It was a sunny but cold morning in the final days of February 1918. My pilot, who is currently in training, started on his very first navigation flight with the instructor, Captain John Triggs, leading the way in his BE. Everything went well and the flight was completely uneventful. We were on our way back home with only a few dozen miles left to fly when suddenly black smoke burst out from the engine of Captain Triggs's BE! Soon after the poor engine stopped completely and Captain Triggs was left powerless in the air.
There was nothing I could do but watch my instructor glide down on a field below us. The landing was a bit rough and the BE stopped short in a fence. I circled above the wreck a couple of times and saw that the damage wasn't too severe. Deciding that one broken Quirk is enough for the day, I turned back home and successfully completed the navigation exercise, which had suddenly turned into a solo mission.
Captain Triggs didn't seem to suffer too much from the crash, because on the next day he was back in action.
Even though I managed to fly safely home without my instructor in my first navigation flight, the bastards only graded my performance as 'Passed'! Maybe Captain Triggs doesn't like me?
These random events really add to the feeling of immersion! I just hope it won't be my engine the next time something like that happens...
