Research for a graphic novel I'm writing.

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Daniel Monge

Filing Flight Plan
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DgMonge
Hello my name is Daniel and I am currently about a year into writing and drawing my first graphic novel. I have run into a little problem in the fact that one of my main characters is an Amelia Earhart analog and I have little to no actual info on how pilots actually speak. I mean I could probably B.S something that I heard from a tv show but I want to be a little more authentic to my characters.

My conundrum currently is that my character "Anna", a world famous female pilot is trying to circumnavigate the world when a huge storm envelops her somewhere over the pacific and one of her engines is struck by a huge bolt of lightning. I honestly have no idea what an actual pilot would do or say in that situation. Especially one from the 30's time period.

I know this is an odd request but I figured why not try to ask actual pilots instead of just copying other media. Any help would be appreciated and credited when I publish. Thanks for your time.
 
He or she would probably say the same thing as we would today: “oh sh**”

Look up information about engine failure procedures in multi-engine aircraft, that will guide your dialog. There will be some comment about feathering the propeller on the dead engine.

One reason those flights was so difficult was that the systems weren’t as reliable as even a few years later. The engines weren’t as reliable, so no need to invoke lightning for an engine failure.

Good luck with your novel.
 
All depends on what you want the airplane to do after this engine strike. Do you want the engine to fail? Do you want some other system (radios) to fail? There’s a good chance nothing adverse will happen to the aircraft and it’ll just be an “oh ****” moment.
 
If it was me at the yoke of a plane that got struck by lightning over the Pacific in the 1930s...

I'd say something about inventing the adult diaper if I ever made it back to land. Cause my pants would be full.
 
Daniel Monge said:
I have run into a little problem in the fact that one of my main characters is an Amelia Earhart analog and I have little to no actual info on how pilots actually speak.
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Oh that's easy, F-bombs till the cows come home. Done.

Also aircraft engines, even engines from the 30's, are not Xbox's. Lightning doesn't make the fail. Lightings strikes rarely fail anything on a plane. Makes a little hole where it goes in, makes a little hole where it goes out, rarely even makes the radios crackle. Lots of other things could fail a motor, but not lightning.
 
"Any station, <insert aircraft name, i.e. Cessna> 2468FoxtrotUniform at niner thousand fife hundred, we've got brown pants. Repeat, we are experiencing brown pants."
 
Are you trying to figure out what she would say to herself, to a passenger, over the radio,...? Those are different.

Is she already talking on radio? To whom? Is she trailing a long wire antenna and using the HF band? If so, could the long wire get a lightning strike and kill the radio?

Lots of ways this could go, all with different responses.
 
OP, I am sorry. The fact that fictional premises are often far fetched is lost on some. You will get much better information by finding a commercial pilot and taking them to lunch than you will get here. Around here you will get more zingers and “look how cleverly I can put down the OP” than real Information.
 
New direction! Vintage plane from WWI total loss oiling, plane is saturated with oil, wings are fabric, and after lightning strike is on fire. Simple, you research what details. Lol
 
Mike Smith said:
OP, I am sorry. The fact that fictional premises are often far fetched is lost on some. You will get much better information by finding a commercial pilot and taking them to lunch than you will get here. Around here you will get more zingers and “look how cleverly I can put down the OP” than real Information.
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You're right of course. But in our defense, the OP is asking a question which does not have an actual answer. Engine failures don't happen because of lightning strikes. So no one knows exactly what a pilot would say in the scenario.

Since lightning strikes don't fail engines, we don't know how that failure scenario would unfold. Does it kill the engine immediately or does it damage the engine such that you would decide to shut it down before it causes a fire or something of that nature? Is there fuel leaking now? Can you stop the fuel leak? Are you still able to feather the prop or did the lightning cripple the prop governor too?

None of us can answer any of that because its a scenario that just does not happen. So yeah, you're going to get snarky responses. Sorry. But trust me on the F-bomb thing. Pilots put drunken sailers to shame. At least the ones I know do.
 
By the book "We" by Charles Lindberg. Same time period, great insight into flying and terminology during this time.

If you want some more specific insight, I have some experience with writing fiction. You can email me direct at gaw dot ebm at gmail.
Gary
 
Not going to get in a debate and crap all over the thread, but all the op asked for was lingo, not accurate scenarios. Fiction is by definition things that don’t actually happen.
 
Would it be *impossible* for a lightning strike to fry the mags?

