he took control of the handlebars.

The first run was awesome, though there were a few times that Johnny zig-zagged along as he tested the speed, having to slow some as he got used to the feel of the podracer.

The second run was a piece of cake.

Re: Individual flight

[sith_happened]

Anakin made a mental note to make the controls more sensitive for Johnny, since he clearly knew what he was doing.

Re: Individual flight

[iftheseshadows.livejournal.com]

To his credit, Neil was pretty good about listening intently and following directions to the very letter.

Particularly when it involved a skill he'd never expected to have the chance to master.

Re: Individual flight

[sith_happened]

Anakin smiled at him. "Okay. Going slow won't help you," he said, "because the engines will stall out and you'll crash. And going too fast will plow you into a wall before you can turn."

Anakin was really very helpful.

"So starting out around 500, 600 klicks an hour's probably good. Ready?"

Re: Individual flight

[ambassadorinara.livejournal.com]

Inara climbed into the cockpit, moving layers of fabric out of the way, already thinking that she might have to change her regular wardrobe for this class, just to be practical.

The first simulation didn't go well--she had listened to the instructions, but the controls were unfamiliar and her reflexes were those of a normal human. Plus, there were rocks and caverns and...this was going to take some practice.

She frowned at herself.

Re: Individual flight

[sith_happened]

"It's not going to come immediately," Anakin said. "Flying is a skill like any other. It takes practice." He smiled. "That's why we practice in simulators, which gives you more room for error. I learned in the real thing, which has a bit sharper of a learning curve."

Re: Individual flight

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"No wonder Uncle Owen wouldn't let me near these things," Luke muttered to himself as he strapped into the sim. "Of course he was good at these. Of course he won Boonta Eve."

He rolled his eyes, pressed the button to kick the engines to life, pushed the handlebars as far forward as they'd go and gritted his teeth.

To his credit, he got almost halfway through the course before plowing into a wall on a series of hairpin turns.

"Son of a bitch," he groused.

Re: Individual flight

[sonofdragons.livejournal.com]

Tannim listened closely to the instructions and figured he had the instincts for this sort of thing, so he was confident bordering on cocky going into the first simulation. That didn't last long.

Humbled, he took some time before the second simulation to get a better feel for the controls. That run went much better. He did have good reflexes, although he had human limitations.

Re: Individual flight

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Anders always thought his reflexes were pretty good. He was no Jedi, though, that was for sure.

He sat in the cockpit for a while, just familiarizing himself with the controls -- and reminding himself that he would need more than just a good sense of balance and how to shift his weight in order to steer this thing -- before he took a deep breath and fired up the engines.

"Holy frak," he breathed, "even in simulation this thing's got some power!"

Re: Individual flight

[missed-the-gate.livejournal.com]

John was thrilled to try out the simulator. He'd never been in anything like the podracer before.

The first run-through was wild and out of control as John zigged and zagged and almost crashed repeatedly.

The second was much better, probably because John was a natural at flying.

Re: Individual flight

[multiplez]

"I remember this," Z said bleakly as she strapped herself into the cockpit. "I'm gonna die, aren't I?"

Re: Individual flight

[l1ttle-billy.livejournal.com]

Billy cracked his neck, because sometimes you have to give in to cliche, then sat in the simulator. "Alright, let's give this a whirl."

Re: Individual flight

[imissmydolphin.livejournal.com]

Lucas checked out all of the controls and made sure he was comfortable with them before starting the sim. He let out a long, steady breath. "Okay, let's go."

The first turn caught him by surprise, but he recovered quickly, narrowly missing a collision. He made it along the stretch until they hit the canyon, but was going too fast and didn't know the controls well enough to make it beyond the first canyon turn. He crashed and burned and the player has played that level of the N64 Podracer game far too much.

Re: Individual flight

[robinthefrog.livejournal.com]

Robin hopped into the simulator, bouncing with excitement.

Re: Individual flight

[narglette.livejournal.com]

Luna slipped easily into one of the simulators and ran her hands over everything, as if trying to memorize their locations by brief touch.

Re: Individual flight

[ktarian-wildman.livejournal.com]

When it was her turn Naomi sat down and tried her best to contain her nerves as she waited to start.