My Library

I am floating high over a rugged, snowcapped mountain range, and I can see for hundreds of miles in every direction … and I can see down, down on the ground … beautiful focus, in the most minute detail … the leaves on trees, small animals as they move over the rocks … and I am moving slowly, making a wide easy turn, the standing wave from the mountain ridge offering solid and steady lift under my wings … wings! I turn my head. Extending out from my shoulder is a broad arching wing tapering to a round point, feathers ruffling in the slight turbulence. I roll my head to the left, there is one to match from the other shoulder … I’m not floating, I’m soaring … as a bird, am a bird!… a super sailplane that does exactly what I think! I break the turn, and the feathers on the trailing edge bend down on one side, up on the other, instant ailerons … let’s reach for maximum lift … there it is, more under the left wing than the right, turn into the lift … feel the lift getting stronger and stronger … it’s peaking out, turn and circle … tighten the turn, highest point of lift … must have a fifty-to-one glide ratio … spiral up, tighter and faster … perfect control … air is thinner … keep higher airspeed … wonder where the stall point is … nose, no, head up more, higher angle of attack, more, hey, that’s pretty good!… would never think a bird body could … oops! it does stall … easy to pick up speed again … Yeah! Just fold the wings and doooooown we go! (Hey, uh, RAM.) And I bet these wings can take a big G load coming out of a dive if you open them slowly … let’s see … we’ll just dive a little faster … (RAM, you know what you’re doing?) That’s about fast enough … now to open the wings a little at a time … slowly … now back on the stick … uh, tail feathers up a little at a time … there! All back to normal, back to cruising speed … what a … hah! What a bird! Must be a condor … wonder what a quick sparrow would … (RAM, just pull a short skip. Now!) I sigh … reach and stretch …