Richard Bach

Hypnosis for Maria

Chapter first

Jamie Forbes flew airplanes. He hadn't done anything significant since dropping out of college and getting his pilot's license. He loved everything that had wings.

He flew Air Force fighters, but was bothered by politics, additional responsibilities and a terrible lack of flight time. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, he left the service.

Passenger airlines did not accept it. Once he tried to get a job, but the questions on the pilot exam knocked him down.

1. If you had to choose, what would you like to be: a tree or a stone?

2. Which color is better, red or blue?

He did not answer this, since the questions were not related to flights.

3. Are details important?

“Of course they’re not important,” he said. “It’s important to land safe and sound every time.” What difference does it make whether your shoes are polished or not?

He realized that the answer was wrong when the examiner looked him straight in the eyes and said:

– And they are important for us.

But aviation is not limited to fighters and jets.

There are charters, business flights, and flights for film shoots.

There is field pollination, and air shows, and pipeline patrols.

There is aerial photography, aerial acrobatics, ferrying aircraft, towing gliders and advertising banners.

There are parachutist drops, TV news footage, air races, aerial traffic surveillance, police missions, flight tests, freight and aerial stunts on rare biplanes in front of an audience in the countryside.

And, of course, teaching. There will always be guys who, like himself, are destined to connect their fate with flight... and pilot instructors are always needed.

He's tried it all in his life. In recent years, he became a pilot instructor - and a good one, if you believe the saying that whether an instructor is good or bad can be judged by the color of his hair.

It wasn't that he considered himself such an ace or that he had nothing more to learn on his own. It’s just that in the time that has passed since his first solo flight, he has accumulated almost twelve thousand flight hours. Not too much, but not too little either. Enough for Jamie Forbes to learn professional humility.

But at heart he remained a child who couldn’t wait to fly everything he could get his hands on.

And everything would have gone on like this and no one would have cared about it if not for the events of September last year.

What happened then may leave some people indifferent, but for others it will be a turning point in their lives.

Chapter two

Then he thought it was a coincidence.

Jamie Forbes, flight instructor, flew his Beach T-34 from Washington State to Florida, from winter to summer, heading southeast for sixteen flight hours, four hours for each flight.

Beach, for those who don’t know, this is the first aircraft that the Air Force entrusted to flight training centers for training many years ago: a single-engine low-wing with a tractor propeller, a two-seat tandem cockpit and two hundred twenty-five horsepower. The cockpit is exactly like that of a fighter jet to make it easier for new recruits to transition from training to operating the combat vehicle.

How could he have imagined then, while engaged in combat and theoretical training, cramming instructions, Morse code and the laws of aerodynamics, that many years later he himself would become the owner of such an aircraft and would enjoy it, as happens with civilians when they manage to get a real military machine.

His T-34, for example, it already had a three-hundred-horsepower Continental engine, a three-bladed propeller, an instrument panel with navigation equipment that had not yet been invented when the plane was new, sky-blue military camouflage paint, and restored Air Force markings on the fuselage.

A well designed plane, just a toy in the air.

He flew alone in the morning from Seattle to Twin Falls, Idaho.

From there, take off at noon and travel through Ogden and Rock Springs to North Platte, Nebraska.

It happened an hour after North Platte, twenty minutes north of Cheyenne.

– Lord, is he really dead?!

– Can anyone hear me? I think my husband is dead!

She spoke on a frequency of 122.8 megahertz, Unicom communication, typical for small airfields, her voice was loud, without interference - she must be somewhere nearby.

No one answered.

“You can do it, Mr. Forbes.”

Calm, unflappable, with a slight southern accent, an unforgettable voice.

– Mister Dester? – Jamie was struck by thunder. His flight instructor from 40 years ago is a voice he will never forget.

He glanced in the mirror. Naturally, the back was empty.

Silence, only the rumble of the engine ahead, loud and even.

– My God, someone help, he's dead!

He pressed the communication button.

“Maybe so, ma’am,” Jamie Forbes told her, “or maybe not.” You you can fly the plane without it.

– I can't. I can't! Juan leaned against the door and didn’t move!

“We better get him to the ground,” he said, using the pronoun “we,” anticipating her next words.

– I don't know how to fly a plane!

“Okay,” he said, “then you and I will deliver him to the ground together.”

This happens once every hundred years; a passenger has to fly a plane when the pilot is unable to do so. They were also very lucky that today turned out to be a wonderful day for flying.

- Ma'am, do you know how the control levers work? - he asked. – How to move the steering wheel and keep the wings level?

Now fine.

- Then for now let's just hold them so that there is no roll.

He asked when and where they took off and where they were going, turned straight east and soon, literally a minute later, he saw Cessnu-182 below ten o'clock, slightly forward on the left wing T-34.

