At six o'clock in the morning, the officers and soldiers of the ground support team used a snow plow truck converted from an aircraft engine retired from the J-6 fighter jet to clear the snow on the runway.
The snow was so thick that we had to use a professional snowplow to shovel off the thick layer, then use a snowplow to clear away the residue, and finally use an aircraft-powered snowplow to spray away the accumulated water.
Weilan crew and Yu Yang crew came to the flight briefing room thirty minutes earlier than the designated time to prepare and familiarize themselves with the training plan and flight route.
Li Hai, who had not slept well all night, also rushed over. He first went to the weather station to get the latest weather analysis, and then went to the flight briefing room.
He said straight to the point, "Deputy Wei, this is the latest weather report. The clouds are thickening, there is a high possibility of large-scale dense fog in the sky, and the visibility is very likely to be reduced."
"Why are you here again?" Weilan said unhappily.
Li Hai said, "Today I am the deputy commander, assisting the commander on duty at the base in commanding this flight."
Wei Lan was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "Leave the weather report here, go to the tower and do your job."
"Vice Captain Wei, I suggest postponing flight training." Li Hai insisted.
Wei Lan said with a cold face, "Li Hai, I really didn't realize that you have become so timid now. What does thick fog mean? Instrument flying is the basic skill of every pilot. What do you have to worry about?"
Yu Yang is the squadron leader of the first squadron. Like Wei Lan, he also came from the Air and Sea Guards Corps. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, it'll be no problem."
Li Hai stopped talking and turned back to the tower.
The tower is already busy. Generally speaking, whichever unit is flying will send a senior pilot and the base air traffic controller to take command. Most of the time, the commander is the air traffic controller here at the base, because they are the most Become familiar with air traffic conditions in your area.
The person in charge of today's command is Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Wu Guangwei, who came down from the pilot position. Not every pilot can fly until the required age of 45. Some will be grounded early due to physical reasons, and some will be changed from air crew to ground crew due to military mission requirements.
Generally speaking, the commanders responsible for directing flights are all pilots.
Wu Guangwei was studying the weather report with a solemn expression.
Seeing Li Hai coming, he greeted, "Comrade Li Hai, can you postpone your flight training? I guess the weather conditions today are not very ideal, and I'm afraid something will go wrong!"
Li Hai said, "Haisi has approved the training plan and it cannot be pushed back."
Wu Guangwei said, "Honestly, I don't know the situation of your Eighth Hai Division, but I can say with certainty that the Red Flag Division will never take off in such weather."
"This is why we insist on taking off training. We can't stop fighting just because the weather is bad, right?" Li Hai said with a smile.
We have different opinions internally, but we must stand on the same front externally.
Wu Guangwei spread his hands and said, "In that case, I won't say anything anymore, let's get ready."
He walked to the chart table, swiped the display screen with his hand, and pointed out the training team's planned route.
Troop combat command has been fully electronicized. There is no longer a need to write and draw on aeronautical charts. All the required information will come out with one click of a finger. However, the use of traditional aeronautical charts and the ability to draw maps by hand are basic skills that every command and staff member must possess.
Just as wired communications have not only not been eliminated but are still developing, there must be a last resort.
"You see, the Daling area has been shrouded in thick fog, and you are conducting low-altitude penetration training, which is very difficult. As far as I know, the Su-30 you use does not have a terrain matching system and can only rely on visual inspection. Flying in mountainous areas." Wu Guangwei said.
Li Haidao said, "The highest altitude of the Daling Mountains is 1,400 meters. It is relatively not very steep. There are many valleys in the mountains, so there should be no problem. Deputy Captain Wei Lan and Squadron Leader Yu Yang are both very experienced."
"It's fine if you think it's okay." Wu Guangwei stopped worrying about this issue and immediately confirmed the navigation points and the flight altitude of each stage of the training team with Li Hai.
At 7 o'clock, the sky was still hazy, without even a ray of sunlight, but the wind had stabilized.
Wu Guangwei gave the order to slide out.
The two Su-30MK2s slid out of the parking bay one after another and followed the taxiway to the take-off position. The wingman Yu Yang was positioned further back on the blue side. This is the standard formation for a two-plane formation to take off.
The weather was not good, and when they started to taxi and take off, it snowed again.
The Su-30MK2 roared up, continued to climb to an altitude of 1,500 meters in a standard two-plane formation, and then turned to the southwest.
