Research for a graphic novel I'm writing.

[SkyDog58]

If you want to do some research on 1930's pilot-speak in a situation like this, there are communications logs of the attempts to assist Earhart.

Or listen to the Live ATC recording for Howland Island.

Actually listening to Live ATC and also some CVR recordings might be of some assistance. But then one might need at least some basic understanding of aviation terminology and phraseology to fully benefit.

 

[SkyDog58]

It’s the 1930s and a female. She’s not going to be throwing F-bombs around. Most likely she’d yell “Heavens to Betsy!” Immediately followed by hitting NRST on the GPS.

Never heard about the mouth on Pancho Barnes, huh?

 

[Velocity173]

Never heard about the mouth on Pancho Barnes, huh?

PB was a princess, she never cussed. If it weren’t for her good looks, she never would have been able to fly.

 

[Daniel Monge]

Okay there is a lot to unpack here. I appreciate all the help. Even the people that were a little snarky. I got thick skin I can take it. Okay a little background. There are supernatural elements to the story. The storm comes out of nowhere and is a device that I am using so the pilot lands in a specific spot. Almost like a trap. Kind of like an Aladdin diamond in the rough thing. I am actually rewriting the lighting strike to cause a bigger problem. Im glad that you guys pointed that out cause I was completely oblivious to the fact that a lightning strike isnt a huge deal. For the purpose of the story she needs to crash on a remote undiscovered island. I really dig the idea of there being companion ships tailing her to keep in contact. It actually opened up a storyline element I was having problems with. Also she does have a copilot. I really appreciate all the people that gave serious answers. Theres a lot to work with here. And never fear her first line of dialog has always been "Oh Sh*t!"

I thought that in a comic book everyone said really cool stuff, like "Zowie," and such... If this was a serious literary work of fiction I would have had an entire diatribe on exactly what would have gone down, but since it's full of pictures, well, they're already worth a thousand words.

If i could roll my eyes any harder they would probably end up in the back of my head.

 

[Velocity173]

I think you should do like in the movie The Final Countdown and have a storm that transports them back in time. It damages their aircraft and they have to land on an abandoned island.

 

[Daniel Monge]

I think you should do like in the movie The Final Countdown and have a storm that transports them back in time. It damages their aircraft and they have to land on an abandoned island.

Time travel isnt really part of my narrative. Different story all together.

 

[kath]

Kind of like an Aladdin diamond in the rough thing.

Anna (as the plane slowly loses altitude): "'I can show you the world,' they said... 'Shining, shimmering, splendid', my a**!"

Sorry, I couldn't resist.
(It's been a hard day.)

If you want to "crash" your protagonist, there are many ways to do it, and it occurs to me that some are "fast" and some are "slow". The first thing I would decide (as the writer) is which do you want.
It'll affect the nature of the dialog a lot.

For instance, if the plane catches fire, you want it down and down *right now*; any piece of land in the middle of the ocean no matter how deserted-looking is going to be preferable to burning up. You aim for it and it's go-time, get 'er down, things happen fast, not much talking. On the other hand, if the engine fails but the plane is otherwise perfectly flyable, you try to stretch your glide as long as possible, to reach land or to radio for help or whatever, and there might be many long minutes where you can plan the "landing" and converse with your ship support, but also contemplate your fate. So (trying to think like a writer here!) you might want to pin down first what kind of mood or pacing you want this scene to have, then choose an appropriate emergency, and then tackle the exact dialog last.

Apologies if you've already figured all this out.

Also decide how many engines this plane has.

This sounds like such a fun project!

 

[Dana]

Okay there is a lot to unpack here. I appreciate all the help. Even the people that were a little snarky. I got thick skin I can take it. Okay a little background. There are supernatural elements to the story. The storm comes out of nowhere and is a device that I am using so the pilot lands in a specific spot. Almost like a trap. Kind of like an Aladdin diamond in the rough thing. I am actually rewriting the lighting strike to cause a bigger problem. Im glad that you guys pointed that out cause I was completely oblivious to the fact that a lightning strike isnt a huge deal. For the purpose of the story she needs to crash on a remote undiscovered island. I really dig the idea of there being companion ships tailing her to keep in contact. It actually opened up a storyline element I was having problems with. Also she does have a copilot. I really appreciate all the people that gave serious answers. Theres a lot to work with here. And never fear her first line of dialog has always been "Oh Sh*t!"

OK, ignoring the fact that lightning probably won't affect the engines (but might fry any electronic equipment), the dialog is more like,

"OOF!"