There are a lot of impossible things that happen.. For example we bought a cooler for product a couple months back. A couple weeks ago it shut off all by itself while nobody was in the warehouse because it happened over the weekend. Manufacturer told us this was impossible and yet it happened. So while 999 times out of 1000 a lightning strike doesn't do anything there still that one time it can. Why is that such an impossibility in a fictional story?


How about just answer the question asked.

First first thing is going to happen pilot's going to probably say words that aren't suitable for children. Then one of two things, either a Mayday radio call or going through a checklist for that particular airplane to see what needs to be done. Those could be in either order. If you have a specific area this is going to happen in that will determine what the radio call is. If you have a certain airplane this is happening in that will determine what items are on the emergency checklist.
 
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Mike Smith said:
Not going to get in a debate and crap all over the thread, but all the op asked for was lingo, not accurate scenarios. Fiction is by definition things that don’t actually happen.
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Actually, and more than a little sadly, this thread HAS probably given the OP some valuable insight into pilot behavior. And, putting on my OCD pilot's hat, fiction by definition is not necessarily things that don't or can't happen, but rather things that didn't for whatever reasons. Fiction can be incredibly realistic, possible, and plausible, without being a true description of events that have actually occurred . But, yes, Mike, I agree with you.
 
I was going to lay off this one, but...

I was born in 1966. I have no idea what radio equipment existed in the 1930's. I have sincere doubts that current phraseology is remotely the same as it was 80 years ago. I also have doubts has to the radio coverage over the open seas at that time.

There are others on this forum that are old enough to have been alive at that time, but I doubt they were out of diapers, let alone in the cockpit. You'd need to be over 100 years young to give accurate information of 1930's specific radio traffic.

For all I know ATITAPA may have been a real thing back then. Probably not a lot of "got 'em on the fish finder." Did flight levels exist? How about squawk codes?
 
A lightning strike could damage a bearing, which could (I would think) theoretically cause an engine to seize.

According to the OP we’re also talking 30s aircraft design, not 2019. I’d be curious what the state of lightning protection was back then. There may not have been any regulations on it and/or the design limits may have been lower due to a lack of understanding of lightning.

All this to say, I wouldn’t be so quick to say this is an impossible scenario.
 
Watch the movie Airplane, it will have something usable like...

[Thinking to himself]

Ted Striker: I've got to concentrate...

[his thoughts echo]

Ted Striker: concentrate... concentrate... I've got to concentrate... concentrate... concentrate... Hello?... hello... hello... Echo... echo... echo... Pinch hitting for Pedro Borbon... Manny Mota... Mota... Mota...


MuseChaser said:
Actually, and more than a little sadly, this thread HAS probably given the OP some valuable insight into pilot behavior
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I made jokes, that's what I do. This place would be like watching a snail race if not for people's jokes.

Honestly, Daniel, I have no idea what anyone would say in that position.
 
This guy, in his bathrobe and holding a cup of his morning joe, opens his front door to pick up the morning paper on his porch, delivered by the neighbor kid. As he bends over to grab the paper, he sees a snail next to the paper, so he picks it up and flicks it out onto his lawn.
A year and half later, he hears this quiet knock on the door and goes to investigate. He opens the door to see the snail down at the threshold. The snail looks up at him and says, "What the hell was THAT for?!?"
 
MuseChaser said:
he sees a snail next to the paper, so he picks it up and flicks it out onto his lawn.
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My father, who never flew an airplane, used to throw the snails out into the street. I said, "why are you killing the snails?" He said, "Some of them die, some of them figure out how to fly."
 
Mike Smith said:
Not going to get in a debate and crap all over the thread, but all the op asked for was lingo, not accurate scenarios. Fiction is by definition things that don’t actually happen.
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But in order to get the lingo, we have to know what the results of the lightning strike were. Also, weez just dumb GA pilots on here but asking a commercial pilot won’t result in any better answers.
 
I knew someone who was in the exact same position you are in: writing a novel about a pilot. There was supposed to be a scene where her protagonist does some aerobatics. She wanted to know more about how exactly that works, so she took a flight lesson. Got totally hooked. Ended up getting her pilot's license, learning some actual aerobatics, and even bought a plane! Just sayin'. :)

Is Anna in contact with anyone over the radio when this happens, and is she alone? I mean, the middle of the Pacific is too far to reach anyone by radio in the 30's, but Earheart arranged to have ships in some places for intermittent communication IIRC... If so, then know that what a person says over the radio is vastly different from what she'll be saying out loud in the cockpit (especially when alone) when the mic is not keyed. For me, it'd be something like:
Off the radio: "What the ****?... Holy ****! Aaaaaaa, airspeed, dammit, get your *** **** airspeed... ************!!! OK, where's my ******ing checklist?"
On the radio: "Hawaii Center, November One Two Three Four Five, I've got some engine issues."