Danfengchang Station is one of the few stations that take off northward all year round. Because of the perennial northwest wind, it is exactly the opposite of the situation at many coastal and inland airports.
The Daling Mountains run north-south, or to be precise from northeast to southwest, dividing the Inner Mongolia Plateau and Songliao Plain. They are the watershed between these two terrains. They are the largest virgin forest in my country and one of the important forestry bases in my country. one.
Weilan and the others were to turn into the mountains one hundred and twenty kilometers away from Danfengchang Station, then fly southwest along the mountain range, penetrate for two hundred kilometers at low altitude, then turn out of the mountains, climb to an altitude of six thousand meters and then return.
A relatively simple flight route can be considered a relatively simple training from the perspective of the route, but under the current meteorological conditions, this process is full of unknowns.
Li Hai has been paying attention to the changes in clouds over the mountainous areas.
Not long after, the blue formation turned into the mountains.
Li Hai asked, "The training team is reporting on the weather conditions in the mountainous areas. How is the visibility?"
Wei Lan replied, "Dense fog is everywhere, the airflow is turbulent, and the visibility is 800."
In fact, Wei Lan already regretted it at this time. The weather in the mountainous area was worse than he expected.
He was not a reckless person, so he immediately asked for instructions, "Tower, please ask for instructions on penetration training from a height difference of 200 meters."
The original plan was to fly through the mountains, which meant that the flight altitude was below 1,400 meters. During this process, we had to constantly avoid mountains and fly close to the mountains.
However, when the visibility is only 800 meters, doing so is undoubtedly courting death.
Therefore, Weilan decisively asked for instructions to change the plan and raised the flight altitude to 1,600 meters, which is 200 meters higher than the highest peak of 1,400 meters above sea level.
This is a safe height.
Li Hai breathed a sigh of relief, and Wu Guangwei also breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as he was about to speak, the weatherman suddenly reported, "Cumulonimbus clouds have formed ahead of the route, and there may be heavy rainfall!"
Li Hai quickly checked the temperature in the mountainous area. It was several degrees higher than that on the plain, and heavy rainfall was unavoidable.
Wu Guangwei was very experienced. After taking a quick look, he said, "It might be sleet."
He immediately called Weilan, "Attention, training team, there may be heavy rain, sleet and snow thirty kilometers ahead, please stay out of the way."
"Training team received!"
Weilan has realized that he is overconfident. The situation in the alpine mountainous area is completely different from that in the southern mountainous area. The thick fog was like a thick veil covering the outside of the windshield. Only the outline of the mountains about 800 meters away could be barely seen.
The cumulonimbus suddenly erupted, and strong sleet rained down on everyone. The area expanded rapidly, instantly covering the two Su-30MK2s who had no time to avoid them. The strong airflow suddenly became turbulent, and the aircraft's attitude was severely tested.
"Tower! Something is wrong! Please return!" Wei Lan immediately called the tower.
What kind of training are you doing at this time? It would be great if you can fly back smoothly!
Wu Guangwei said loudly, "The training team can return! Turn to 120 and go out of the mountain. You can choose freely if the altitude is below 6,000!"
"Training team received."
Wei Lan and Yu Yang immediately turned around and continued to climb at the same time.
Li Hai was surprised to see the green dots on the radar screen representing the two fighter jets of the training group turning 320 degrees, that is, heading northwest.
Wu Guangwei frowned and called, "Training team, heading 120, you are in the direction of 320."
Weilan was stunned, checked the instrument data, and replied, "Tower, I am on course 120, please confirm."
Wu Guangwei turned to Li Hai and said, "Check the heading."
Li Hai immediately checked the equipment condition with the radar operator. In bad weather, the equipment may malfunction or have large errors.
Soon, Li Hai reported, "There is no problem with the heading. There should be something wrong with the aircraft's localizer."
Wu Guangwei immediately called Weilan, "Training team, I see your heading is 320, repeat, you are flying northwest!"
Wei Lan was stunned for a moment and quickly checked the heading instrument.
Wu Guangwei quickly issued an order, "The northwest direction is the border. You can't continue flying forward. Turn left 180 degrees!"
"Understood, turn left 180 degrees!"
Wei Lan and Yu Yang quickly turned 180 degrees to the left.
