This is the port city of Ludong where autumn tigers are raging, and the training base of the Naval Aviation Academy.
On the runway, a Coach-9G "Sea Mountain Eagle" trainer aircraft accelerated and taxied. With a neat wheel lift, the War Eagle took off southward, climbing steadily along the established take-off route.
"Tower, the Yaoliu turning is in good condition, close the wheel." Quasi-pilot Li Hai reported to the tower for instructions. He looked to the left and saw that the rising sun was just right and was dispersing the cold dew in the early morning in eastern Shandong.
Director of the Air Force Aviation Tactics Research Institute, General Technical Advisor to the Air Force Aviation University and Distinguished Professor of the School of Marxism, recipient of the Air Force Flying Technical Personnel Special Allowance, Director of the Air Force Special Operations Research Center, General Director of Sea and Air Tactics of the Naval Aviation Command, and Naval Aviation Academy Colonel Li Zhan (deputy military position), part-time chief instructor and the first chief instructor of the growth class, sat at the tower to direct the solo flight of the new batch of student pilots.
(For the story of Li Zhan, please see the second part of the Rifle Military Trilogy, "The Fighting Falcon of the Great Power")
Those who were flying solo were the growth class students he personally recruited back then. In order to participate in their solo flight day, Li Zhan, who was participating in military exchange activities in St. Petersburg, returned home early and rushed to the Naval Aviation Academy training base.
After today, these student pilots will become real naval pilots. As for whether they can become brave men who fly Shark fighters to take off and land on the aircraft carrier deck as Li Zhan expected, it will take some time. Maybe many of them will be eliminated along the way. Out.
He instructed: "The Yaoliu can be used to close the wheel."
"Understood, retract the wheel." Li Hai retracted the landing gear and turned left according to the predetermined plan.
In 2013, he entered the Hainan Aviation College through recruitment and became one of the first batch of "growth mode" carrier-based aircraft pilot students. More than four years of hard training have finally come in handy today. Today's solo flight means a new beginning, one step closer to becoming a carrier-based fighter pilot.
Li Hai is confident that he can complete his solo career perfectly.
"Bang!"
War Eagle trembled.
"Warning warning... warning warning..."
"Tower, stop at the 16th corner. No more power. I hit a bird. I hit a bird. Report. I hit a bird."
"Don't panic, Yaoliuguai will continue to turn left! All returning fighters should get out of the airspace!" Li Zhan issued several instructions in a very short period of time.
Li Hai quickly calmed down, and his tone was not obviously flustered. He was relatively calm, "Continuously turn left, facing the no man's land! Yaoliuguai Yao is parachuting! I'm going to parachute!"
"Be careful to avoid densely populated areas!"
"Understood, processed!"
Li Hai pulled the ejection tab, the cockpit broke open, and the ejection seat instantly popped up and was thrown high. At this time, it was only 101 meters above the ground. When Li Hai landed, his parachute was not fully opened. Fortunately, he came across a field that had just been loosened. After landing, he quickly checked and found that there were only some minor scratches, and he was secretly grateful.
While he was still in the air, he saw Coach-9G "Sea Mountain Eagle" No. 167 plunge to the ground and quickly explode and burst into flames. The crash location is very safe, more than 500 meters away from the nearest residence.
Li Hai breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Without any time to think, he strode towards the crash site, getting faster and faster, and finally broke into a trot.
On the control tower, through the camera mounted on the fighter plane, Li Zhan saw the entire process of the fighter plane crashing to the ground and everything in the cockpit. He was very satisfied with Li Hai's calm and composed emergency operation, which was extremely valuable for a student who was just starting to fly solo.
For Li Zhan, who is known as an expert in dealing with dangerous situations, what he saw in front of him really didn't matter. He even came up with an idea - whether to let this new recruit who encountered a special danger in his first solo flight to the Flying Shark Unit in advance. If you go through a lot of training, you might be able to train a successor.
