Flight of the Raven -- by Dean Dawes

Silence… The skies are a light gray, although there is no wind. We wait… the heavy breathing a persistent reminder that something is wrong. Still nothing… I hear a strong intake of air. My head was still down looking into the small screen. I don’t look at him, but I know some strong words are coming my way.

Two weeks earlier I had been sent to a small forward operating base in the northeast mountains of Afghanistan to train some Soldiers how to fly the Raven, a small unmanned aircraft system. Their unit had done the right things before they deployed to send some Soldiers to the operator’s course. Once the Soldiers got into country, however, they received an older system that did not have the same control station.

The training with them went smoothly, no air vehicles lost or damaged. At the end of their training, their senior operator asked me to fly a real mission with him; I agreed.

We decide to set up our system underneath an unused guard tower at the edge of the base, overlooking the intersection of two deep narrow valleys. A small stream in the distance runs down the center of our valley before meeting the intersection, turning left and following the southern path through the valley. Our mission is to fly this small drone down the valley along the stream to a marketplace just south of that intersection.

I allow him, the other operator, to set up the ground control station while I put the four-pound plane together. I slide the main wings into place on the top of the body, it was a tight fit but I know the two little plastic screws will hold it in place. The tail boom slides perfectly onto the back of the fuselage. I pick up the small nose cone which contains the day color camera. I then snap it into place on the front of the plane with a “click.” The battery is the last thing to be put into the plane. It slides right into position. The electric motor chirps and the Raven comes alive with the soft spasms of servos moving the rudder and stabilator.

I set the now three-foot-long airplane onto the tan, dusty ground so that it can search for the satellites that it desperately needs. I look at the flight plan that my co-operator had created, make some minor adjustments to avoid some hills jutting out of the steep ridge-line. I then walk back to the small “bird” to conduct our preflight. I pick up the Unmanned Air Vehicle. Then we check the GPS , “right where we are supposed to be.” We check the camera, “it’s looking good.” We check the gyros, I rotate the plane to the left and to the right, and then twist my whole body to the left then to the right, watching the rudder shift attempting to correct my movement. “Gyros are functional and centered.” My co-pilot checks a few more things on the computer while I prepare to launch.

I walk away from the tower, across an area of torn up dirt and rocks, toward the multiple strands of razor sharp Constantina wire. The wire is the only barrier between our little world and the outside wilderness of Afghanistan. Once I get into position I plant my feet, hold my Raven in my right hand, lean slightly toward that side and give my companion a nod. He picks up the hand controller and shouts, “Clear prop,” to which I respond, “Prop clear.”

The little electric motor starts up with a low hum, like an electric razor, which quickly rises to a loud buzz, as the UAV starts quivering in my hand. It wants to fly. My eyes are on the nose of the plane as my mind goes into operational mode. One one-thousand… I looked the Raven over to make sure there was nothing falling off the plane. Two one-thousand… I turn my head to look into my launch path, to make sure nothing is in the way. Three one-thousand… My head turns back to look at the nose of the Raven. My muscles tighten. My eyes follow the nose as I bring the plane closer to me, move it past my head, extend my arm again and release the drone to allow it to do what it wants. Those three seconds always feel like an eternity.

I watch as the small plane sinks slightly before quickly climbing into the sky like a hawk, its wings extended, catching a strong updraft. I then walk back to our little site and receive the hand controller from my companion as he slides over and picks up the laptop. My head is still up, looking at the Raven slip through the air. I am making sure everything looks good before it reaches three hundred feet above ground.

With everything looking good, I go “heads down” and look into the black hood that is protecting the three inch screen from the sunlight. I command the Raven into navigation mode, where my partner can control the flight path of the Raven and I can focus on what I am trying to look at. He commands the UAV to our “A” point where we will be starting our search for weapons or persons that look threatening.

The Raven receives the command and makes a left hand turn down the valley. The buzz of the plane softening as it flies further into the distance until all that is left is the faint breathing of my buddy. The ground passes underneath. We see the dusty road that our path is paralleling. A few dusty, bare trees scatter the area. We see a couple herds of goats scattered while their herders relax in the sun watching over them. We finally arrive at the intersection of the valleys.

The Raven makes a left hand turn, starting its large, lazy, clockwise path around the valley. I switch to the camera looking out the left side of the nose cone. We watch as we pass the market place for the first time. The small shops all opening toward the dirt road, people like ants scurrying about their business. A small vehicle briefly appears on my screen as the Raven makes a right hand turn away from the market, following its pre-determined flight path.

I switch back to the front camera as the Raven continues the large orbit around the valley the cliff to the west getting closer. As the UAV flies above the base of the steep hill it makes another right hand turn to parallel the valleys wall. I come “heads up” briefly to look at the computer to make sure our path does not bring us any closer to the rock faced cliff. Satisfied, I retreat back into my hood to focus on our mission.

Before we start to make our approach back to the market I ask my friend to lower my altitude a little so we can get a better look at what is going on. He agrees while reminding me that the lower we get, the closer we will also be to the cliffs.

We start our second pass of the market place. The people still too small to see any equipment they might be carrying. I start to get frustrated that we continue to fly much too high. My mind turns to the fact that we may only get one more pass as the Raven continues to deplete its life source supplied by the rechargeable battery.

The Raven turns toward the towering cliff. I watch as the yellow, dust covered grass turns into tan and brown dirt at the base of the stone wall. The plane turns right at what seems to be the last possible moment.

As we fly northward I re-take control of the plane and command my own altitude down to an altitude where I know I will be able to see clearly. The Raven now makes a right hand turn starting the next approach to the market place.

We watch now as we can see people walking, some carrying baskets, others talking. Neither of us noticed the hill that is in the way. The screen flickers briefly before going black. All I see is the flashing of coordinates and data showing where my Raven was before losing the signal. Did we crash?

Relying my training I instinctively command the raven into manual mode, push my right thumb to the right, moving the small joystick. I franticly hold the up toggle with my left thumb. The eternity that is twelve seconds pass. I release the stick and throttle. We wait…

Knowing the area where my plane should be I send the command to loiter. The UAV should now be making a left hand turn while continuing to climb. Still no video… We continue to wait…

The breathing beside me intensifies. I keep my eyes on my screen as the Staff Sergeant starts swearing my name. “You crashed an $18,000 piece of equipment! Now I am going to have to talk to the commander and YOU will have to go out and find it!”

I sit there on the cement slab under the tower, watching my small screen. Another quick flash briefly appears. The screen goes black. Then the full video comes back. The beautiful ground seeming to rotate under me as the raven continues to climb, just as I had told it to.

Once I get to a safe altitude above that hill that blocked my signal I send the command for my little plane to come “home.” Watching my screen I hear that wonderful faint buzz in the distance. I come out my hood as the other operator spots the UAV and points it out against the gray sky.

I send the command to “auto land.” As the motor cuts off, the raven flairs steep into the sky, slightly drops then levels out before impacting the ground and falling apart as it should. I set down my hand controller. Before walking the short distance to recover my plane, I look at the Sergeant and share, “Trust in your training, and your equipment.”

So... what did you think? That was the first essay that Dean had to write since high school and he was terrified that it would turn out badly, but I really like it. There are some really deep things in there too, did you notice them? He also has a cool analogy that he wanted to badly to put in the paper, but decided against it, can anyone figure out what it was? Anyone have any thoughts, criticisms, corrections, etc.? Sorry if it was too long. :)