Executive Intent

The car pulled into the general aviation terminal and was allowed onto the parking ramp, where a dozen or so bizjets were lined up. Patrick retrieved his luggage from the trunk. “Well, if you think of anything,” he told Kai, “call me anytime.”

“Will do, sir.” He nodded toward the impressive line of jets. “Which one is yours?”

“Not there-over down that way,” Patrick said, motioning way across the ramp to an adjacent parking area. “They don’t park me with the heavy iron, and that’s the way I like it. The blue-and-white twin.”

Kai followed Patrick’s motion and saw a rather small twin-engine propeller plane, sitting by itself along with other smaller planes. “That’s it? The little bug-smasher?”

“It’s small, but I mostly fly solo and I rarely fly with more than two other people, so it’s a good size for me,” Patrick said. “It’s the fastest propeller-driven general aviation plane in the world.”

“Propeller-driven?” Boomer commented. “Why don’t you fly a jet, General?”

“Because they cost money, and I don’t fly that often to justify the expense,” Patrick replied. “Got time to take a look?”

Neither Kai nor Boomer would ever turn down a chance to look at airplanes, so they walked down the ramp. “You…worried about expenses?” Kai asked. “I thought you were a rich retired three-star general.”

“Military retirees don’t make that much these days; the private-military-contractor work keeps us busy but is expensive; and Jon Masters pays hardly anything except stock options,” Patrick said. “This is plenty for me when I travel and Jon’s not picking up the tab. Besides, Jon and I have installed a few gizmos in the plane to pick up the performance.”

The airplane resembled a bullet-shaped jet fighter with a pointed nose, very short wings, large, weirdly curved propellers, and a tall vertical stabilizer. Patrick unlocked the door and opened the split clamshell door. The cockpit looked very snug, and at first Boomer couldn’t figure out how to get in the back. Patrick then pushed the pilot’s seat full forward, creating a narrow aisle. “We usually load the front-seat passenger first, then rear passengers, and pilot last. I took out one of the middle seats to allow a passenger to use the worktable and satellite Internet while in flight.”

“What is that smell?” Boomer asked, hunting around for the source. “Dirty socks?”

“Biodiesel,” Patrick said. “The turbine engines on this plane were modified by Jon’s engineers to burn almost any fuel, from unleaded gasoline to synthetics. They crank out five hundred horsepower a side but burn less than twenty gallons an hour. I can get three hundred knots easily and three-fifty at redline, and its range is about fifteen hundred miles, so I can go coast-to-coast most days with one stop. It has an automatic electric deicing system on the wings, tail surfaces, and windshield, but it can go as high as thirty thousand feet and climb at two thousand feet a minute, so I rarely need it.”

The cockpit was simplicity itself, with three ten-inch monitors, some small standby instruments underneath the pilot’s monitor, and a small keyboard under the center monitor above the throttles. “Two primary flight displays and a middle multifunction display; side-stick controllers; computer-controlled propeller pitch; three-axis autopilot with autothrottles,” Patrick said. “Full automatic digital datalink with air-traffic control-everything from receiving clearances to traffic to weather avoidance is digital. I don’t talk to anyone on the radios unless I use uncontrolled airspace.”

Boomer peered into the cabin. “No potty?”

“After flying bombers for so long, I’ve developed a pretty large-capacity bladder,” Patrick said. “Everyone else…well, it’s a general aviation plane, not an airliner. Either hold it or I’ll introduce you to the kitty-litter piddle pack.”

“Your little plane just lost all appeal for me, sir,” Boomer said, retreating from the entry door with a smile and a shake of his head. He shook hands with Patrick. “You and your SAC-trained bladder have a nice flight.”

“Thanks, Boomer.” He shook hands with Raydon. “If you think of anything, Kai, let me know as soon as you can. You know how to reach me.”

“Will do, sir,” Kai said. He and Boomer headed for the limousine, and Patrick headed into the airport office. He paid his fuel bill, made a stop in the restroom, then headed back to the airplane.