Planes identify themselves by "tail number" on the radio. These days in the US, it's something starting with "N' (November). But back in the 30's tail numbers were probably different, I have no idea.

Whatever the details, the most general thing to understand, I think, is that all pilots are trained in emergency procedures. Things like "losing an engine" is one of the things our instructors make us practice over and over and over. So there are procedures and checklists for a lot of eventualities, and we're trained to keep our cool and follow them, and keep the airplane under control as the top priority no matter what. Doesn't mean there won't be swearing and inner freakout!
 
Mike Smith said:
Not going to get in a debate and crap all over the thread, but all the op asked for was lingo, not accurate scenarios. Fiction is by definition things that don’t actually happen.
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That's true. But good fiction is about things that could actually happen even though they didn't. Science fiction is obviously an exception to this, but even with science fiction its usually better to keep most things as plausible as possible.
 
At least do the extensive research that the nightly news does when reporting actual aircraft accidents. For example:
“The 1929 Cessna 172 crashed after its right engine was struck by lightning. The aircraft was completely consumed by St. Elmo’s fire. Also, this just in...the pilot did not file a flight plan.”
 
Daniel Monge said:
I honestly have no idea what an actual pilot would do or say in that situation.
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I don't know about time period you are wanting, but the one time I was struck by lightning, which happened at night, the very first thought in my mind was....."What was that.??''

The next thing I did was make sure the plane was still flying. I checked the attitude indicator, airspeed and heading. The auto pilot was still working, and the engine gauges were all in the normal range. At the time of the strike the radios went silent for about 5 seconds then went to all static. I checked my vision to make sure both eyes were still working and to be sure I did not have a bright dot blocking any of my vision.

After I determined that everything was still working I went to see if I could get a radio working. I tried turning it off and then back on, but still static. After a few minutes I started hearing faint voices coming through the static. About 5 minutes later I was able to re-establish contact with air traffic control, who was very glad to hear from me.

After that the flight was normal.
 
This is a great thread for someone wondering about how pilots speak. And actually kudos to the OP for asking for real life scenarios versus the usual inaccurate garbage that writers usually try to pass off as real life.

I think a lightning strike affecting the engine is probably a pretty remote possibility. A more realistic scenario is the engine just grenading due to an unseen defect or some faulty maintenance which you could build into the story or just have it happen. The storm details could remain, as it's usually a chain of events that lead to problems in aviation.

Typically a pilot would have a checklist which lists out different scenarios of emergencies. For instance there would be an engine failure checklist, where the pilot would do things like adjust the mixture, change a fuel tank, feather a prop or things like that. Don't know if you are referring to a real plane in your story, but if you are, you may be able to find an actual checklist for the model you are using the story.

The pilots here are joking about being frightened and different consequences of that fright, but in reality most of them would probably be shocked at first, you have that "oh ****" moment, then they would just press into action and try to solve the problem. A destroyed engine is a problem that is not solvable so there are steps that you need to perform to mitigate the loss of power. Such as maybe figure which engine is out, sometimes not easy, make sure the airplane keeps flying, twin engine pilots have a not good history responding to the scenario you propose and pay the ultimate price, so relying on and executing your training is very important. Other actions might be to feather a prop, shut down fuel to the engine, it might be interesting to explore those things in the story, as long as you get the details right. Of course then you get to decide if the pilot lives or dies, both scenarios are a realistic outcome from this type of issue depending on the skill and luck of the pilot. Many possibilities.
 
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.
 
PaulS said:
This is a great thread for someone wondering about how pilots speak. And actually kudos to the OP for asking for real life scenarios versus the usual inaccurate garbage that writers usually try to pass off as real life.

I think a lightning strike affecting the engine is probably a pretty remote possibility. A more realistic scenario is the engine just grenading due to an unseen defect or some faulty maintenance which you could build into the story or just have it happen. The storm details could remain, as it's usually a chain of events that lead to problems in aviation.

