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13 Into the Abyss In non-flying weather, we studied how a parachute worked, how to pack it, and the principles of bailing out. Our instructor Vladimir Antonenko made it all sound so simple, but the night before my first jump, I could barely sleep. We had clear skies the next morning, so I strapped on my parachute, cinched up the lines, and hooked them to the flaps. The instructor checked my gear, and a nurse took my pulse. My stomach churned with nervousness. I lumbered, bear-like, out to the plane, struggling with the restrictive parachute harness. I clambered awkwardly onto the wing and folded myself into the front seat. The pilot took off and climbed to eight hundred meters. "Get ready!" he called. "Ready," I answered. I apprehensively climbed out onto the wing, gripping the strut, and looked down. It was terrifying! I despera tely wanted to get back into the cockpit , and I probably would have, but just then the pilot closed the throttle and shouted, "Go!" and gave me a little nudge. "Yes, sir!" I shouted back and leapt into the abyss. I yanked the ring, but it seemed for a moment that the canopy wasn't going to open. Suddenly, I felt a violent shudder as the parachute dome unfolded above me. I sat back, suspended in the harness as if it were an armchair . Total stillness. Uncontrollable joy engulfed me, and I half-sang, halfshouted . The earth was very close now. I drew up my legs, as we'd practiced, and rolled onto my right side. I stood up quickly, unfastened the parachute, and began deflating the canopy to repack it. The other cadets rushed excitedly to my aid. What a feeling! We were all ready to do it again. After that jump, the earth felt different under my feet. It seemed somehow special, more solid perhaps. I began to acquire a certain confidence, a sense that I could do anything. Sergei Smirnov, one of our Metrostroy poets, captured the feeling perfectly: Climbing aut ofthe mine the first time, I wiped the sweat from my brow. And I suddenly felt beneath me The earth, in all its beauty. The feeling was a revelation, 48 RED SKY, BLACK DEATH And finally, I walked withou t hesitation With long, masterful strides. In the fall we finished our U-2 training coursework. All of us passed the theory and piloting exams given by the State Defense Committee, and the time came to bid farewell to the aerodrome and our instructors and comrades. It was a bittersweet moment- so happy to have earned our wings, we still felt sorry to say goodbye. I returned to my former routine, working in the mine during the day and in the library, in the corner of the mine cafeteria, after my shift. In place of shelves, we stored books on buffet sideboards, and so I dished out spiritual sustenance-books-like a cafeteria cook. A month later, we cadets gathered again, dressed in our finest, for our aeroc1ub graduation ceremony in a Moscow theater, on Malaya Bronnaya Street. The aeroc1ub superintendent spoke at the ceremony, informing us that the majority of cadets would be assigned to the military flight school to train as fighter pilots. At the end of his speech, he paused dramatically, then made one last announcement: "There is one female vacancy at the Osoaviakhim Flying Sc1100l in Ulyanovsk . We have decided to grant that spot to... Anna Yegorova!" I nearly stopped breathing. It was a dream come true! My friends congratulated me during the intermission, but I still could not believe my good fortune. It didn't become real to me until I received the voucher and train tickets to Ulyanovsk. ...

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