It was evening. It was the evening of era a silver bird taxied down to 25R LAX. For years what had occurred in the late 1970s was preverbal writing on the bathroom wall. Now the Captain knew that the DC-10 series 10 under command would be playing out the last act of a play. The plane had rolled off the line when the writing was placed on the wall. V speeds 178 V2. The bird had a full load of fuel and passengers bound for Honolulu. The Captain was business like as she taxied passed a DC-8-70 series July 5 1991. Everything was carefully scripted the checklist. She then briefed take off after takeoff checklist. One engine failure was not too much of an issue two engines they could crawl into the air dump fuel and very very carefully make it back. Then came the tower making in the call cleared for takeoff.

A camera clicked at the top of tourist class a hybrid of both old and new DC-8-70 engines from one era body from another. Soon the sound of Walking in Memphis filled his ears as the DC-10 passed the corrugated steel sign black background red paint turbo jet aircraft no turning before the coast. He had seen the safety briefing as the big bird taxied passed the bulk of terminals on one side of the airport.

The captain advanced smoothly the throttles to takeoff position the auto throttles set themselves the flight engineer called out stable engines. The process had been automated the inertial guidance systems of the airplane had been programmed at the gate. The airplane knew the length of the runway its weight had been put in a computer program spat out the required thrust to safely get the airplane airborne. The exploding air went passed a network turbines as more fuel was introduced. The massive fan at the front attacked to the network of turbines shoved a vast volume of bypass air backwards the big beast gathered speed. The computer brain of the engines and gauges in the cockpit all indicated the dramatic intense action of the engines was within what the engineers had designed the big engines to do. The end result was a massive racket as the tips of the fan blades were near supersonic creating a racket. Amidst the fury molecules of jet fuel were being converted to far more thrust then they had been in previous General electric models that powered the Convair 880, 990.

The flight engineer had his two eyes locked on the engine gauges at the center of the instrument panel. The first officer and Captain watched the airspeed indicators and kept their eyes on the engine gauges as well before V1 the decision to abort had to be made at breakneck speed. Engine health and airspeed iwere watched. Without P factor keeping the plane tracking true required little effort. 160 konts the airplane V1 the captain removed her hands from the throttles. There was a 5 seconds passed then came the call rotate. They were now a beam of the international terminal the beast lifted the altimeters started winding. V2 Positive rate gear up. The silver bird crossed over the fence a couple hundred feet in the air climbing. Before a turn to Catalina Island was made a cloud deck was crossed above the sky was a blaze of orange climb power was called. First notch of flaps was retracted LA tower told them to call LA departure. The teenager watched and started writing a post card aware in his heart that this endless night was an era’s twilight.

Like the bigger 747, the DC-10s wing was from another era. It was meant to sizzle through the skies. It was meant for cruise over Mach .85. The cruise would be Mach .80 for this flight the flight would take 4.5 hours. The winds had diminished. The teen wrote a post card and talked to a seat mate he was bound to Maui to see the eclipse. Orange to white to black the airplane was traveling southwest.

The three CF6 turbo fans continued in climb power the last of the flaps had been retracted the big bird made its way through the stratosphere. The flight deck a little fuel transfer from the belly to the wing tanks….the view for both the Captain and first officer was spectacular. The Captain made the comment this was why she flew. The flight crew drank their coffee and prepared for a meal. The Captain gave the first officer watch.

The talk in the cockpit came the MD-11 was proving to be a disappointment. As a result the 747SP was having its life extended as the MD-11 was not having the advertised legs. The 747-400 and the A340 were the future the A330 would soon take its place the days of Honolulu would be long gone. The gauges of the airplane were now old school the 767 which American had helped usher in along the 757 had been the first phase the displays the 747-400, MD-11 and airbus all had more useful information more readily available. The view had been spectacular the captain indulged in it. The first officer had enjoyed take off even if the light made some of the gauges hard to look at. The auto pilot was handling it but his eyes had to be aware for anything going amiss. Technically he was back up system the Captain she was within reach. The DC-10 and L1011 represented then end of era. The flight engineer would vanish from the cockpit with the end of their use and go the way of the navigator. Once the inertial guidance systems were widely available the navigator position disappeared from the DC-8s and 707s as it was phased it. Now the flight engineer and Honolulu as a stopping point for transpacific flights was well on its way to disappearing. Night was falling and the flight engineer enjoyed tuna salad sandwhich. He drank some water.

The meal was a fish sandwhich fried washed down with water for the teen in the window seat two rows below the first class bulkhead. The airplane was now above 30,000 feet and moving the Pacific was wide and even at over 80 percent the speed of sound a true airspeed over 400 knots. After the meal it was time for lav visit and then a nap as darkness fell on the airplane. It was for 45 minutes.