“Let’s now take it slightly to the right,” he said. - We see you.

If the plane didn't turn, he'd lose sight of her completely, but he took the risk and won. Wings Cessnas tilted.

He dived down, fitting into this roll, and flew alongside, keeping a distance of fifty feet.

“If you look to the right now...” he said.

She looked, he waved his hand to her.

Annotation

Flight instructor Jamie Forbes radios to help a woman whose pilot husband passed out at the controls land her plane. For Jamie, there is nothing heroic about this: that’s why instructors exist, to help novice pilots. But soon Maria tells reporters that a stranger appeared on her plane from somewhere, who hypnotized her and led her until the landing. And then Jamie meets his own stranger-mentor and begins to understand the Main Secret: each of us, step by step, creates what seems to us a “dense” world around us. The most interesting secrets are those to which the key is right under our noses. The most amazing moments in life are when we suddenly realize something we always knew...

Richard Bach

Chapter first

Chapter two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter fourteen

Chapter fifteen

Chapter sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter twenty one

Chapter twenty two

Chapter twenty three

Chapter twenty-four

Jamie Forbes route

Richard Bach

Hypnosis for Maria

Chapter first

Jamie Forbes flew airplanes. He hadn't done anything significant since dropping out of college and getting his pilot's license. He loved everything that had wings.

He flew Air Force fighters, but was bothered by politics, additional responsibilities and a terrible lack of flight time. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, he left the service.

Passenger airlines did not accept it. Once he tried to get a job, but the questions on the pilot exam knocked him down.

1. If you had to choose, what would you like to be: a tree or a stone?

2. Which color is better, red or blue?

He did not answer this, since the questions were not related to flights.

3. Are details important?

“Of course they’re not important,” he said. “It’s important to land safe and sound every time.” What difference does it make whether your shoes are polished or not?

He realized that the answer was wrong when the examiner looked him straight in the eyes and said:

– And they are important for us.

But aviation is not limited to fighters and jets.

There are charters, business flights, and flights for film shoots.

There is field pollination, and air shows, and pipeline patrols.

There is aerial photography, aerial acrobatics, ferrying aircraft, towing gliders and advertising banners.

There are parachutist drops, TV news footage, air races, aerial traffic surveillance, police missions, flight tests, freight and aerial stunts on rare biplanes in front of an audience in the countryside.

And, of course, teaching. There will always be guys who, like himself, are destined to connect their fate with flight... and pilot instructors are always needed.

He's tried it all in his life. In recent years, he became a pilot instructor - and a good one, if you believe the saying that whether an instructor is good or bad can be judged by the color of his hair.

It wasn't that he considered himself such an ace or that he had nothing more to learn on his own. It’s just that in the time that has passed since his first solo flight, he has accumulated almost twelve thousand flight hours. Not too much, but not too little either. Enough for Jamie Forbes to learn professional humility.

But at heart he remained a child who couldn’t wait to fly everything he could get his hands on.

And everything would have gone on like this and no one would have cared about it if not for the events of September last year.

What happened then may leave some people indifferent, but for others it will be a turning point in their lives.

Chapter two

Then he thought it was a coincidence.

Jamie Forbes, a flight instructor, flew his Beach T-34 from Washington State to Florida, winter to summer, heading southeast for sixteen flight hours, four hours for each flight.

The Beach, for those who don't know, is the first aircraft that the Air Force entrusted to flight training centers for training many years ago: a single-engine, low-wing, tractor-propeller, two-seat tandem cockpit, and two hundred and twenty-five horsepower. The cockpit is exactly like that of a fighter jet to make it easier for new recruits to transition from training to operating the combat vehicle.

How could he have imagined then, while engaged in combat and theoretical training, cramming instructions, Morse code and the laws of aerodynamics, that many years later he himself would become the owner of such an aircraft and would enjoy it, as happens with civilians when they manage to get a real military machine.

His T-34, for example, already had a three-hundred-horsepower Continental engine, a three-blade propeller, an instrument panel with navigation equipment that had not yet been invented when the plane was new, sky-blue military camouflage paint, and restored Air Force markings on the fuselage.

A well designed plane, just a toy in the air.

He flew alone in the morning from Seattle to Twin Falls, Idaho.

From there, take off at noon and travel through Ogden and Rock Springs to North Platte, Nebraska.

It happened an hour after North Platte, twenty minutes north of Cheyenne.

- Lord, is he really dead?!

– Can anyone hear me? I think my husband is dead!

She spoke on a frequency of 122.8 megahertz, Unicom communication, typical for small airfields, her voice was loud, without interference - she must be somewhere nearby.

No one answered.

“You can do it, Mr. Forbes.”

Calm, unflappable, with a slight southern accent, an unforgettable voice.

