I pushed up the throttle more. I brought the choke lever back a little bit. But the engine gasped. It seemed that about two of the cylinders had failed to get ignited. I pulled the choke lever once again.
“Hurry!” She looked back and yelled.
I pushed up the throttle lever. The objects in the garage were blown backward by the wind. Small things were flying up and dancing around.
The engine was getting revved up, and the aircraft started to move forward sluggishly. Little by little, it accelerated, and finally, it left the garage.
The chopper landed on the grassy field to our right, and the crew were coming out. But when they saw our airplane, they hurriedly turned back to the helicopter.
I controlled the rudder to steer the plane to the left, and went down the hill obliquely.
The cabin was completely engulfed in flames. I saw the two cars across the fire. The road between the cabin and the garage was impassable due to the flames. Because of the direction of the wind, the garage was about to catch fire at any moment.
While running around the cabin to keep themselves far away from it, the two men were running toward us.
I pushed up the throttle.
Our airplane was 50 meters from the runway. The fire that I had just observed a moment ago was showing me the direction of the wind. It was blowing from the mountain. It was a crosswind, coming from the lateral direction, and it was not too strong. It will not be a problem. I checked the meters. The fuel gauge was indicating that the fuel tank was a bit less than half full. Everything else was normal. I could not find any oil-related meter. My guess is that the engine is still too cold. It needs a heater, but we have no time to get it warmed up. If it stops, that would be the end.
She was looking behind us from the front cockpit. With no rearview mirror, I looked just forward.
Due to the bumpiness of the road, I was busy with handling the rudder. My seat position was not fixed firmly, so it was difficult to operate with both legs. I could not afford to look back.
The engine was still grumbling like a baby. But, it might be getting warmed up gradually. As long as I don’t reduce the engine speed, it is fine.
Finally, we reached the edge of the runway. I pushed up the throttle more.
She, in the front seat, took out the gun. She held the gun in both hands toward the rear. I could not look back. Is someone chasing us? I pushed up the throttle even more.
She pointed the gun upwards a bit and fired one shot. It was probably a warning shot.
The runway was covered with short weeds. The acceleration was slow. I pushed up the throttle farther more. I noticed that the cylinders were tending to get wet and fouling out was imminent. I got the choke lever back to the previous position immediately. Sorry. Please don’t be in a bad mood and run smoothly. Among the four cylinders, the front two were suffering from overcooling. If I try to make various adjustments to conform to the front two, then the rear two will grumble. I have to find a compromise. Our airplane was running while hopping.
The movement of going straight was getting stable gradually. I looked back. The two men were still running, but they were already far way from us. I then twisted my body to the opposite direction to look to the rear again. The helicopter had taken off. It was coming toward us, while tilting its airframe.
I opened the throttle even more. Okay, it is ready to fly now.
The bracing wires of the main wings made a noise. I tried to move the ailerons slightly. I felt a good response. I lowered the nose of the aircraft a bit. The tail was lifted, and off the ground. Now, it can run smoothly.
She was already facing forward. We were already leaving the ground-bound pursuers behind.
I looked back again and saw the helicopter going up. Are they giving up on catching us on the ground?
I was having a sensation of being able to grab the air.
I pulled the control stick to deflect the elevators upward.
The airplane was being lifted.
I held the nose of the aircraft down to prevent it from pitching upward.
The crosswind tilted the airframe. I adjusted the aircraft orientation with the rudder. The wheel on one side touched the ground once.
The aircraft hopped once more.
It was in full throttle.
The engine was getting revved up gradually. I closed the choke valve even more.
Climbing up gently.
She raised a hand and gave a thumbs-up. It looked like a blessing for me.
I looked back. The helicopter was approaching us. It was faster than we were. They were going to catch up to us soon.
We were accelerating, of course. I made a bank maneuver gently, and we flew along the side of the mountain.
The helicopter came up beside us.
I was wearing sunglasses. She was pulling down her head. Oh, she’s trying to make them mistake me for her.
Our airplane was accelerating faster and faster. Will our top speed be faster than theirs? We won’t know until we try it.
We took a turn toward the helicopter.
The chopper hastily pulled up and put on the brakes.
So, we were able to pull away again. It’s all right now.
She in the front seat popped her head out.
“Which way to fly?” I asked her loudly.
“What?” She asked back.
While the engine was at full throttle, we could not have a conversation. I pointed with my finger in a couple of directions. She pointed to the right. That was the direction of the city in the foothills. But if we headed that way, we would not be able to escape from the helicopter.
This time the helicopter was catching up with us from the left. She pulled her head down again.
I choked the engine to the mid-low and made it a bit quieter. I shouted into the fuselage.
“Can you hear me?”
“Yes, I can.”
“Fasten the seat belt!”
“Wait, please.”