The cockpit view was similar to what had been since the routes began darkness and the lights of the gauges. The auto pilot was now controlled in a different manner. The auto throttles looked similar to the 707s just three instead of four. The power quadrant at the dawn of the jet age had been halved. It was steam gauges with pointers. One pilot was watching it at all time over 40,000 feet over Mach .8 the distance between the mainland and islands continued to be shrunk.

Outside the window the sunset had faded into a long night. When the long lanky teen craned he could see silver whisps of clouds and through holes the texture of an ocean. The strobe on right wing kept time. The stars that can be seen over pacific were visible as the cabin light was subdued. Through space and time and time zones the bird flew. The teen understood the magic and another song came to mind. His eyes were taking it in he got some water. The teen knew he was witnessing a turning point in history. Though the flight deck was making position reports on HF every hour the plane seemed to be alone out in space hours between anywhere over a vast ocean. Another nap another trip the lavatory were made by teen who knew water wet mucous membranes reduced chances of picking up a cold during the flight.

The talk was business like on the cockpit. The three on board would have their full duty that day. The first officer would soon be bound for 767 school. Talk was about 777 that was coming. The 777 would be an extension of the 767-300. The flight engineer made a comment it took over 20 years for the last revolution to fully occur on the Pacific. It was a gorgeous night they were a late night flight into Honolulu must of the traffic from the mainland had already landed. There were a couple flights from Australia making their way to Honolulu. Traffic into the once great crossroads had declined. It would continue for but a brief time.  The once great crossroads was drifting to a status as  destination.

After about 30 more minutes the teen walked to the back of the airplane one more lav visit some water trying to stay hydrated then it was back as he could feel the descent start. The power on the three CFM 56 turbofans had been reduced and the big bird was slowly starting its long journey to the ground. The DC-10 was almost 8 miles above the ocean below. This was a trip he was remembering.

The cockpit had been notified of the arrival. The first officer programmed the arrival as the descent continued. That would leave final to 8R. The arrival put both sides of windows at other times with a spectacular view of the island at night. On final the Captain got the throttle and yoke the three engined bird was at her direct command. The DC-10 was proven to be a pilots airplane the speed was stable 30 flap as the airplane was now substantially lighter no ILS just the precision lights telling her she had it nailed. Beyond the numbers and Piano keys she put it down reverse thrust the bird was down late July 5 1991 in the long night of Hawaii. She made the turn off and taxied past and FBO for the most part asleep in the tropical night.

For the teenager the once busy Honolulu international appeared in slumber. A 747-200 from America West was under Orange floodlights. Darkness defined the airport Two Qantas 767s were parked away from the terminal two DC-8s were on the scene a United Airlines Dc-8 70 series and a Hawaiian Airlines DC-8 sixty series. He had traveled from San Antonio.

His bags were transferred from one bird to another as he got off. 4,000 down 5200 and two legs left to go. Hawaiian music filled the terminal. He walked down the darkened corridor some water and restroom. An Air New Zealand model with 747-400 hung in closed gift shop display window. Further down a DC-8 from Hawaiian Airlines hung at the gate somehow making it into an area that was seeing the end of its replacement. A weary lonely feeling filled the terminal building. Pictures were taken then with a display of a boarding pass and a passport it was into the lounge for another wait then the leg over the vast Pacific.

Drink deep with your eyes remember note this is an eras passing a voice told him. A German family who he met in LA a group of Aussies the fatigue had worn. Even the gate staff ticket agents seemed to be more worn. Through space and time they were traveling they had made contact with a mass of volcanic rock. They were sharing an experience for a while they would be close.

The flight crew boarded the DC-10-30 max weight takeoff off of the reef runway. They had large group of passengers and the range was right there considering the winds. The bird would use a lot of runway. Its engines once large would be pushed near max thrust as it would climb into Pacific night for a destination over 5,000 miles away.

It was time for boarding. The teen was near the front end of the airplane just below first class even though skinny the now 10 abreast was an unpleasant fit for him. It took a while but the big bird was loaded and the taxi began. Due to the length there was unknown to him a relief pilot in the crew rest area. He would actually take some of the load off the flight engineer as well. The flight would be 11 hours. It would take the bird from the balmy Hawaiian Islands to Sydney in Winter.

Finally the pushback began. From the window the tone of an airport in slumber was noticed the airplanes basked under orange floods inter-island traffic had finished for the day. The USAF at Hickam was at rest a C-141 rested under white flood lights. This contrasted with his recollection of the summer of 1986. The video safety briefing played the seats had been counted to the nearest exit. The feeling of the island was this lonely dot in the sea of black a point meaningful only because it was far enough between two distant points to make it necessary as a fueling stop.

