Zhou Zhihan is no stranger to the Stearman PT-17 bi-wing trainer aircraft. This trainer aircraft is exactly the same as the one in the "Air Dominance" secret book. It sparkles in the rising sun and is very beautiful.
This AT-6 Texan trainer aircraft has retractable landing gear. The star-shaped engine is tightly wrapped by a luminous fairing. Its wings are made of special mixed materials instead of wood. They are arranged at the bottom of both sides of the belly of the aircraft and are slightly tilted upwards. They are suitable for taking off at a large angle and suitable for rookies to practice landing techniques.
Major General Pat Plouffe extended his thumb to the aircraft mechanic standing by the mechanical hangar and pointed at the AT-6 Texan.
The aircraft mechanic nodded to Major General Pat Plouffe and extended his thumb, indicating that it was okay to take off.
Seeing both of them extending their thumbs to indicate OK, Zhou Zhihan suddenly thought, why don't they use five fingers to make an OK gesture?
I understand, it should be during World War II, and no good tactical moves have been invented yet.
A flight sergeant took the flight ladder and leaned against the aircraft. He climbed up first and opened the cockpit cover of the aircraft.
Another flight sergeant took two sets of flight suits, a flight helmet, flight goggles, and flight gloves.
Unlike all previous trainer aircraft with two rows at the front and rear, the AT-6 Texan's main driver and co-pilot are two-seater side by side, which is more conducive for students to see the instructor's various driving techniques and Operation skills can more clearly observe the instructor's lower limbs stepping on the rudder during flight, as well as the depth, weight, and urgency of the movements during the rudder operation.
When Major General Pat Plouffe and Zhou Zhihan sat in the cockpit and fastened their flight seat belts, the flight sergeant closed the flight canopy for them and pulled away the flight ladders on both sides.
Turn on the power switch.
Turn on the cockpit lights.
"boom!"
Major General Pat Plouffe started the single-engine engine, and the two-blade propeller rotated rapidly, and then seemed to be reversing during the rapid rotation.
All dashboards are normal.
All oil pressures are normal.
Major General Pat Plouffe gently pushed the throttle forward and released the parking trigger on his right hand.
The AT-6 Texan fuselage shook and slowly moved forward.
The throttle valve is slowly pushed forward.
The speed of the plane gradually increased.
Major General Pat Plouffe pulled back the control stick, raised the wings, raised the nose of the AT-6 slightly, and left the ground with two bumps of the front wheels. Driven by the acceleration of the speed and the tension of the wings, The rear wheel also bumped slightly twice. The moment it left the ground, Major General Pat Plouffe quickly pushed the throttle forward and increased the fuel supply. At the same time, he continued to pull the joystick backward. The AT-6 Texas The Sri Lankan raised its nose, attacked at an elevation angle of 30 degrees, and jumped into the air.
Zhou Zhihan had only flown in the system before. Today was the first time to watch a real-person aircraft take off at close range. There was nothing new about it. Instead, he felt that Major General Pat Plouff's takeoff operation was a little sloppy, especially when the aircraft was taking off and landing. The moment all the wheels left the ground, Major General Pat Plouffe pushed the throttle forward and pulled the joystick back without synchronizing, causing the nose of the AT-6 Texan to sink slightly, so his The initial elevation angle can only reach a maximum of 30 degrees upward attack.
Don't underestimate the 5-degree elevation angle.
The same fighter aircraft climbs toward the sky with all its strength at an elevation angle of 30 degrees and an elevation angle of 35 degrees at the same time. When it reaches an altitude of 3,000 meters, the former is at least five seconds behind the latter.
These five seconds, if it occurs in an air combat, are the difference between heaven and hell.
Zhou Zhihan conservatively estimated that if he were to fly this aircraft, he could at least make an upward attack at an elevation angle of 45 degrees immediately after leaving the ground.
This is normal. No matter how awesome the instructor is, he can't compare to the [Air Overlord] cheats.
Retracting the landing gear, Major General Pat Plouffe pushed the throttle forward and continued to pull the control stick backward. The nose of the aircraft climbed upward at a 45-degree angle.
As the plane climbed upwards, Major General Pat Plouffe looked at Zhou Zhihan out of the corner of his eye. The Chinese student was sitting calmly in the co-pilot. There was no surprise at all like other students showed when they first flew. Nervous, excited, apprehensive and other body or facial expressions.
Being calm, calm and calm in the air is the essential temperament of an excellent pilot, and most of this temperament needs to be developed.
Major General Pat Plouff has trained many outstanding pilots, but he has never seen any student be as calm as this Chinese student on his first flight.
He still remembers the first time he was taken off by the instructor. He was excited, his heart beat faster, and his hands trembled slightly. When the plane quickly climbed upwards, he opened his mouth and felt the passion brought by the speed.
