Chapter 4 - Night Flight

"Stand back," said XL to Dr. Melcher. Dr. Melcher stepped back into the doorway as a Plexiglas cube descended just outside the door. It was about twice as wide as a telephone booth and about as high, suspended from a cable that went up into the sky. The glass was mounted in a metal frame, and there were seats in each corner of the box, but otherwise the sides were totally transparent. It had a metal base, about 30 centimeters high, with fans all around the perimeter of the base.

"This is the elevator," said XL. "The fans are computer-controlled, to keep it from swinging in the wind as it goes up or down."

Dr. Melcher stepped out of the door, toward the cube and looked up. It was dark out, but he could make out the outline of a large circular object above him, which was probably twice as wide as XL's yard. It had a few small white lights around the perimeter. On the bottom, he could see another smaller circle, well lighted around the edges, from which the cable descended.

"My dad's company built this," said XL. "It was used as a prop for a science fiction movie, and for movie publicity events. It was designed to look like a flying saucer, but really it's an airship. It goes about 150 km/hour at full speed, we can travel directly without following streets, and we don't have to wait for traffic lights. I can get you to your patient in half the time it would take you by car."

Dr. Melcher turned to XL's dad, who had come to the doorway. "Can XL drive this thing?" he asked. "He can't be old enough to have a pilot license."

"No problem," said Max. "It is fully automatic, like a drone or a self-driving car. XL just has to key in the destination to the onboard GPS, and it will take you there. No pilot is needed. I can assure you that it is fully tested and properly licensed."

"Don't worry," said XL. "I've taken lots of people on rides already."

"Can I come too?" asked Beeba Boeboo. "I would like to help."

Dr. Melcher felt a bit uneasy about riding in this strange airship, but he felt a bit embarrassed too. If the kids were confident about it, why should he worry? "I'll grab my bag" he said, walking toward his car.

Max called after him, "Before you go, give me the address. I think you'll find that you have plenty of help from the two boys, but if you need more help then give me a call and I'll drive out in my van."

The doctor wrote the address on a slip of paper, along with his phone number, and handed it to Max. Then the doctor, XL, and Beeba stood in front of the cube.

"Open says me!" proclaimed XL. Plexiglas bifold doors on the front of the cube opened, and the three of them entered. Each of them sat on one of the corner seats.

"Please put on your seat belts," said XL, and then "Elevator to Level 1." The elevator rose quickly, taking the three of them up to the saucer. As they approached, they could see through the glass ceiling of the cube that they were rising to a circular gondola attached to the bottom of the airship. The cube lifted into one end, and once it was inside the door opened. The three passengers unlatched their seat belts and walked into the gondola that was attached to the bottom of the airship.

"I hope you liked the lift" said XL. "The elevator is new. Until last month, we had only a rope ladder."

The gondola itself was circular with windows all around. To be more precise, the gondola was shaped like a donut, so that they could walk all the way around but not into the centre. "What is in the middle?" asked the doctor.

"In the middle is a very large and powerful turbine." said Beeba, who had been aboard many times before. The whole airship is a donut that blasts air out the top or bottom to make it rise or drop. Also there are directional air vents leading through from the central turbine to exhaust ports around the perimeter of the airship. It can move in any direction."

"If you listen carefully, you can hear the air blowing through even now" said XL. "We have power coming in from the tether. The fan is running to keep the ship from rising."

The doctor looked out the window near the elevator, and he could see a cable running from the back of gondola to a metal tower. The tower was similar to a ham radio tower, about 15 or 20 meters high.

Beeba and XL were walking toward the other end of the gondola, where there was a lighted console, with a computer screen, a keyboard, and some joysticks. XL approached the console and keyed in the address. "It has its own map system," said XL, "like Google Maps or MapQuest." He pressed another button, and the tether cable from the tower detached from the airship. The ship began to rise.

"What powers this thing?" asked the doctor.

"Hydrogen fuel cells provide electricity for the turbine" answered Beeba. "Hydrogen gives us our lift too."

"So we're riding in a bomb?" asked the doctor, worried.

"Not really," said XL, "It uses a mix of gases. There is helium too, in various air chambers, to give lift and prevent flame spread if any hydrogen cell is ignited. All of the material is fireproof. The main reason why we use any hydrogen at all is that it is a power source, and readily available. This entire ship is self-sufficient. The top surface is a photosensitive material that acts as a giant solar panel. During the day it generates electricity needed to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, and we keep the hydrogen for the fuel cells."

"This machine isn't just a movie publicity stunt" said the doctor, "it's a technological marvel!"

"Yeah, my dad is a scientist," said XL, "and this is his newest invention."

As Saucer 1 moved across the city, the kids stood by the control panel and peered out the windows. It was very pretty below. They looked over the dark streets lined with street lights, and the lights of cars moving along the busier streets. Out to the side, they could see the lights from apartment towers, gradually getting smaller as the airship moved toward the outskirts of the city.

"We have leveled off," said XL. "Saucer 1 rides at an altitude of 800 feet to keep below any airplane traffic over the city" said XL. "It gives us a nice, close view of everything..." he added. "...kind of like riding in a hot air balloon, except much faster."

Even at 150 km/hour, the airship was fairly quiet. They could hear the wind rushing around the windows, much like the wind sounds in a car going down the highway. But there was no noise from the motor, as there would have been in a jet or propeller-driven airplane.

Soon the city was behind them, and they could see the lights of the village that they were approaching. "There it is" said the doctor, "I can see my patient's house."

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