The Sound Barrier Page #3

- Tell them that from me.

- Father.

I don't like it, JR. We may find the

Ministry will never agree to it at all.

If they want, we stop

production on the 696 altogether.

- Nervous?

- Nervous? I'm scared stiff.

- That'll be the second. Good night.

- Good night, JR.

Hello, Father.

Hello, Susan.

This is Tony.

So, this is Tony.

The DFC and Bar I know

about. What's the AFC for?

Oh, just for bumbling around.

They don't usually give that for bumbling around.

Well, I'm very glad to meet you at last, Tony.

I must say, I'm surprised

at Susan falling for a flyer.

Christopher, I've just had Fletcher on the

phone. He says he hopes you may go solo tomorrow.

- Yes, Dad, I know.

- Well done.

Who knows, we may make a pilot of you yet.

- What time is it to be?

- At 10:
30.

Hm. Well, let's go in.

You sit here, will you,

Tony? Place of honour.

- Quite a room, eh?

- Yes, quite a room.

I hope you like the pictures.

There's some of them quite well known.

Of course, Susan hates them all, I know that.

Yes, I sent her to Oxford to get an education

and all she comes back with is a passion for

donkey-tailed doves and modernistic music.

Where she gets her tastes from, I don't

know. Certainly not from me or her mother.

Mother liked modern music very much.

First I've heard of it. If she

did, she didn't let on to me.

- No.

- This is lobster Dominique,

a sort of speciality de la maison.

No, not for Mr Christopher.

He's flying tomorrow.

Fletcher says young Jackson's

gone solo after six hours.

Yes, he's rather good.

Is this fellow running a sort of

flying kindergarten over there, sir?

Just the two boys.

Jackson, that's my head of airframes,

his son's waiting to go into the RAF too,

so I've let Fletcher take him on as well.

Won't do them any harm

to get a start, eh, Tony?

No, you'll probably shatter your RAF

instructor by going solo in about 20 minutes.

That's right, something like that

won't look so bad on the record.

14 hours wouldn't have been so good.

That's the noise we heard this afternoon.

It comes from the test-beds, doesn't it?

Yes, I heard you were asking questions.

Well, I tell you what. I'm giving

this party down at the works,

and on our way, well, you're

a member of the family now.

I don't suppose it'll do any harm for

you to have a look at our little secret.

I think it's the most

exciting sound I've ever heard.

It isn't only the sound

that's exciting, Tony boy.

- Evening, Joe.

- Good evening, JR.

- How's the missus?

- That stuffs done her good.

- Told you it would. Good evening, Mike.

- Good evening, JR.

Hm. Put up the lights.

- What the heck is it, sir?

- It's the aircraft engine of the future.

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