In the early hours of the morning, the sun had finally began to show itself over the cloudy horizon. As the sun peaked through the gray clouds the light revealed a strange aircraft sitting on the tarmac, ground crew buzzing around it with crates and supplies. At first glance, it just seemed to be an irregular, twin engine aircraft, however, today something seemed wrong about this plane... very very wrong. The engines and its wings were tilted upwards, as if someone had put them on the wrong way!
Since its arrival two weeks before at the airport, the aircraft had been shrouded in mystery. Nobody except a select few were even allowed into the hangar it was kept in, much less to even see it. However, today was the day it was to be officially revealed. This aircraft was dubbed the AV-44 "Endurance", a landmark and pinnacle of aviation technology of the day.
It is a tilt rotor design aircraft, a hybrid of both helicopter and plane. According the officially released statement, it was a wondrous craft that offered the range and speed of an airplane, but the versatility and maneuverability of a helicopter. However, the official release did omit a few... say, important details that its pilot had come to learn. First and foremost, while it could hover much like a helicopter, it was nowhere as nimble and swift as a helicopter when the propellers where tilted up. In this "VTOL" mode, it was sluggish on the controls, lacking any sort of fine touch. The Endurance had also killed plenty of test pilots in this mode too, and only just recently had they solved the final crippling design flaw.
For most pilots, this would be some serious red flags, leading to many not even taking the job. But not for one pilot, who had always longed for a challenge. He walked along his new aircraft, running his hand across its fuselage. His face was covered in small scars, his hair oddly grey for a man of younger age. The ground crew chief jogged up to him, holding a clipboard.
"She's ready to go, Mr. Helfer. The Garrloch is waiting for you in the harbor just as scheduled. Best not to keep that captain waiting." Krauss Helfer, a well known pilot, formerly of the Avalian Airborne Navy had been selected to fly this machine. He was utterly fearless in facing the prospect of flying such a new, virgin craft that was the Endurance. Smiling, he took the pre-flight clipboard from the crew chief and nodded.
"Thanks, I guess I'll be on my way. Wish me luck!" Krauss said, climbing into the cockpit. "Engine one, start..... Engine two, start..." The rotors began to turn, the blades slowly but surely began to pick up speed. A small crowd of onlookers and airport personnel had gathered to watch. "...Aaaaand, lift off!" The AV-44 began to slowly rise off the ground, landing gear retracting. As is rose into the air gradually, the small crowd gave a cheer. Krauss dipped the craft forward and carefully began to gain momentum before rotating the propellers forward and flying off towards the bay.
By the time the Endurance had entered the airspace of the DOC, the morning sun was now shining fully in the sky. Krauss circled the UIS Garrloch, admiring the ship from above. Upon seeing people on both the dock and the ship's deck, an idea popped into his head.
"This is AV44 to the Garrloch. Will be making a landing pass, then requesting to set down on the helipad, over."
"This is Garrloch traffic control, you said 'Landing Pass'? Please confirm, over."
"Indeed I did Garrloch, over."
"Uhm... Request granted. You are clear to land on the Garrloch landing pad, over...."
With that, Krauss put the airplane into a hard right bank. While it was fairly sluggish in VTOL mode, this aircraft was surprisingly very nimble in flight mode. Turning sharply, the Endurance suddenly got very low to the water, flying only 30 so feet above sea level, straight towards the ship and dock. The aircraft's engines roared as Kruass zoomed right over the heads of those on the ship and the dock, tipping his wings in salute as he passed.
Finally, he turned the aircraft around again, killing much of his speed and rotated the his engines to VTOL mode. Gracefully, the Endurance touched down on the landing pad of the ship, propeller blades gradually slowing to a halt. Krauss hopped out of his airplane, giving a nod to the ship personnel who began to move the aircraft inside the hangar, before making his way through the ship to find the captain to report in.
