Major General Parker held his pipe in his mouth and climbed up the ladder to the side of the aircraft cockpit. He looked at Zhou Zhihan up and down and felt a little incredible - could he really be a genius?
Major General Mallory also climbed up from the ladder on the other side with a pipe in his mouth. He first took a look at the various instruments in the cockpit, and then asked: "Colonel Zhou! Are you sure you can remember all this in one minute?" Instruments and joysticks?”
"remember."
"Remember everything?"
"Yes General! I remember everything!"
Zhou Zhihan affirmed again.
Major General Parker and Major General Mallory looked at each other and nodded. If the Chinese Air Force chief instructor can remember even thirty-two control handles and instruments in one minute, he is a genius.
You know, even if you are a flight instructor, he will be dazzled by the dazzling array of instrument panels when he has just sat in the cabin of another aircraft he has never seen before. And this is not an endorsement, it is to point to each instrument or control accurately. The position of the handle.
During an air combat, all the pilot's attention is focused on the enemy aircraft and the surrounding air conditions. If he glances at the enemy aircraft and then lowers his head to look for various control handles or a certain instrument panel, it will be a disaster.
Major General Parker said: "Please close your eyes and count from 1 to 50 loudly and quickly."
Zhou Zhihan did as he was told: "12345...55." Then he opened his eyes.
Zhou Zhihan was sitting in the cabin. Major General Parker and Major General Marillo were standing on the escalators on both sides of the cabin.
Major General Parker: "Please point your finger at the oil dilution push switch."
Zhou Zhihan stared into the distance, and his left index finger accurately pointed to the lubricant dilution button switch just as Major General Parker finished speaking.
Major General Pike looked at Major General Marillo and then said: "Tail Viper trim adjustment wheel."
Zhou Zhihan still looked ahead and pointed his finger accurately at the tail snake trim adjustment wheel.
There is also a pressure head heating switch between the lubricating oil dilution button switch and the tail snake trim adjustment wheel. Major General Parker jumped on purpose and said it just to disrupt the order. Unexpectedly, Zhou Zhihan pointed directly at it without even looking at it. .
This was far beyond the expectations of Major General Parker and Major General Marillo.
"Compass."
Zhou Zhihan looked into the distance and pointed at the compass.
Completely correct.
"Identifier friend or foe switch."
Zhou Zhihan's right finger pointed accurately.
"Reflex sight battery box."
"Idle Run Circuit Breaker Switch."
"Boost control circuit breaker."
"Brake triple pressure gauge."
"Flap switch."
"Oxygen supply regulator."
"Radio station controller."
"Oxygen tube."
"Engine tachometer."
"Radiator Thermometer."
The more Major General Parker spoke, the more surprised he became. Every time he finished speaking, Zhou Zhihan could always reach out his finger accurately and specify the location of the instruction, and his eyes looked into the distance, relying entirely on his weak peripheral vision and memory.
When Major General Parker mentioned the fifteenth, General Hugh Dowding on the ground nodded slightly. This young Chinese man made people look forward to it.
"GM 2 Reflex Sight."
"Elevator Attitude Indicator."
"Turn and skid meter."
"Direction indicator setting knob."
…
When Major General Parker mentioned the thirty-fifth number, Admiral Hugh Dowding, who was holding a pipe in his mouth, kept nodding. This young Chinese man had an amazing memory. He could remember so much in just one minute. He was indeed a formidable person.
Could it be said that this is genius?
Those who had despised Zhou Zhihan in the monastery conference room just now couldn't help but cheer from the bottom of their hearts. This instructor from the East, regardless of his flying skills, was also a talent based on his memory.
Major General Parker continued:
"Oil pressure gauge."
"Fuel gauge and knob."
"Auxiliary tank fuel gauge."
"Ejection switch for drop tank."
"Engine tachometer."
Zhou Zhihan pointed out everything accurately.