"What the f__ was that?"

and only then,

"Oh Sh__..."

and finally, calmly (radio mic keyed),

"Houston, we have a problem..."

 

[Daniel Monge]

Anna (as the plane slowly loses altitude): "'I can show you the world,' they said... 'Shining, shimmering, splendid', my a**!"

Sorry, I couldn't resist.
(It's been a hard day.)

If you want to "crash" your protagonist, there are many ways to do it, and it occurs to me that some are "fast" and some are "slow". The first thing I would decide (as the writer) is which do you want.
It'll affect the nature of the dialog a lot.

For instance, if the plane catches fire, you want it down and down *right now*; any piece of land in the middle of the ocean no matter how deserted-looking is going to be preferable to burning up. You aim for it and it's go-time, get 'er down, things happen fast, not much talking. On the other hand, if the engine fails but the plane is otherwise perfectly flyable, you try to stretch your glide as long as possible, to reach land or to radio for help or whatever, and there might be many long minutes where you can plan the "landing" and converse with your ship support, but also contemplate your fate. So (trying to think like a writer here!) you might want to pin down first what kind of mood or pacing you want this scene to have, then choose an appropriate emergency, and then tackle the exact dialog last.

Apologies if you've already figured all this out.

Also decide how many engines this plane has.

This sounds like such a fun project!

Lol. I have opted for a more fast emergency landing. The idea is that this island appearing is a godsend because they are going down fast. Its a crash landing in every sense of the word. Its a miracle she even survives. Her co pilot is not so lucky. She is flying the exact plane that Amelia was lost in. An lockheed Model 10-E electra. Its a twin engine plane.

 

[Sinistar]

Lots of mentions of checklists....but I didn't think the first checklist was made until the B17 demo flight gust lock failure several years later.

Also, you will sense an incredible amount of fear in pilots at the mere thought of flying into a heavy storm as it can rip a plane apart. Ironically (and not instinctively), the pilot would slow the plane down somewhat as they enter into the storm to reduce the chance of it breaking apart.

If one engine goes out the pilot will need to use a lot of rudder (pedals) to fight the now uneven force so there might be some talking put loud to yourself there as well.

If it's a plane with a critical engine there could be some dialog as to how lucky (or unlucky!) they are.

Depending on the altitude they could have several minutes, it's not just zap...5 seconds and crash.

With 2 on board there would be talk of "ditching" where one gets survival stuff ready.

Pilots try to ditch along a wave, not straight into them.

When ditching you would ideally go for the closest airfield and if you can't make it then closest ship to force the accident near people.

It would be dramatic!

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Lots of mentions of checklists....but I didn't think the first checklist was made until the B17 demo flight gust lock failure several years later.

Also, you will sense an incredible amount of fear in pilots at the mere thought of flying into a heavy storm as it can rip a plane apart. Ironically (and not instinctively), the pilot would slow the plane down somewhat as they enter into the storm to reduce the chance of it breaking apart.

If one engine goes out the pilot will need to use a lot of rudder (pedals) to fight the now uneven force so there might be some talking put loud to yourself there as well.

If it's a plane with a critical engine there could be some dialog as to how lucky (or unlucky!) they are.

Depending on the altitude they could have several minutes, it's not just zap...5 seconds and crash.

With 2 on board there would be talk of "ditching" where one gets survival stuff ready.

Pilots try to ditch along a wave, not straight into them.

When ditching you would ideally go for the closest airfield and if you can't make it then closest ship to force the accident near people.

It would be dramatic!

I agree with the bolded part, to a point. You are certainly correct in what you wrote. Depending on who taught her, there is probably an "informal" checklist. If you prefer, a series of procedures that she was taught by someone, even if it isn't written down. It may not have been called a checklist, maybe "follow these steps if you want to stay alive if your engine fails". The difference is subtle- a checklist is a formalized procedure; the other way is ad hoc as a person remembers the tasks.

So...no mention of checklists as they weren't invented yet, but have dialog along the lines of "throttles- full power; mixture- rich; prop- high RPM; identify the "dead" engine; feather the propeller on the "dead" engine".
I essentially followed the steps mentioned in the reference I posted earlier in the thread.

 

[Daniel Monge]

Lots of mentions of checklists....but I didn't think the first checklist was made until the B17 demo flight gust lock failure several years later.

