“We’ll expect you in Florida on Thursday, Bud,” Clarke told him, “to begin your test work and general indoctrination.”
Back aboard the jet, Tom took the controls. The others could see that he was still feeling the sting of Enterprises’ not having been given a chance to compete in the Venus project. After taking off, Tom swung in a large arc until he was ten miles up and a hundred miles from shore.
“I think I’ll wring this crate out a bit before we land,” he announced.
Bud grinned. “Let ‘er rip!” He knew this was Tom’s way of getting the Venus project out of his mind.
“Aerobatics?” Mr. Swift inquired, as he and Bud pulled their safety belts tighter.
Tom lowered the nose of the plane to gain speed. As he eased steadily back on the control stick, the horizon gradually dropped below the nose of the aircraft.
Only blue sky could be seen as Tom passed over the top of a perfect loop. The occupants felt the steady G force mounting to almost three times their own weight.
Tom did a roll, first to the right, then to the left. Diving for speed again, he pulled the stick
PILOT FOR VENUS 25
back and to the right, causing the plane to roll in a vertical climb.
“Not bad,” Bud said jokingly. “Not bad.”
Tom half-rolled the airplane upside down. As he attempted to recover right-side-up, Tom’s face muscles tensed.
“What’s wrong?” Mr. Swift questioned.
“The control stick! I can’t move it!” The plane sped along upside down. Tom strained to free the stick. It would not budge. “The boosters in the control system must be jammed!”