Typically a pilot would have a checklist which lists out different scenarios of emergencies. For instance there would be an engine failure checklist, where the pilot would do things like adjust the mixture, change a fuel tank, feather a prop or things like that. Don't know if you are referring to a real plane in your story, but if you are, you may be able to find an actual checklist for the model you are using the story.

The pilots here are joking about being frightened and different consequences of that fright, but in reality most of them would probably be shocked at first, you have that "oh ****" moment, then they would just press into action and try to solve the problem. A destroyed engine is a problem that is not solvable so there are steps that you need to perform to mitigate the loss of power. Such as maybe figure which engine is out, sometimes not easy, make sure the airplane keeps flying, twin engine pilots have a not good history responding to the scenario you propose and pay the ultimate price, so relying on and executing your training is very important. Other actions might be to feather a prop, shut down fuel to the engine, it might be interesting to explore those things in the story, as long as you get the details right. Of course then you get to decide if the pilot lives or dies, both scenarios are a realistic outcome from this type of issue depending on the skill and luck of the pilot. Many possibilities.
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Excellent post Paul. Lots of very valid points. In the interest of giving factual advice I will add this bit. When it comes to losing an engine on a very long flight, the first critical factor is obviously dealing with the engine failure. But as almost every multi-engine instructor will tell you, losing an engine in a twin isn't an emergency, its a procedure. Its critical that you execute that procedure immediately and correctly, but once you go through the procedure, the plane continues to fly just fine and is very safe. But on a long flight such as a flight over an ocean, once you go through the failed engine procedure and get the failed engine secured, another much bigger problem comes into play which is that the plane's range is now significantly reduced.

With one engine failed you're now burning half as much fuel, but you're also going much slower so the distance you can cover on the fuel you have left in the tanks is generally less than you could cover with both engines turning. If you're doing a long flight over the ocean, you're going to have to figure out how much range you have on the fuel you have left and then figure out if there is a piece of dry land that falls within that range and get the plane pointed in that direction asap.

One more thing. I gave you a lot of flak earlier because your premise was so unrealistic. I feel a little bad about that but only a little. I still contend that its impossible to tell you what a pilot would actually say in that situation because its such an unlikely scenario, but even still I can tell you this about how pilots speak. One of the things that struck me when I was learning to fly was that there is a seemingly endless number of acronyms that pilots use as words. "I was climbing out of KPIT and I noticed the CHT's were getting hot, I decided to divert but I was IMC and the only options close by for getting on the ground involved shooting an ILS to mins." If you want to know how pilots talk, that's how pilots talk. And also the f-bomb thing. Gutter-mouthed savages, every one of them.
 
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.
 
Velocity173 said:
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.
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Obviously, you have no first hand knowledge of my paternal and maternal grandmothers or grandmother-in-law. Wooooof. Scary women. The only difference between then and now is that folks felt shame saying and doing vulgar things in public. Privately... well... same ol' same ol'.
 
Velocity173 said:
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.
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Right. Because it showed up in the history of language around the late 1300's but no one actually said it out loud until 1971. :rolleyes:
 
Back to the OP - Assuming that she's a competent aviatrix, and she probably would be to attempt something like this: Back in the '30s mechanical failures would not have been near the rarity they are now, so anyone that had any amount of experience would have had plenty of opportunities to deal with in-flight emergencies. Add in the over-the-Pacific scenario, and you have a pilot who's had experience dealing with problems when there's no one else to depend on. One of our many sayings is "Rule #1 = fly the airplane." Another is "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate". I don't know if those sayings existed in the '30s but probably some variation of them did. So likely her first reaction would be some form of "What was that?". Followed by, "OK, this isn't working, but this is. Now what am I going to do about it?" Followed by, "OK, here's the plan ..." And all those conversations would have been in her own head. Then, finally, there might be a radio call, if there even was anyone within range, explaining what the plan is. There doesn't really need to be too much "pilot speak" for your story, just someone who makes a plan and works the plan.

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.
 
kath said:
I knew someone who was in the exact same position you are in: writing a novel about a pilot. There was supposed to be a scene where her protagonist does some aerobatics. She wanted to know more about how exactly that works, so she took a flight lesson. Got totally hooked. Ended up getting her pilot's license, learning some actual aerobatics, and even bought a plane! Just sayin'. :)
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Sounds like Toby!
 
Greg Bockelman said:
Sounds like Toby!
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Not only airplanes. She was writing another book, and talked to me briefly because of my MA background. I suggested she take a class for some real hands on experience. She started doing that too! Talk about getting into your research.
 
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