Also, you will sense an incredible amount of fear in pilots at the mere thought of flying into a heavy storm as it can rip a plane apart. Ironically (and not instinctively), the pilot would slow the plane down somewhat as they enter into the storm to reduce the chance of it breaking apart.

If one engine goes out the pilot will need to use a lot of rudder (pedals) to fight the now uneven force so there might be some talking put loud to yourself there as well.

If it's a plane with a critical engine there could be some dialog as to how lucky (or unlucky!) they are.

Depending on the altitude they could have several minutes, it's not just zap...5 seconds and crash.

With 2 on board there would be talk of "ditching" where one gets survival stuff ready.

Pilots try to ditch along a wave, not straight into them.

When ditching you would ideally go for the closest airfield and if you can't make it then closest ship to force the accident near people.

It would be dramatic!

This is great stuff thanks. Originally it was gonna be an almost free fall but Ive now changed this to be more of a glide. Thanks to the info I got here I think I pull a lot more drama out of this scene. Originally it was only gonna be a few panels but now Im think a couple pages and a double spread splash sheet.

 

[Sinistar]

If you want more drama...she might accidentally "secure" the good engine leaving nothing but that eery quiet glide with arms pulling bsck hard on the yoke to keep the glide

 

[PaulS]

When it's published you better come back and post. Paul is a great name for the hero, just sayin'.

 

[EdFred]

You know what with the supernatural element that lightning bolt can take out the engine because if the storm is created by some Supernatural Force than that Supernatural Force can use a lightning bolt to do whatever it wants and bend the laws of physics. I like it.

 

[MuseChaser]

For the added sake of realism, before a forced landing she'd be shutting off the fuel, mixture to idle cutoff, mags off, main power off ( all to avoid fire ), seat belts on, and door cracked open so it doesn't get deformed and unopenable upon impact.

 

[Daniel Monge]

When it's published you better come back and post. Paul is a great name for the hero, just sayin'.

Of course. Sorry but most of the character names are all accounted for. Ill keep Paul in mind if anything comes up though. lol

 

[SkyDog58]

Well if you are adding a large supernatural angle to it all then you might as well suspend all logical belief and keep the lightning strike and not worry about any technical accuracies or real life verbiage.

 

[Juliet Hotel]

Well if you are adding a large supernatural angle to it all then you might as well suspend all logical belief and keep the lightning strike and not worry about any technical accuracies or real life verbiage.

Yep, this. Probably wouldn't worry too much about how pilots actually speak either. Just write how you think pilots would speak and that will probably be good enough.

 

[PaulS]

Yep, this. Probably wouldn't worry too much about how pilots actually speak either. Just write how you think pilots would speak and that will probably be good enough.

Nah, I've seen movies that had a jet flying overhead with Cessna engine noise, get it right makes it better.

 

[SkyDog58]

Nah, I've seen movies that had a jet flying overhead with Cessna engine noise, get it right makes it better.

Was it a Citation?

 

[PaulS]

Was it a Citation?

I don't remember the movies, it was a few of them, but the airplanes were like 727s. There is a PW engine that sounds like a buzzsaw when taking off, but that is distinct from a piston prop plane.

 

[Sac Arrow]

I happen to be a fiction writer as well, action adventure genre, and my works typically have an aviation element in them. That is easy for me, as I am a pilot, but I do have to research a lot of things I don't know about, such as historical ATC operation. I think some good advice had been rendered, re: the Amelia Earhart transcripts, but there are also lots of historical training films, transcribed to Youtube that you can access that will at least get you back in to the 40's. I would probably watch a lot of those to get some background.

 

[Lachlan]

If i could roll my eyes any harder they would probably end up in the back of my head.

My 5 year old niece does that once in a while. It's pretty cute when she does it. You Millennials are so adorable! I use ailerons to roll my eyes. You should try it- I bet you'd LOVE it!

 

[Daniel Monge]

I happen to be a fiction writer as well, action adventure genre, and my works typically have an aviation element in them. That is easy for me, as I am a pilot, but I do have to research a lot of things I don't know about, such as historical ATC operation. I think some good advice had been rendered, re: the Amelia Earhart transcripts, but there are also lots of historical training films, transcribed to Youtube that you can access that will at least get you back in to the 40's. I would probably watch a lot of those to get some background.

That's awesome. Ill definitely check em out.

My 5 year old niece does that once in a while. It's pretty cute when she does it. You Millennials are so adorable! I use ailerons to roll my eyes. You should try it- I bet you'd LOVE it!

Ill leave the dangerous stuff to the pros. Ill stick to my lattes and gameboys.