The people nearby did not realize that something had happened until the fighter plane crashed to the ground. Many people ran here, calling the police while running, and some called the military airport gate.
The village chief drove a motorcycle to catch up and shouted to everyone: "Why are you running around! Find the pilot! Disperse and find the pilot! Call the clinic and ask the doctor to come over!"
The entire process from bird strike to crash only lasted nineteen seconds.
"Village Chief! Isn't that the pilot?" A middle-aged man said loudly, pointing at Li Hai running towards the smoking crash site in the distance.
The army's emergency rescue team is already on its way.
Li Hai came to the crash site and saw the shape of the fighter plane. The nose was missing and the fuselage was broken into two sections. However, the wings remained relatively intact. The damage to the engine compartment seemed to be the second most serious and was still occurring. on fire.
Standing there, Li Hai lowered his head and stared at the war eagle in silence, as if in mourning.
This Trainer-9 "Haishan Eagle", which had been in service for only three years, died young and devoted his "life" to building a strong People's Naval Aviation Force.
The danger happened in an instant, so that Li Hai didn't have enough time to handle it according to regular actions. With nineteen seconds to deal with it, he only gave himself three seconds to parachute. It can only be said that I was lucky to be able to skydive from such a low altitude without any injuries.
Engine shutdown during takeoff is a special aerial danger. The bird strike occurred in an instant. Li Hai did not even have time to judge the cause. The engine stopped instantly and the fighter plane lost power.
He reported quickly and made a decisive and continuous left turn, risking a stall and turning the nose of the plane toward the farmland area on the left, avoiding the dense residential buildings on the normal takeoff route.
Therefore, on his first solo flight in his flying career, he encountered a severe mid-air danger. Fortunately, everyone was safe and sound.
"Man, I'm sorry, have a good trip." Li Hai sighed in a low voice and saluted the "remains" of the war eagle.
The emergency rescue team rushed to seal the scene, and Li Hai was taken away by ambulance. After a series of aviation medical examinations, Li Hai was sent to a guest house to stay after repeatedly confirming that he was fine. What follows is a series of investigations as usual. Don't expect a go-around within a few months.
A week later, Xue Xiangnan, the commander of the Sea Eagle Regiment of HNA, nicknamed Cannon, came over.
"How are you feeling? Hey, you kid has gained weight. It looks like the food is good." Xue Xiangnan smiled and sat down and pointed at Li Hai who was standing there, "Sit down, sit down and talk."
"yes!"
Li Hai sat down and said with a wry smile, "Can I eat every day without getting fat after waking up? Captain, when will the investigation results be out?"
"Why are you anxious? You were the one to fly. Let me tell you, your handling was timely and correct, and you avoided crashing in a densely populated area. The team decided to give you credit. But the results of the investigation must come out. This is the process. , you can't go faster even if you want to." Xue Xiangnan said.
Li Hai said, "What credit do I have? I deserve it for not saving the plane. But the captain, please tell the investigation team to hurry up. The year-end assessment is coming soon. I might have to miss it."
"Is that what I have the final say?" Xue Xiangnan asked, waving his hand and saying, "You don't want to participate in the year-end assessment..."
"How can that be done?" Li Hai became anxious upon hearing this.
Xue Xiangnan glared, "Why are you in such a hurry? The captain is still irritable even after being connected. Can you just listen to what I have to say?"
"Yes..." Li Hai lowered his head.
He is a good prospect. Although his performance is not outstanding among the new recruits in the same period, he always stands out in every assessment and examination. He is a new generation of pilots that Xue Xiangnan values very much. He can't wait to train him as a key talent of the Sea Eagle Regiment. After two or three more years of experience, he will be a good pilot again. He is the ace of the Seahawks.
It's a pity that he is a young member of the Flying Shark Army.
