The J-8F No. 81103 was unable to receive the signal sent by the Forgotten Reef navigation station, which meant that Li Hai not only lost the guidance of the ground commander, but also lost the guidance of the navigation system.
Apart from airborne radar, the only thing he could use was aeronautical charts.
Airborne radar is not omnipotent. It cannot detect Forgotten Reef more than 100 kilometers away. Under such severe weather conditions, the original limited sea search range of airborne radar is severely restricted.
However, the first problem Li Hai has to solve now is how to cross the storm circle of dozens of kilometers.
What are the advantages of the J-8F, high altitude and high speed!
Li Hai kept doing nothing, repeatedly turning on and off the afterburner, and continued to climb at an elevation angle of 45 degrees. His goal is an altitude of 15,000 meters. If he cannot completely avoid the impact of the storm, he will consider continuing to climb to 18,000 meters!
The fuel balance was visibly reduced. When the fuel in the auxiliary tanks was completely consumed, he decisively discarded all the auxiliary fuel tanks, and the fighter's climb rate suddenly increased a lot. After experiencing hellish torture again, Li Hai gradually felt that the influence of the airflow was weakening.
To be on the safe side, he did not resume level flight but continued to climb.
The rate of climb continues to decrease as altitude increases. When passing an altitude of 11,000 meters, Li Hai suddenly noticed a large bright spot appeared in front of him on the display screen. He turned urgently to change the direction of the aircraft's nose, and then passed by the big bright spot. When I turned my head to look, I realized that it was a huge four-engine passenger plane. It was only a few hundred meters away. The long airspeed tube of the J-8F No. 81103 was about to pierce the belly of the four-engine passenger plane. , causing a tragic air crash.
Everyone on the Japan Airlines four-engine passenger plane did not realize that they had just passed through the gate of hell. In order to fly over the storm circle, according to the guidance of the controller, they climbed to an altitude of more than 11,000 meters, but they almost died there. into the hands of Li Hai.
Li Hai secretly took a breath, calmed down and continued to climb to 16,000 meters. Finally, he felt a relatively stable airflow, and Li Hai resumed level flight.
At this time, his course was about ten degrees different from the Forgotten Reef. If he flew on this course, he would miss the airport perfectly in ten minutes.
Li Hai was very calm. After letting the fighter plane maintain cruising speed, he immediately took out the aviation chart and studied it carefully. Relying on the information presented by the instrument, you first determine your specific location, and then make calculations based on the airport location on the aeronautical chart.
There is no way to be very accurate, but at least he knows the yaw.
Just ignoring an extremely small detail or data can have serious consequences. Li Hai was not only concerned about the fuel reserve, he was also worried that the situation of Nanyu 33076 could not be transmitted back in time, which would delay the rescue time.
So what if I can't fly back? The worst I can do is abandon the plane and eject.
Compared with precious human lives, a mere fighter plane is nothing, let alone a J-8F that is expected to be refurbished in a few years.
If his thoughts were known to the older generation of pilots, they would definitely be scolded. It is difficult for new recruits who have not experienced the era when J-7s were covered with canvas to avoid leaks to understand the current situation faced by the older generation of pilots.
However, looking at it from another perspective, this is not progress. Do you have to fight tooth and nail to keep the fighter plane to be a hero? At least now it is limited by production capacity rather than funds.
If this was an aircraft that had collected a large amount of flight test data, Li Hai would not hesitate to choose to keep the fighter at all costs, as any pilot would.
This is not the case now.
In fact, Li Hai did not think that newborn calves were not afraid of tigers and could not fly back. The aircraft was in normal condition. Except for the failure of the communication system, the fuel was sufficient and the flight performance was good. Moreover, Li Hai strongly felt that his condition was reaching a peak. He was too confident.
Xue Zhengrong and others on the tower were worried. Seeing No. 81103 flying in the correct direction little by little, they breathed a sigh of relief and chanted silently over and over again: Turn again, turn again, turn again. , turn one more degree, and immediately aim at the Forgotten Reef.
Li Hai was struggling in his heart.
There was a big gap between the heading calculated from instrument data and charts and the heading he felt was correct. He had to adjust his course according to his feelings many times, and every time Xue Zhengrong's warning sounded in his ears - fly with instruments!
In the midst of such suffering, he paid close attention to the changes in instrument data. I always subconsciously look outside, but I can't see anything except judging the direction through the planets to corroborate the heading data. Night flying is like blindfolding a pilot and letting him rush forward at a speed of eight to nine hundred kilometers per hour. The psychological barriers to be overcome are sometimes far more difficult than flying skills.
In addition to heading, distance is also required.
The inconsistency in the route results in a large deviation between the flight distance and the actual distance to Forgotten Reef. At this time, it all depends on the pilot's judgment.
Assume that the final heading is correct, how far you flew when you yaw, how far you flew until the final heading, and then calculate the error value based on the straight-line distance between your location and Forgotten Reef... This involves The relationship between trigonometric functions will make liberal arts students collapse.
Without reference or guidance, Li Hai was thinking of J-7EGGH No. 037 at this moment. Although that legendary fighter plane had a cockpit layout like that of an auto parts store, its situational awareness capabilities far exceeded that of ordinary fighters. Only then did Li Hai understand the reason why No. 037 J-7EGGH became what it is today. It was obvious that Li Zhan had continuously modified it according to the problems he encountered during long-term use, and finally formed it. Now this is not a beautiful but practical form.
People, you will regret it only if you miss it, and you will know the goodness of your ex only if you miss it.
In the airspace 20 kilometers east of Forgotten Reef, at an altitude of 16,000 meters, Li Hai began to descend. He kept the engines running at full power and relied only on adjusting the flaps to control the pitch angle. There are storm clouds below, and maintaining the most abundant power is the basic guarantee for traveling through the past.
He was not sure that the Forgotten Reef was ahead, but whether it was calculated results or sensory judgment, it was necessary to lower the height at this moment, to a height where he could visually see the sea surface. The best result is that the airborne radar can provide feedback during the descent.
A staff officer on the tower said subconsciously in a deep voice, "He yawed three times! If this continues, he will miss the airport!"
Li Hai went too far when adjusting his course and changed from a northerly yaw to a southerly yaw of three degrees. This means that at the distance from which he should have seen the Forgotten Reef, the fighter plane was actually about five feet north of the Forgotten Reef. kilometers away. In the dark night during heavy rain, the pilot cannot see the Forgotten Reef five kilometers away.
Xue Zhengrong had experienced big winds and waves after all, so he said in a solemn voice, "Don't worry yet. Let us know, turn on all the air searchlights, and drive all the cars to both sides of the runway and turn on their headlights!"
"yes!"
