Telemetry, Loops, and Cold Beers.
James caught up with me yesterday, a rare, triumphant grin on his face. He’s managed to carve out some time over the last few weeks to tweak the Kestrel Fighter's control surfaces, focusing on the finer adjustments that should stabilize her handling. With the modifications complete, she’s officially cleared for her next test flight. This time, we’re pushing past the safety of vacuum and taking her atmospheric.
The morning kicked off with a grueling round of pre-flight diagnostics. We ran through every final checklist on the fighter while she was still docked, ensuring the seals and thruster configurations were locked tight before finally decoupling from the orbital platform. Leaving the station behind, we nosedived straight into Docosie's upper atmosphere.
While cutting through the air above the colony, we had to keep her on a tight leash, maintaining a strict subsonic cruise to avoid shattering windows with a sonic boom. But the moment we cleared the populated grid and hit the open, unsettled expanses, we finally opened her up.
James has made some serious improvements to her handling. At the slightest touch of the controls, she responds instantly. Having the experience and knowledge of Torias Dax, who was a daring test pilot, was invaluable.
Of course, I had to let James fly her as well; I wouldn't want him to sulk. However, that unannounced loop-the-loop was just showing off. After returning the fighter to the orbital platform, we headed down to the surface for cold beers in my back garden to go over the telemetry. I personally think she's perfect now.
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