But this student acted as if nothing had happened. He quietly watched himself operating the aircraft and the aircraft's instrument panel. He did not seem to be confused by these dazzlingly complex instrument panels.
Major General Pat Plouffe nodded slightly. This Chinese student has the temperament of an ace pilot.
When the aircraft climbed to 3,200 meters, Major General Pat Plouffe suddenly yanked the control column backward and pushed the throttle all the way. The aircraft hooked back 180 degrees, with the belly of the aircraft facing upwards and the head of the person facing downwards. He flew upside down in an arc until the nose of the aircraft pointed at the ground at an angle of 40 degrees. Then he pressed the control stick right and raised the right flap to reduce drag and increase the lift of the left flap. The AT-6 trainer did A 180-degree half roll to the right with the nose and tail as the axis, then a hook maneuver was performed and the aircraft flew forward and level.
Major General Pat Plouffe has been immersed in this maneuver for decades. Whether it is applying fuel to the lever during the roll to enter inverted flight, or using the lever to roll during the recovery, and quickly returning to level flight, he has reached a perfect level of proficiency. the point.
Major General Pat Plouffe glanced sideways at Zhou Zhihan: "Student Zhou, if you feel dizzy, nauseous, or want to vomit, there is a vomit bag nearby."
Zhou Zhihan still had a calm expression just now, looking at the sky in front of him. He glanced at all the instruments on the dashboard. Hearing the principal's concern, he immediately replied: "Thank you, General! The air here is so good!"
General Pat Plouffe couldn't help but admire in his heart, this Chinese student's physical fitness is super strong, and his mental fitness is so strong that he has no friends. Can he get more students like this?
A few days ago, when Lieutenant Colonel Jack Linton reported the call from the Marine Corps to obtain the files of this Chinese cadet to Major General Pat Plouffe, the Major General thought he had heard wrongly, so he called himself the Marine asked.
When the instructors of the Marine Corps reported Zhou Zhihan’s results in the physical fitness test for graduates of West Point Military Academy, Major General Pat Plouffe was dubious at first, but then he was completely convinced, because the instructors of the Marine Corps selected outstanding members. He has a sharp eye and will never report random results, let alone choose the wrong person.
Especially when he heard from the Marine Corps instructor that Zhou Zhihan won the bomb-dropping test against Major General Arthur King, General Pat Plouffe was convinced of Zhou Zhihan's achievements and immediately let Jack Linton win. The school recruited Zhou Zhihan back.
Just the afternoon before yesterday, Major General Arthur King personally called him and said that this Chinese student was a rare talent who should be well cultivated and would have a bright future. Major General Arthur King even explained to Zhou Zhihan why he deliberately Be a salty fish that doesn’t want to turn over.
Lieutenant Colonel Jack Linton came up with the idea of having Zhou Zhihan carry a 30 kilogram weight from a military airport and complete a 14-kilometer armed march within 2 hours. He believed that based on the results reported by the Marine Corps instructors, Zhou Zhihan was fully capable. March to Randolph Air Force Base in two hours.
But what everyone didn't expect was that Zhou Zhihan only needed one hour to set the best result in the 30-kilogram armed march since the founding of the Randolph Air Force Academy.
No principal does not want his students to become top students.
Therefore, Major General Pat Plouffe could not hold back his joy and decided to make an exception and personally take Zhou Zhihan into the air. He wanted to personally test the Chinese student's psychological quality at high altitudes.
So far, Major General Pat Plouffe has given Zhou Zhihan an additional 20 points after giving him a perfect score for his high-altitude performance.
From being a rookie pilot to now being the principal of the Randolph Air Force Academy, Major General Pat Plouffe has never seen anyone with better psychological quality at high altitudes than this Chinese student.
This student is definitely a flying genius!
Major General Pat Plouffe was in a happy mood. He suddenly pushed the control column forward, and the nose of the AT-6 Texan suddenly drooped and dived. It was pulled up again when it was still 600 meters above the ground, and it quickly headed towards the sky again. Climbing, the powerful roar of the engine and the downward force of the dive frightened some rookies who were watching on the ground. They quickly plugged their ears and squatted on the ground.
Zhou Zhihan secretly praised that all the generals in the United States are indeed worthy of their reputation. Judging from the timing that Major General Pat Plouffe had just when he pulled up the AT-6 when he dived to ultra-low altitude, he can definitely be called an ace pilot.
Major General Pat Plouffe took another look at Zhou Zhihan to see if he was frightened by the ultra-low altitude dive.
Zhou Zhihan said calmly: "General! You just dived at a speed of 350 kilometers, and the plane did not pull up until it was only 600 meters above the ground. This timing is so beautiful that only an ace pilot can do it."
While Major General Pat Plouffe was in full bloom, he was even more shocked by the student's super psychological quality and sharp observation ability.