Xue Xiangnan said, "You are the first batch of carrier-based fighter pilots trained in the growth mode. The Haisi has ordered that some of you be selected from your group to directly conduct training on the modification of the Flying Shark fighter. Arrive before 18:00 on September 5th. Report to the Fertile Land Training Base. After organized research, it was decided to send you and the party to serve the people."
"Flying Shark? Can I modify the Flying Shark? I can participate in modifying the Flying Shark now!" Li Hai stood up suddenly, with a fierce desire in his eyes.
Wasn't it just to fly the Flying Shark fighter when I participated in the pilot recruitment? I became the first batch of carrier-based fighter pilots trained in the growth model and looked forward to the day when I flew the Flying Shark fighter. According to the training plan, this group of rookies will have to train for a few more months before they can modify the Flying Shark, which is the J-15. Now they have the opportunity to advance it, can you not be excited!
Xue Xiangnan was unhappy again, "What do you sound like! Sit down!"
"Yes!" Li Hai sat down, unable to sit still and excited.
Flying Shark training, the training to train carrier-based fighter pilots, is considered a palace-level training, an epic level of difficulty training that all the proud men soaring in the sky are eager to participate in.
He didn't expect that the opportunity would fall on him inadvertently and early.
"Oh no, Captain, my establishment seems to be in our Sea Eagle Regiment. So, Captain, is this a formal transfer or is it?" Li Hai couldn't help but ask.
Xue Xiangnan became even more unhappy, "Why, my small temple of the Sea Eagle Regiment can't support you? Is my Bald Eagle fighter so unpopular?"
"No, no, that's not what I meant, Captain. Our Sea Eagles are famous, the number one flying group in the world, everyone in the world knows about it..."
"Okay, okay, don't sing hymns like me." Xue Xiangnan wanted to be angry and didn't know where it came from. He pointed at Li Hai and said, "As for you, you are in the Haiying Regiment, but with your ability, sooner or later you will be If you drive Feisha, I can't keep you here. But I remind you that Feisha training adopts a full elimination system. If you fail in any item, you will be asked to pack up and get out. At that time, you will have no choice but to return to my place. Xiaomiao honestly gave me the Bald Eagle! You all want to fly carrier-based fighter jets, right? Then you have to see if you have the talent! Let me tell you, you and the party and the people must fight for me when they get there. !”
Li Hai grinned and said, "Captain, that is necessary. But if we stay in Feisha, will you let us go?"
"If you have the ability to stay, I won't stop you!" Xue Xiangnan said angrily.
Anyone who had worked so hard to cultivate the top talents would be unhappy. Now two of them had to be given away. How could Xue Xiangnan not be angry? It's just that he can't stop it no matter what, unless Li Hai is brushed off.
He sighed and said, "You are all trained as carrier-based fighter pilots. You can't keep them even if you want to. The order was given by the Marine Division, and there is nothing the Ship Division can do about it. The rank of a senior official is crushing people to death. This is more than two years old." Level. Get ready, I'll send someone to take you there tomorrow."
"Captain, don't be angry, maybe the party, the people, and I will be eliminated." Li Hai said smoothly.
Xue Xiangnan immediately stood up and said seriously, "If you don't have the determination, then don't go. I'll choose someone else!"
"No, no, Captain, I didn't mean that." Li Hai secretly thought, and quickly stood up and stood at attention, "Report to the Captain, I will do my best to pass six levels and kill six generals until the end, to win glory for you and the Sea Eagles Win glory!"
Xue Xiangnan finally lost some of his anger, "You still look like a sea and air eagle, although you are not yet a real Sea Eagle pilot. I remind you that this matter is confidential and cannot be told to anyone, Lin Li No way either.”
"Yes! Understood!" Li Hai said decisively.
After a pause, Xue Xiangnan said, "Logically speaking, you just suffered a special danger and cannot participate in the training, but Mr. Li has spoken and called your name. You are lucky."
"Mr. Li, do you want my general?" Li Hai became even more excited.
