JM made certain that not only were they supplied with thermos' of sweet, hot tea but dark bottles of beer and soft drinks packed in ice.  As well he had brought along a good selection of wine and harder liquor knowing that such things were often less available in the Muslim lands.  Not nearly as heavily suited as Robert or Alexander as he would be flying in the enclosed comfort of the Vimy, JM performed a thorough check of both aircraft before strolling over to the tower to file their flight plan and discuss the weather with the field captain.

Once everything is set he walks over to the Brisfit.  "We'll stay at about 10,000 feet once we get up and over the Channel.  Weather is good so just stay on my wing.  Just like old time Robert?"

"Yeah, mate," Looking out across the blue skies, an unusual sight here in England, but a pleasant sight none-the-less, especially for flying.  "Ready when you are, my good friend," He turned to speak to Alex who would be his copassenger for this leg of the flight, "Hope you enjoy the experience.  I will do my best to make it a pleasure.  Help yaself to the snacks, my good man.  Aint got no hostess here to take care of ya, like, ya know."

Grasping the Brisfit's propeller, Karlhienz called out "Kontakt!" The motor roared to life, spitting out blue petrol smoke that was quickly whipped to the rear.

When it appeared that the guys were busy talking plane details, Molly got into the plane herself as elegantly as she could in a dress.  She sat down and waited for the men to get the plane rolling along and onto the next adventure.  She wasn't going to stay outside while they did that because, while they say women talk forever, she knew that men could out talk women on certain subjects...vehicles and sports were at the top of the list.

She smiled and nodded at the others when she sat down and settled in for a wait.

Everyone finished loading their baggage in the Vimy Commercial. There was a large upward-swinging cargo door into the tail section of the fuselage, separated from the passenger compartment by a bulkhead. This bulkhead had cupboards for light luggage. At the front of passenger compartment was a forward bulkhead, with airspeed and altimeter gauges for passenger reference. The open cockpit was above the nose and had dual controls. It could be reached by a cramped crawlway from below that led to the forward bulkhead. The upward-swinging passenger door was on the port side in front of the propellers, and there was a roof hatch at the rear fuselage.


Once the motor was started, Bedford taxied the Brisfit to the flight line. It was heavily-laden with an extra petrol tank for extra range, but that was mounted above the upper wing so it didn't affect the balance too badly. With a roar of the engine they were rolling down the grass runway, gaining speed, then finally lifting into the air.

As this happened, Karlheinz walked back to the Vimy Commercial. He repeated the same procedure with the propellers ("Kontakt!") and once the engines were started he edged carefully past the whirring port propeller into the passenger door. Climbing up into the cockpit, he got settled in. They slowly taxied to the flight line, then lumbered down the grass strip and into the cloud-speckled blue sky.

Shortly they were joined by Roger and Alex in the Brisfit flying in formation on their starboard wing. They both banked slowly towards the southwest, passing by the white chalk cliffs of Dover and the grimy port city crouched at its feet. Out over the wind-tossed water of the Channel, climbing up to 10,000 feet altitude. Small boats etched tiny wakes behind, larger steamers trailed black plumes of coal smoke as they forged through the waves. It grew cold for those in the cockpits, despite the brilliant sun.


The Pas-de-Calais lay ahead in the distance. Next stop, Paris!
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:27, Tue 20 Aug 2013.

It seems that half of the passengers brought alcohol, but sandwiches are far scarcer. Alas, somehow, Cynthia will survive. Drinking, cards, little pastries and fresh fruit, Cynthia chatters about how delightful it will be to spend a few days in Paris, and the weather is perfect for it, all the places they should go and how much it will cost to ship purchases back home.

Meanwhile....despite his warm clothes, Alexander is freezing and wondering what drives people to do this for a living.

Then after he is discreetly sick for the second time he tries to focus on the fact that Egypt is drawing ever closer.

Having learned from her last encounter with the guys piloting, had brought along bags for when things didn't settle well.  With a smile she had split her stash with Alexander Hussein Mahfouz before takeoff.  "Here.  This will help a bit.  Plus have a peppermint.  It helps.  Or it helps me."
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:02, Thu 22 Aug 2013.

Within a half hour, they were passing over the coast, south of Calais.

Turning inland, they would make le Bourget, where Paris's airport was located, in an hour and a half at most.

Time for Cynthia's Paris Planning Session! Cynthia will happily discuss any plans for Paris with whoever is willing to discuss (or just trapped in a tiny airplane cabin) with her; Chanel, Louvre, House of Worth, fashion play in the evening, Doucet, Le Dôme for dinner, Chanel, oh did I mention that already? And of course a hair dresser, perhaps Le Rotonde if we have time, oh and a stage show, of course - we would be derelict if we missed the Theatre of Fance ...

In reply to Cynthia Jane Holloway (msg # 77):

The Count leabned over to Ms Holloway so she could hear him over the engines;

"Hôtel de Crillon, Hôtel du Louvre or the Ritz Paris. Which is your preference, we may as well treat ourselves."

