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Maddie had taxied this familiar airfield and roared down the rutted runway in her head so h she were dreaust of headwind Maddie fought the aircraft for a while, straightened the rudder, felt the speed increase as Dyress and the extra drag fell away The wings lifted and dipped in the blustering wind like a ed plane, with its unblocked endless view of sky – or, on that occasion, low-hanging cloud

‘Hey, Scottie!’ DyiveScot crept towards the cockpit, keeping low to the floor of the aircraft to avoid having to look out Maddie glanced over her shoulder again; she could tell her friend wasso,’ Maddie shouted, not without irony

The Scot, whey-faced and deterside the pilot’s seat and took hold of the undercarriage crank ‘My real fear,’ Scottie gasped, giving the crank a turn, ‘is not of heights’ – another turn – ‘but of being sick’

‘Doing so the view ahead of him for different reasons than the rest of the at the horizon helps,’ yelled Maddie, her own far-seeing eyes focused on the distant place where the battered grey land rey cloud Conversation was not really possible Most of Maddie’s being was absorbed in flying the buffeting Anson But a little corner of her ht was not being reen Pennines

Maddie landed the Anson into ith a wallop, and Dy Maddie do it The Yank said it was a whale of a landing, which heon the runith gritted teeth while the aircraft was refuelled and the Branston ground crew chatted with the ferry pilots Maddie stood close by, not close enough to touch, not anything so babyish But offering silent sympathy

Minus the Yank ferry pilot, the Anson crew set off back to Maidsend Fitful sunlight, low on the horizon, gleah the heavy cloud in the west, and Maddie, rather desperate to ier, was able to cliusty (The ferry pilots are not allowed to fly higher than 5000 feet Engel will have to do the metric conversion – sorry about that)

Bloo crosswind, Maddie swore to herself as they crawled back towards ho sick?’ Dympna bellowed at the hapless Scot ‘Come and sit in the front’

The Scot, in weakened state, was easily bullied (as you know) Dympna crawled out of her forward seat and Scottie crawled into it

Maddie glanced at her friend, grinned and took hold of the finely e of the copilot’s seat She forced the hand round the flight controls

‘Hold this,’ she bellowed ‘See hoe’re slant against the sun? ’Cause there’s a whopper of a crosswind, so we have to crab Just like sailing You point the plane sideways Got it?’

Scottie nodded, face pale, jaw set, eyes alight

‘See?’ Maddie held her own e the plane The Flying Scotsain

‘Don’t cling to it – just hold it gently – oh, well done’

They beamed at each other for a moment Then they looked back at the sky

‘Dympna!’ cried Maddie ‘Look, look at the sun!’

It was green

God’s truth – the rireen It was sandwiched in between a bank of low dark haze and a higher bank of dark cloud, and just along the upper edge of the haze was this bright lozenge of flaht behind it Maddie had never seen anything like it

‘My God –’ Dy to this effect, but no one heard her She laid a hand on each girl’s shoulder, gripping them hard

‘Fly the plane, Maddie,’ she commanded hoarsely, an instructor’s reminder

‘I am’

Maddie flew the plane, but she stared at the sun’s green edge too, for a long, wind-buffeted, glorious half athe cloud on the horizon Then the light winked out below the haze again and all three pilots were left blinded in the dull gloom of a showery autumn afternoon

‘What was it? Dympna, as it? A test? A new borip on their shoulders