When Major General Parker finished speaking about the last joystick, everyone on the ground looked at the cockpit of the "Spitfire" fighter jet, and everyone was stunned.
Major General Pike and Major General Marillo looked at each other again and nodded at the same time, absolutely right.
Major General Parker was so impressed that the Chinese Air Force chief instructor in front of him had the most extraordinary memory he had ever seen. He was so admired that he was even a little jealous: "Colonel Zhou! Your memory is so outstanding, how did you do it? ?”
"It's very simple!" Zhou Zhihan said naturally, "I have been like this since I was a child. I have always been like this."
Major General Parker choked for a moment, but he was not angry and could not be angry. People said this was the truth. Geniuses start from childhood.
Growing up to be a genius with average aptitude since childhood is not a human being, at least not a human being on this planet.
Then Major General Pike turned around and gave Admiral Hugh Dowding a thumbs-up—exactly.
"Quick!" Admiral Hugh Dowding was pleasantly surprised for a while, "Quickly, let Colonel Zhou fly around in the Spitfire."
According to the procedure, even if Zhou Zhihan met the requirements, he still had to do some simulation exercises on the ground, with the guidance of a special instructor, and he could only fly after he was proficient in the simulation operations, but Admiral Hugh Dowding decided to skip these clichés. Sticking to the rules in wartime is consigned to the trash can.
General Hugh Dowding forgot his age. He waved his fists excitedly: "I want to accompany Colonel Zhou to the sky in person!" Now, he fully believed that the Air Force chief instructor from China could find Messerschmire. Special weakness.
"General!"
Lieutenant General Charles stretched out his hand and tugged on General Hugh Dowding's shirt, "At your age, don't go up there. Leave the opportunity to the young people!"
Admiral Hugh Dowding is fifty-eight years old this year. If it weren't for the damn Germans, he would have retreated to the second line last year. Now at the critical moment of the Dunkirk evacuation, Prime Minister Churchill has pushed him to the forefront again. The forefront of the Air Force, which is also the trust placed in him by the Prime Minister's Cabinet.
"Mr. Charles!" Admiral Hugh Dowding held a pipe in his mouth and smiled. "I have never felt so young. It's like I'm eighteen again."
In the 1930s and 1940s, pipes became an indispensable decoration for almost every senior smoker in Western countries. Regardless of whether they were young or old, as long as they smoked, almost everyone had a pipe.
Just now, the chief instructor of the Chinese Air Force showed his unparalleled intelligence. Now, everyone expects him to show flying skills that match his genius.
Turn on the ignition switch skillfully.
Turn on the dashboard lights.
Zhou Zhihan pressed the engine start button with his finger, and the "Spitfire" fighter jet that had just been like a sleeping swordsman suddenly roared. Two seconds later, the "Havilland" three-blade propeller changed from forward rotation to reverse rotation.
The oil pressure gauge is normal.
The radiator thermometer shows normal.
Open the supercharger adjustment knob.
Turn on the oil drain switch.
Release the handbrake trigger.
Push the throttle forward slightly.
"Buzz..."
The Spitfire roared forward.
The Spitfire fighter jet that had its propeller replaced had its initial takeoff run distance shortened from 422 yards to 225 yards, and its climb rate was also improved.
The Spitfire fighter jet moved forward quickly on the runway. Zhou Zhihan did not look at the speedometer at all. He applied the throttle according to the sound of the engine. After the Spitfire taxied 190 yards on the runway, Zhou Zhihan pushed the throttle forward and pulled back the control. Rod.
"squeak……"
The front two wheels of the Spitfire made a scraping sound against the ground. Just when everyone thought that the tires of the fighter jet would hit the ground again to take off, the Spitfire had already taken off.
Admiral Hugh Dowding took the pipe out of his mouth and shook his head in praise: "God! His take-off actually only ran 190 yards, and the tires took off in one go without touching the ground. This goes against the principles of dynamics. Ah! How did he do it."