However, the data detected by ground radar is that they turned 310 degrees, that is to say, they almost turned back to the original direction.
"Yu Yang, confirm your course!" Wu Guangwei called to Yu Yang.
After reading the instrument data, Yu Yang replied, "Tower, the 180-degree turn has been completed. It's over."
Upon hearing this, Wu Guangwei and Li Hai couldn't help but look at each other. They both knew what had happened. The two Su-30MK2s were in a strong electromagnetic interference field, and their sensing systems had failed.
When the visibility is extremely low, the pilots are flying in a vast white sky. In other words, they have no reference. The worst case scenario is that they confuse the sky and the earth and crash into the ground. It is not impossible to happen!
The most terrible thing is that when flying for a long time in such an environment, the pilot will quickly lose his sense of space and cannot obtain key data such as pitch angle and steering angle, and it is very easy to crash into a mountain!
This phenomenon is called wandering.
The biggest worry now is that Weilan and the others will cross the border, and things will get serious! Their current location is less than two hundred kilometers away from the border. At their current speed, they will cross the border in ten minutes.
"Attention, training team, maintain level flight, keep an eye on the pitch angle, turn to the left at a small angle of about 30 degrees, don't look at the instrument data, rely on feeling!" Wu Guangwei was very calm, "The wingmen keep an eye on the lead aircraft!"
"clear!"
Wei Lan carefully turned left. He knew that the situation was very bad and must not make a mistake in the pitch angle, so he was very energetic during the maneuver.
Yu Yang watched him closely and followed his movements. He could neither get too close to avoid a collision nor get too far away to avoid being separated from the lead aircraft.
At this time, it was time to test their flying skills and experience.
The pilots in the back cabin of the two crews did not interrupt rashly, but quickly calculated the error value in unison! Instruments are so important when flying visually is difficult.
On the radar screen, the two small green dots slowly turned to heading 210, and the danger of cross-border flight was eliminated.
Wu Guangwei breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Keep the altitude and heading and wait for the next order."
Li Hai understood Wu Guangwei's approach, "Deputy Chief of Staff Wu, do you want them to fly out of the mountainous area first and then guide them back?"
"Yes." Wu Guangwei nodded slightly, "Going out of the mountain will leave the interference area, otherwise it will be difficult for them to land."
Li Hai nodded, "Good idea."
Thirty minutes later, Wu Guangwei checked the flight parameters with the training team. The instruments on the plane returned to normal, and everyone slowly felt relieved.
The two Su-30MK2s returned in a large circle and landed smoothly.
Not long after they landed, another heavy snowfall came, and most of the Northeast region was once again shrouded in flying snowflakes. The next day, news reported that a once-in-20-year sleet and sleet occurred in the Daling Mountains yesterday.
After the flying ginseng came out, Wei Lan made a review based on the weather at that time, and was worried again and again. Fortunately, Wu Guangwei was an experienced conductor, and fortunately Li Hai had been taking vaccinations and reminded him promptly, otherwise the consequences would have been disastrous.
After that day, Wei Lan no longer dared to underestimate the weather in the Northeast, but he was still disdainful of Li Hai's performance. In his opinion, Li Hai might have a psychological shadow, so he was a little timid.
His view of Li Hai is complicated, with envy, jealousy, and some contempt mixed in. He had a desire to surpass Li Hai in his heart. For a proud man who strives for the first place, this is inevitable. The army is willing to see the phenomenon of chasing each other.
Secretly, Wei Lan has the intention of competing with Li Hai.
However, Wei Lan is a young cadre after all and does not distinguish personal emotions from work. When dealing with Li Hai, he more or less brings some personal emotions.
For three consecutive days, the area where Danfengchang Station is located was shrouded in thick rain and fog, and the thickness of the snow once reached 70 centimeters. During this process, the area experienced extremely cold weather of minus 21 degrees Celsius.
All training arrangements at Danfengchang Station have been cancelled.
On this day when the sky cracked and the sun appeared, the field station received an order from its superiors and dispatched a team to help clear the snow on the roads near the station. The training troops were ordered to organize officers and soldiers to join the rescue team, and all pilots were dispatched.
That night, a red-painted Mi-171 rescue helicopter from the Forest Fire Brigade landed at Danfengchang Station. Li Hai, Zhao Feiyan, and Zhan Yuntian, who were clearing snow, received an emergency order to return to the station...
