"Never hear me complaining about a flier taking a few extra seconds before he goes up to keep everything running safely. With all your tune integrated into one enchantment, usually if part fails, it all fails, but the one time you don't check..."
"May have been the first rider." Richard flipped the broom upside down and pointed to a small MD mark just above the twigs. "Nope. Matthias Dolderer, from Lausitzring. Famous German professional broom racer. One of the blokes who went in with me when we bought what was left of Bluebottle out of bankruptcy. Part of the advertising for the C-Class was to always have a well-known racer give the broom its first ride. Did a check ride on it a few days ago; like you, I believe in safety first, broom still has less than an hour air time on it."
He laughed at Arcturus' barrage of questions and handed the new broom to him. As Richard walked over to Miss Susan, he replied to the next. "I always try to have a name for things I talk to, or that have tried to kill me; in Susan's case, both. Named for the Granddaughter of Death in some books that are popular in my time. She's my primary short-track broom, with all my most advanced spellwork. The Lady Morticia is my cross-country broom. Different tune, more top end, a little less maneuverable.
Swinging up onto his broom with an easy, athletic grace, Rich brought the broom up to a ten foot hover. "Watch my hands. When I lay down and go to a forward hold, the charm will grab your chest. Shift your hands back to a normal hold and as you push up, the charm will let go." He went down flat on the stick and rolled the broom upside down. Letting go and kicking his feet loose from the irons, he threw arms and legs out wide, with only the charm holding him in place. "Charm is rated for 10 Gs negative; most people black out between 7 or 8. With the Novice Lock set, if you do go unconscious, the broom will switch into safety shutdown, kill thrust, roll upright if necessary, and drift down to the ground."
With one casual hand on the stick, Rich rolled back upright and set both hands and feet where they belonged. "Last thing I do in my preflight is work brake and thrust against each other. Listen, just listen, for anything that sounds out of sorts. When you get to know your broom, she'll talk to you, too. Oh, not in words, but you'll still know when she's feeling a little off.
"So mount up, young sir. I'll poke along a little below and behind you, in case you have any more questions. Slow and easy does it while you get a feel for your broom. She'll be quite the handful until you do."