Honolulu ground actually seemed grateful for the work. The DC-10-30 moved to the reef runway. It depart then another flight would go onto Auckland as well. A freighter was inbound but that was 20 minutes away. Alpha, to Romeo Bravo was the taxi clearance. The ground controller watched the progress of the silver airplane. In the cockpit pre-takeoff checklist was done. As they neared the runway they were told to contact tower. Tower cleared them for take off. From standby to alt the bird rolled accelerating somewhat through the turn the flight engineer watching the engine gauges he had noted that taxi burned less fuel then anticipated. The Vspeeds were adjusted upward the bird had not gone from taxi to takeoff weight. The engines were stable the bird accelerated down the 12,000 foot runway. V1 was called out a longer pause to rotate the heavy airplane broke ground and started climbing. Positive rate gear up. The airplane made its way into the sky five hundred feet now a very gentle right turn soon over the pacific the extra fuel was dumped form the tanks in a brief silver flourish. Contact departure.

Twenty minutes went from takeoff to the time the fashion seatbelt sign was removed. The music program on the inflight entertainment had been cycled through over and over again even on the first leg of the trip. The airplane quickly left radar coverage from Hawaii. The teen watched through the window the aluminum winged magic carpet ride had crossed five time zones already. The Pacific was being crossed.

The fuel that was dumped into the Pacific put the flight back on parameters the computer print out had been programmed at the gate into the three inertial guidance packages. The gyros knew where the airplane was and knew where it was going they would be backed up by ground stations that they passed including one at New Caledonia. There used to be three birds making the trip at the same time. Qantas had started putting the 747-400s and Continental had pulled out of the this leg. There were a couple 747-200s and 300s making the run but those were being pulled. The era’s twilight the DC-10 was near the end of its service career. It was not consider the bird somewhat of a space ship through the black night. The large airplane was over 40,000 feet and it was at economy cruise. True airspeed was near 500 knots. 9 checkpoints along the way. Center tank would be emptied by feeding into both wing tanks as they started burning off then the wing tanks would be used in sequence.

The bird seemed Jurassic strange in the 1970s it was state of art barely a decade had passed and what was once state of the art had become passé so fast. The pilot was a reservist. He flew 141s which were an overpowered over winged rocket compared to the DC-10. He was getting paid for flying that is what mattered. The relief pilot took the position of the flight engineer who went off for a nap. The DC-10 making the flight was not the DC-10 that had first cut the skies in the 1970s. There was a special valve designed after the United Sioux city crash. Both control yokes had stick shakers to alert with stall. Cargo doors had been modified after what happened in Paris.

Talk about Midnight Oil began the Aussie was landing in Sydney and heading back to work. The view of the wing and the silver whisps below it was a good conversation it was view. The sharp cut of the sweep was more evident back of it.  The shape was silver against black the pulsing of the light.  The feeling of being alone came from the window they were a group of people over a vast ocean in a very dark and long night.  After that conversation ended it was to back where a flight attendant sat telling her story about going through the world riding providing safety for the long flights. The teen helped himself to water. Breakfast would be served in an hour. The meal was hotcakes. The Aussie was surprised to see how the kid with the Texas accent took his Tea English style. He had been to Australia before and he loved NSW. That was the odd thing about air travel. He knew that things were changing.

The flight crossed New Zealand the arrival was also given for Sydney which happened to be clear along with the alternate. The arrival was programmed they would arrive before the rush hour as the airport was awaking from its slumber. The VHF conversation was great. HF always remained hard to understand. The airplane had been lightened up quite a bit. The 9 hours had been marked by heads winds after the airplane crossed the equator. The big bird was high and between New Zealand Australia the descent started. It was a south southwest track finally Australia appeared the lights got into sight. Another flight in an eras close was coming to a close.

The sun was beginning to rise as the airplane descended below 18,000 it was just east of the coast of Australia it would turn practically 90 degrees just beyond the mouth of Botany Bay. The ex Phantom pilot had taken a liking to flying the DC-10 as it turned on extended final to the airport at the base of Botany bay on a clear cold Sydney Monday. The airplane was now in his hands his right hand the throttle the yoke in his left the tail under control of his feet.

The view from the window was different the first time he had been on Australian soil a 747-200 called The City of Perth crossed Sydney Harbor south of the Harbor bridge. With a touch barely perceptible half the world away the journey was within one flight of ending. With a walk down to Customs the two walked out of their lives. The flight of endless night ended.

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