The London Airport Controller tells us that we are clear to fly to New York, and gives us our first directions about the heights at which we are to fly.Our further directions will be given to us from the Control Centre.
An aircraft always takes off and lands as directly into the wind as it can. Where an airport has several runways in different directions, the runway in use is the one which is most nearly into the wind.This sometimes means that an airliner has quite a long way to taxi before it reaches the end of the runway along which it is going to take off.
We have quite a long distance to taxi today. When we get near the end of the runway, the Controller tells us that we may taxi on to it and take off at once. The Captain, who has been using the nose-wheel to steer the aircraft, taxies the great airliner on to the runway and slowly turns it into the wind.
The Captain puts the brakes full on.Then he makes the engines roar into power, and the Boeing 707 pushes against the brakes, impatient to be free.The brakes are taken off, and our Boeing 707 starts to move down the runway.
As she quickly picks up speed, our seats seem to be pushing into our backs, so great is the acceleration. The First Officer, who is watching the needle on the dial of the air speed indicator, calls out the speeds to the Captain, who steers by means of the nose-wheel until sufficient speed has been reached to make it possible for the rudder to work.
The Captain now leaves the nose-wheel steering con-trol, and keeps the aircraft straight by using the rudder. At the same time he holds his control column steady in a central position. The First Officer continues to call out the speeds; and when a certain speed has been reached, the Captain firmly pulls his control column back. The great airliner's nose comes right up and it continues to run down the runway in thisnose-high position, and then the airliner's wheels leave the ground, and she lifts gracefully into the air. Our flight has now really begun.
