“How about the booster-release lever?” Bud yelled.
Tom reached for a lever to his left and pulled it hard. He tried to move the stick. “No goodl The release doesn’t work, either!”
The plane entered an inverted dive.
“The air speed is increasing,” Mr. Swift warned.
Tom continued to struggle with the control stick but had no success. He tried a hand-operated hydraulic pump, but he could not regain pressure. “I’ll try the trim controls.”
He reached to his left where two dials were located. One of them read: aileron-trim control. He turned it slowly. The plane shuddered slightly, then started to respond.
“We’re rolling out!” Bud cried.
Tom continued to adjust the aileron-trim con—
26 MEGASCOPE SPACE PROBER
trol. Gradually the plane came out of its upside-down position.
“Hurray!” Bud cheered.
“We’re not out of this yet!” Tom said.
“Have you any control at all?” Mr. Swift asked him.
“I have rudder control, but I still can’t raise or lower the nose.”
“How’re we going to land?” Bud looked tense.
“I’ll use the elevator-trim control. It’ll be tricky, but it’s worth a try.”
Tom carefully adjusted the trim controls. He managed to turn the plane toward Shopton, then tuned the radio. “Swift tower,” he called. “This is Tom… .
Mayday! … Mayday! … Mayday!”
The radio receiver crackled and a voice emerged from the speaker. “This is Swift tower! What’s your difficulty?”
“Aileron and elevator controls inoperative! I’m one hundred and fifty miles due east. Going to attempt a landing using trim controls!”
“Roger! You are cleared for an emergency landing on east-west runway!
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