Flight Story No. 2
written by David Barth, 1977
On a flight with my friend and fellow pilot, Gary George, we turned on a light we couldn't turn off.
The pilot who introduced me to flying, Gary, and I took a flight from Denver to the east coast in the Autumn of 1977. To get an early start, we took off after work
one Friday, headed for our first stop, Grand Island, Nebraska, where we would get some sleep at the airport motel before continuing the trip the next day.
The trip to Grand Island was a three hour leg, and by the end of the first hour, darkness had fallen and we were getting bored as the plane droned through the
moonless night sky. Fighting off drowsiness, I tried keep the conversation going, but we ran out of new subjects to talk about. Then I had a great idea. I would
activate the chemical light I had been carrying in my flight case for the past few years. We could see if it really put out much illumination.
I took the plastic vial in both hands and bent it, as per the instructions, to break the glass in the tube to cause the two chemicals to mix, creating light. Sure
enough, the tube began to glow with a greenish light. But, as we marvelled at the cold light, it attained a brightness that you could read a newspaper by. It wasn't
long before we realized it was ruining our night vision, so I placed it under the seat. That wasn't good enough because the green glow brightly lit up the floor. Then,
I covered it with a sweater, but the light shone through the material. I finally locked it in my brief case.
More than two hours later, at the motel in Grand Island, I remembered the chemical light, and I got it out to see if it still glowed. It was as bright as ever, so I placed
it in the bathroom as my night light. It was still too bright, so I had to close the bathroom door. I could still see by the light shining beneath the door.
After getting up at 5am to continue our journey, I observed that the light was finally beginning to dim. I was impressed with the brightness and longevity of the
chemical light that is similar in concept to that put out by the lightening bugs I used to collect in Ohio when I was a kid.