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Major Litvyak climbed into the forward cockpit and Blackhawk got in the aft cockpit. She switched on the magneto and signaled a mechanic from the infantry unit's motorpool to pull the propeller. After two tries, the little rotary engine coughed to life and the biplane bounced across the field a few hundred feet, making S-turns so the pilot could see past the engine cowling. With a final bounce, the plane lifted into the air and circled to the east. Litvyak leveled out at two hundred feet of altitude. Even under the cover of darkness, the little biplanes stayed close to the ground where they had a better chance of avoiding German fighters.
Blackhawk savored the vibration of the engine, the song of the wire rigging and, most of all, the wind in his face. He hadn't been in a small plane like this since he finished his flight training in the Polish Air Force before the war. He wanted to take the controls and see what he could do. The plane didn't have an intercom so he reached forward and tapped the Major's shoulder. When she turned to look at him, he pointed at the controls. "Can I try?" he shouted. Litvyak smiled, and suddenly she was even more beautiful. She understood his need to fly and nodded assent. Blackhawk grasped the stick and put his feet on the pedals. He felt Litvyak release control. He just held the ship steady for a bit, getting the feel of the controls. Then he tried a few gentle turns and then some more radical maneuvers. The biplane was nimble but not very quick. It was nothing like the power of flying a Grumman Skyrocket nor the speed of a Lockheed Shooting Star, but he enjoyed every minute of it. He had just leveled the ship out, ready to relinquish control when, without warning, the controls jerked in his hands. He let loose of the stick instantly even as the Russian pilot banked the biplane hard to the right.
The lean shape of a Focke Wolf 190D flashed by them. It started to bank also, but its higher speed forced it into a much wider turn. Major Litvyak pushed the nose of the Po-2 down, diving for the ground half a mile below. Blackhawk fastened the gunner's harness around his waist, unbuckled his seat belt and turned to kneel on the seat. He undogged the 7.62 mm ShKAS air-cooled machine gun and swung it around on its ring-mount. He lifted the breech cover and checked that the ammo belt was seated properly, snapped the cover back down and pulled back the charging handle. He scanned the star spangled sky and immediately found the German fighter lining up for another pass. The fighter seemed to grow in size rapidly as it came at them at twice their top speed.
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