JM quickly settled into the routine of flying.  The noise and the wash of cold air were exhilarating.  He craved the freedom of the skies and was glad to be leaving behind the death and conspiracy of London behind.  At least until they reached Egypt they should have smooth sailing and a peaceful trip absent mechanical or weather troubles.  He smiled over to KH and called out.  "It's grand to be in the air on a long trip!  We can use the opportunity to scout out how to set up our flying business in the area."

The air was whipping by as the Brisfit flew along.  Glad to be in the air, though this style of plane didn't lend well to any sort of verbal communication.  But at least the weather was pleasant enough, and it would not be long before they would be landing in Paris.  He looked back occasionally at his flying companion, hoping that Alex was baring up, wondering how much experience the man may have had in such aerial contraptions.  It certainly was nice to not be being shot at, of which he'd certainly had enough troublesome, death-defying situations for a lifetime.

Mostly once settled into flying, he'd give his attention to the dials and to the vista before them, and thought about what kind of a route they may come up with once on the ground.

"Hôtel Ritz, of course! Oh, I'll hardly even want to leave my bed."

In reply to Cynthia Jane Holloway (msg # 81):

"Indeed, the choice is made."

He sat back in  his seat and gave Mr Perkins a smile. He would of course spend the time looking over the book stores of the left bank and Latin quarter. Also he would take time to research some more on what they are up against at the larger libraries.  Le Louvre of course, but if time permits the Collège de France and the Université Sorbonne, both of which have large sections devoted to Egyptology and active courses and field work on the subject.

As the plane circled to land Mr Perkins again tensed his hands on the arm rests until his knuckles grew white. His first plane ride had not been as enjoyable as he had hoped and he was eager for it to end.

He had wanted to look over his notes on the establishments they had standing orders with in Paris, but was unable to bring himself to do it. So he just sat with his eyes closed for the majority of the journey. He knew they would spend a couple of days looking through the second hand book stores and maybe calling on a couple of prominent collectors, but drawing up a list would have to wait.

Shakespeare and Company would be their first visit and Mr Perkins was eager to meet the proprietress Ms Sylvia Beach who had corresponded with on numerous of occasions.

Molly nodded.  "I can certainly understand that Cynthia but just think of what you would be missing.  How long will we be here?  We will need to plan out the best utilization of our time.  Of course that planning can be done swallowed up by the soft sheets and comforters of a Ritz bed...couch.  I meant couch."

Molly smiled at the group and went back to thinking on what to write next.

"I can assure you, with the promise of crepes under the Eiffel tower, followed by a tour of the catacombs and dinner over opera, I will somehow find the motivation to rise. I think I will be able to endure it."

Paris-le Bourget airport, 1925.

The planes landed at le Bourget, Paris' busy airfield out in the countryside.

They were quickly and efficiently ushered through customs, no doubt a feature of aviation to come!

Other planes roared overhead, taxied for takeoff or came in to land.

Motor taxis and a tram waited to take passengers into the city.

In reply to The Keeper (msg # 86):

Eyeing the planes where they were parked in the hangar, Karlhienz said, "I shall be staying here tonight."

In reply to Karlheinz Bergmann (msg # 87):

"Let's find lodging in the city, by all means. But doing so under our own names, or that of those known to us could cause problems. Not that I ascribe too much to these criminals, but your experience at the Park hotel in London was less than satisfying. The one advantage is, hopefully, no one is looking for us actively."

He stretched, although the flight had been quick and efficient he was still getting on in years.

In reply to Doctor Phillip Weston (msg # 88):

"Ms Holloway has named her preference as the Hôtel Ritz, a very fine choice. If we are all staying together that is ? How long do we intend to stay in Paris ?"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:27, Fri 30 Aug 2013.

Alexander climbs out of the small plane and drops to the ground visibly shaken, though he approaches his pilot with a smile

"Roger I would like to say that I enjoyed that, but I must be honest and say that I shall stick with camels in the future. If you do not mind I will take a place on the Vimy for the next leg of our journey"

Alexander laughs

"You have my undying respect though and if you would permit me, I would like to shout you dinner tonight in way of thanks....Now I wonder where we will be staying?" and the Anglo Egyptian excuses himself and heads over to the others as they begin to disembark

"Ah...A pleasant flight I hope? Did any of you make arrangements with a hotel before leaving? I've not been here before so was relying on you good people for suggestions."

"Well I've been thinking about the length of stay, and given all of our priorities, I would say we should plan for at least five nights. If we're pushing, we could probably compress it down to three, but we may miss some critical research opportunities."

In reply to Count Sigismund Bathony (msg # 89):

Molly smiled as they landed.  "The Ritz is indeed a fine choice and I will be happy to be there.  As for how long we are staying?  I would imagine one or two days perhaps?  One cannot due justice to the native cuisine and shops in less than that and we are to make it look like we're not up to anything, correct."