The General Li they refer to refers to the college’s part-time chief instructor Colonel Li Zhan (who enjoys deputy military level treatment) who was introduced earlier and has a long list of titles. He is a legend of the People’s Air Force. He is only thirty-four years old but already has 4,000 pilots. As a young "little prince of levers", his position in the Navy was even part-time, and his full-time position was still in the Air Force. This person also has a nickname - an expert in handling dangerous situations in the air. He is a legendary pilot who has grown up quickly in various dangerous situations.
Perhaps because of this, Li Zhan looked at Li Hai with admiration, who crashed the plane while flying solo.
"There are not many people who can catch the eye of Mr. Li. You are a new recruit, so you have something to offer. Try your best."
After a while, Xue Xiangnan softened his tone and said, "How are you going to explain to Lin Li? You're a good girl. She left her hometown to come here to work for you. I think so, I'll go get the marriage certificate tomorrow. The wedding is I’ll make it up later and give people an explanation.”
Li Hai was startled, "Captain, getting married is too hasty for such a big event."
"There's nothing wrong with it. You two are high school classmates and you can be considered childhood sweethearts. You have been in love for four or five years. You have been here for almost a year. Did the girl come over from your hometown and find a job in the station? No. Is it just to spend more time with you?" Xue Xiangnan said, suddenly thinking of something, his face became serious, "Is your kid falling in love with someone else?"
When Li Hai heard this, he quickly shook his head and denied, "No, no, how could I be in love with someone else? I'd be very interested in someone else, let alone a girl I've liked since high school. That's right, I'm just... "
"What is it? Don't be hesitant and say it." Xue Xiangnan pointed at the tip of Li Hai's nose, as if he was explaining something unreasonable and then scolding him.
Li Hai's high head slowly lowered, and his tone was very serious, "Captain, as you know, the risk of flying a carrier-based fighter is extremely high, especially the landing. Flying is a high-risk job, and carrier-based pilots are on a knife's edge. You know how risky it is to fly. I'm afraid..."
Xue Xiangnan's heart ached with pain. Who could say it wasn't true? Especially for Li Hai, who had just survived a take-off collision with a bird, he had a deeper understanding of the risks and consequences.
"I'm afraid I'm sorry for her." Li Hai's voice was very, very low, as if it was squeezed out of his throat.
Xue Xiangnan fell silent, unable to get around the practical issues. Don't combat pilots deserve love? No, it's because they love her so much that they don't want her to suffer even the slightest bit of pain.
If Lin Li knew what Li Hai was thinking, she would definitely slap him in the face - selfish!
"Okay, okay, I don't care about you young people's affairs." Xue Xiangnan waved his hands irritably, neatly and without any sloppiness.
Quan Dang didn't understand.
He is the leader of the army and the leader of the regiment. At his age and level, it is difficult for him to return to his twenties and express emotions with Li Hai with a young mentality. The most important thing is the dilemma that Li Hai faces, and it is also a dilemma that he has never gotten out of.
What others see is the naval pilots galloping across the sea and air, exuding the excitement of combat-style youth. What they cannot see are the many family members behind them who are silently dedicated to the cause, as well as families who are not as happy as people imagine.
Are there many Li Hais? Maybe not. There are more young people who have difficulty balancing their career and family. They are either facing starting a family or have already started a family. What they cannot get rid of is the endless quarrels caused by the inability to balance their careers. Or for Lin Li, Li Hai's choice made her feel unfair, but from Li Hai's perspective, he thought it was fair to Lin Li.
Someone has to sacrifice, right?
"Captain, then, is my solo career a success or a failure?" Li Hai collected his emotions, raised his head and asked.
Xue Xiangnan said, "Of course it is considered a success. You have also made meritorious deeds. Don't worry."
Li Hai was relieved, which meant that he was qualified to fly a fighter plane independently.
PS: The navy is coming, please collect it!