- Mr. Dester? – Jamie was struck by thunder. His flight instructor from 40 years ago is a voice he will never forget.

He glanced in the mirror. Naturally, the back was empty.

Silence, only the rumble of the engine ahead, loud and even.

“Oh my God, someone help, he’s dead!”

He pressed the communication button.

“Maybe so, ma’am,” Jamie Forbes told her, “or maybe not.” You can fly the plane without it.

- I can't. I can't! Juan leaned against the door and didn’t move!

“We better get him to the ground,” he said, using the pronoun “we,” anticipating her next words.

– I don’t know how to fly a plane!

“Okay,” he said, “then you and I will deliver him to the ground together.”

This happens once every hundred years; a passenger has to fly a plane when the pilot is unable to do so. They were also very lucky that today turned out to be a wonderful day for flying.

- Ma'am, do you know how the control levers work? - he asked. – How to move the steering wheel and keep the wings level?

Now fine.

- Then for now let's just hold them so that there is no roll.

He asked when and where they took off and where they were going, turned due east and soon, literally a minute later, he saw a Cessna 182 ten o'clock below, slightly ahead of the left wing of the T-34.

“Let’s now take it slightly to the right,” he said. - We see you.

If the plane didn't turn, he'd lose sight of her completely, but he took the risk and won. The Cessna's wings tilted.

He dived down, fitting into this roll, and flew alongside, keeping a distance of fifty feet.

“If you look to the right now...” he said.

She looked, he waved his hand to her.

“Everything will be fine now,” he said. “We’ll take you to the airport and put you on the ground.”

– I don’t know how to fly! – and the wings tilted even more towards him.

He repeated her movement, and the planes made a turn at the same time.

“It's okay, ma'am,” he said. - I'm a flight instructor.

“Thank God,” she said, and her plane went into a deep roll again.

“You must turn the wheel to port,” he said. – Not too much, but firmly and smoothly turn it to the left. This will return you to level flight.

She looked forward, turned the wheel, and the Cessna's wings straightened out.

“Great job,” he said. “Are you sure you haven’t flown a plane before?”

“I watched Juan do it.”

- Okay, you remember a lot.

It turned out that she knows where the gas sector and rudder pedals are. She used it to turn the plane to the left until they headed back to Cheyenne Airport.

-What's your name, ma'am?

“I’m scared,” she said. - I can’t handle it!

- Don't fool me. You've been flying the plane for five minutes and doing it perfectly. Relax, don't worry and imagine that you are the captain of an airliner.

Annotation

Flight instructor Jamie Forbes radios to help a woman whose pilot husband passed out at the controls land her plane. For Jamie, there is nothing heroic about this: that’s why instructors exist, to help novice pilots. But soon Maria tells reporters that a stranger appeared on her plane from somewhere, who hypnotized her and led her until the landing. And then Jamie meets his own stranger-mentor and begins to understand the Main Secret: each of us, step by step, creates what seems to us a “dense” world around us. The most interesting secrets are those to which the key is right under our noses. The most amazing moments in life are when we suddenly realize something we always knew...

Richard Bach
Hypnosis for Maria

Chapter first

Jamie Forbes flew airplanes. He hadn't done anything significant since dropping out of college and getting his pilot's license. He loved everything that had wings.

He flew Air Force fighters, but was bothered by politics, additional responsibilities and a terrible lack of flight time. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, he left the service.

Passenger airlines did not accept it. Once he tried to get a job, but the questions on the pilot exam knocked him down.

1. If you had to choose, what would you like to be: a tree or a stone?

2. Which color is better, red or blue?

He did not answer this, since the questions were not related to flights.

3. Are details important?

“Of course they’re not important,” he said. “It’s important to land safe and sound every time.” What difference does it make whether your shoes are polished or not?

He realized that the answer was wrong when the examiner looked him straight in the eyes and said:

– And they are important for us.

But aviation is not limited to fighters and jets.

There are charters, business flights, and flights for film shoots.

There is field pollination, and air shows, and pipeline patrols.

There are parachutist drops, TV news footage, air races, aerial traffic surveillance, police missions, flight tests, freight and aerial stunts on rare biplanes in front of an audience in the countryside.

And, of course, teaching. There will always be guys who, like himself, are destined to connect their fate with flight... and pilot instructors are always needed.

He's tried it all in his life. In recent years, he became a pilot instructor - and a good one, if you believe the saying that whether an instructor is good or bad can be judged by the color of his hair.

It wasn't that he considered himself such an ace or that he had nothing more to learn on his own. It’s just that in the time that has passed since his first solo flight, he has accumulated almost twelve thousand flight hours. Not too much, but not too little either. Enough for Jamie Forbes to learn professional humility.

But at heart he remained a child who couldn’t wait to fly everything he could get his hands on.