Chapter 667 Flight Test Team
The rain in April was falling lightly.
On the runway, three J-11 fighter jets were preparing to take off.
The J-11 fighter is positioned as an all-weather multi-purpose heavy fighter. This 'all-weather' means that the fighter can perform combat missions during the day, night and under complex weather conditions.
Rainy weather naturally includes all-weather conditions.
This is not the first time the J-11 fighter jet has taken off on a rainy day, but it is the first time it has taken off in moderate rain conditions.
The previous rainy weather was all light rain.
And now, it’s moderate rain conditions!
The first batch of 12 J-11 fighter test pilots have taken turns driving the J-11 fighter jet to conduct various test missions in the past few months, which is very intensive.
The J-11 fighter jet shows very powerful performance.
Liu Tao held a telescope and looked at the three J-11 fighter jets in the rain.
Before, he had checked these three J-11 fighter jets and found that there were no problems with the three J-11 fighter jets.
During the test flight period, not only the test pilots conducted various tests on the fighter jets, but also the ground crews were trained.
And the Air Force will also build temperature-controlled hangars.
I saw the first J-11 fighter jet taxiing for a certain distance in the moderate rain, then taking off directly from the runway and soaring into the sky, followed by the second and third fighter jets taking off five minutes apart.
The posture is very graceful and domineering.
The plane quickly accelerated to supersonic speed and disappeared from sight.
This time, not only did it have to take off and land in moderate rain conditions, but it also required a test, which was to fly to an airport in Tibet Province at an altitude of 4,500 meters for a plateau test.
At that time, we will also fly over Mount Everest!
During the flight test phase of a fighter jet, there are many test flight projects to be completed.
The design indicators provided by Liu Tao only speed up the test flight progress and cannot avoid the test flight process.
"How was the selection of the second batch of test pilots?" Liu Tao asked.
The second batch of prototypes, three J-11 fighter jets, have been manufactured and have been tested by the first batch of test pilots.
The third batch of prototypes is now being produced. The third batch of prototypes is also producing three J-11 fighter jets.
This requires that the number of test pilots must be increased.
"It has been selected. There are 12 test pilots in total. By then there will be 24 J-11 fighter test pilots!" The person in charge of the test flight is Gao Zhiwei, an ace pilot with more than ten years of test flight experience. He is now older. , quit the front-line test flight and was responsible for building the test flight team of Guifei.
Liu Tao nodded and said, "Let's go see the second batch of test pilots!"
Gao Zhiwei took Liu Tao to a room. In the room, 12 test pilots were having a heated discussion about the three J-11 fighter jets that had just taken off in the rain.
Each of these test pilots looks very young.
"Hello, Dean!" When the 12 test pilots saw Gao Zhiwei coming in, they immediately stopped their discussion, stood up straight, and saluted.
Gao Zhiwei returned the military salute and then introduced: "This is Comrade Liu Tao, general manager and party secretary of Panshan Group and chief designer of the J-11 fighter jet."
"Hello, Chief!" The 12 test pilots saluted Liu Tao in unison, with curiosity and admiration in their eyes.
They had heard about Liu Tao, and they were filled with admiration.
After all, he was the chief designer of an advanced fighter jet.
"Hello, fellow comrades!" Liu Tao smiled and said hello: "Dean Gao, it seems that our second batch of test pilots are quite young. It is good to be young. Young people are energetic and have ideas. Learn quickly!”
Gao Zhiwei introduced: "This is Li Zhonghua. He graduated from Jinling University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Sixth Aviation School of the Air Force. He is an outstanding student of the China Test Pilot School. Since he entered the China Test Pilot School, he has ranked first in every exam. Participated in the selection and ranked first with perfect scores. I am 29 years old this year!”
Liu Tao took the initiative to shake hands with him, and being able to top the list with all-A's shows Li Zhonghua's excellence.
And he is also a highly educated person who can learn knowledge better.
"This is Xu Yongling, who graduated from the Beijing Aviation Academy and entered the Sixth Aviation School of the Air Force in 1984. During the flight learning period of the Liuhe JJ-5, he was the first student to be allowed to fly solo in all subjects during the same period, and he was a perfect student. In 1989, he was appointed by the Air Force and the Ministry of Aviation Industry to become a test pilot in the Air Force Test Flight Corps. He was selected as the second best in this selection. He is 28 years old this year!" Gao Zhiwei introduced the second place.
Xu Yongling saluted Liu Tao.
Liu Tao also solemnly returned the military salute and encouraged: "It is not terrible to make mistakes. It is terrible to not face them and not have the courage to correct them. A new life, a new starting point. I hope you will continue to work hard!"
On February 19, 1987, during a high-altitude formation flight of the J-6, because he was tired from playing basketball the day before, he misheard the command and mistakenly turned on the afterburner. He collided with the lead aircraft and both crashed. Both of them parachuted successfully and continued flying.
"Yes, Chief!" Xu Yongling said loudly.
Gao Zhiwei introduced one by one. Among the 12 test pilots, the oldest is 35 years old and the youngest is only 25 years old. It can be said that the second batch of test pilots are much younger than the first batch of test pilots.
The screen on the wall shows the latest assessment results and rankings of these 12 test pilots.
To be selected as a J-11 fighter test pilot, you have to learn a lot of knowledge, as well as physical training, regular physical examinations, and various assessments.
In order for the test pilots to devote themselves to the test flight work, their families are well arranged so that they have no worries.
"Comrades, as test pilots, you fight between life and death, you are well-deserved warriors! Now we have 6 J-11 fighters, 6 'J-7A' and 6 'Eagle' advanced trainer aircraft. As long as you work hard, you will have the opportunity to fly the aircraft!" Liu Tao said.
The test flight team will not only have the first and second batches of test pilots, but also the third and fourth batches of test pilots!
After all, in the future, there will be various aircraft to be developed and improved, which will not lack test pilots.
Similarly, the test pilots of the Y-10 must be trained from this time.
Together with these test pilots, answer some of their questions, and before you know it, three J-11 fighters have returned.
In the rain, the first J-11 fighter began to land, taxied on the runway, and finally stopped. Then the second and third J-11 fighters successfully landed.
In the room, everyone couldn't help but applaud.
Taking off and landing in rainy weather is different from usual, because in this kind of moderate rainy weather, visibility is reduced and the risk is much greater than usual.
But the three test pilots successfully completed the task.
After adding fuel and checking, the three J-11 fighters took off again. This time they will fly a long distance, flying nearly 1,500 kilometers, and land at the airport at an altitude of 4,500 meters.
The altitude here in Guifei is about 1,400 meters, and the altitude there is 4,500 meters, a difference of 3,100 meters, which is a big difference, and the environment will be different.