Chapter 1510: Flying Shark Attacks

Five days later.

The dawn in Bohai Bay comes quietly.

At 6:30 in the morning, the runway of the Xingcheng carrier-based aircraft training base in Liaoning Province was still covered with a thin layer of mist, but the hangar was already brightly lit.

Wang Wei stood next to the J-02 fighter jet No. 15, waiting for the ground crew to conduct the final pre-flight inspection.

According to the requirements, each fighter aviation brigade should maintain at least four fighter jets that can be refueled and loaded with bombs and take off immediately without any extra preparation to deal with emergencies that may occur at any time.

But today's mission is so special that the chief of naval aviation specifically requested that all aircraft undergo a comprehensive maintenance and inspection before taking off.

"Chief of Staff, oxygen system check completed, pressure normal."

A ground crew sergeant wearing headphones saluted and reported to him.

Wang Wei nodded, reached out to take the checklist, and checked each item by the light from the hangar ceiling light.

"Hydraulic system?"

“All three cycle tests passed with no leakage.”

"Tail hook mechanism?"

"I just did a release test half an hour ago, and the locking device is working fine..."

"..."

Wang Wei walked slowly around the fighter plane, which was both a visual inspection before takeoff and a silent "communication" with this old friend that had accompanied him for nearly 900 days and nights and more than 600 flight hours.

"The fog will dissipate soon, and the weather during the day is expected to be good." The ground crew squad leader walked slowly to the side, "The wind speed forecast is only level 3, and the visibility is greater than 10 kilometers."

"It is true here at the base, but the weather at sea is unpredictable, even in the Bohai Bay." Wang Wei shook his head, and the white mist from his nose slowly rose upwards. "Especially the airflow around the aircraft carrier, which is much more complicated than on land."

The old squad leader grinned and said, "With you and Commander Dai here, there will be no problem. Our training these years has not been in vain."

"Then I'll lend you some good advice."

Wang Wei answered, but his eyes remained on the wing folding mechanism.

Today is the day they verify the results of their training - the first landing of a carrier-based aircraft on a Chinese aircraft carrier.

Several years of hard work, hundreds of simulated landings, and countless theoretical simulations will all face a real test.

In a trance, he seemed to be back in the small cockpit of the J-8C.

Looking back thirteen years later, even Wang Wei himself was surprised that he was so bold and decisive when he was young.

He had no doubt that if the Excellence had been an aircraft carrier with an angled deck, he would have lowered his landing gear, leaving a streak of burnt rubber on the deck.

"Teacher, you really guessed it..."

Wang Wei gently stroked the leading edge of the wing with his fingers, recalling his teacher Tang Yiping who had led him to carry out the embankment-building operation.

The latter once said that the new generation of naval aviation pilots will definitely have the opportunity to land on an aircraft carrier that truly belongs to China.

In fact, at that time, both the speaker and the listener only regarded it as a casual consolation.

But now, thirteen years later, a joke has really come true...

"Chief of Staff, it's time to prepare for the mission briefing."

The voice of an official suddenly sounded behind him, pulling Wang Wei out of his thoughts.

"Okay, I'll go over immediately."

……

Fifteen minutes later.

In the locker room, six pilots were putting on their flight gear meticulously.

First comes the closest-fitting thermal liner, then the anti-gravity flight suit, and finally the life vest.

Wang Wei carefully checked every piece of equipment: whether the inflation device of the life vest, the signal flare was within the validity period, whether the pipe connection of the anti-gravity suit was firm...

He was lucky enough not to have experienced any flight accidents throughout his career, but the more so, the more careful he had to be before every takeoff.

In fact, the first batch of eight pilots of the first carrier-based aviation regiment are all qualified for landing and take-off.

However, considering the Liao Province's deck operation capabilities, the base decided to use two of them, No. 03 and No. 04, as backups.

When the group walked out of the locker room, the sky in the east was already bright, and just as the meteorological department had predicted, there was no trace of the morning fog at all.

Five pilots sat in a line in the briefing room. Dai Mingmeng, the unit commander and commander of this mission, stood at the front with a mission document in his hand.

"Comrades." The steady voice sounded particularly clear in the morning air. "According to the latest weather data, the wind force in the mission area is 2-3, the wave height is 0.5-1 meter, and the visibility is excellent. The aircraft carrier has left the port as planned last night and arrived at the scheduled mission area."

He stood straight behind the small podium, his eyes scanning the faces of several of his comrades and subordinates.

Among the pilots participating in the mission today, four are young men in their early thirties.

When the base party committee initially decided to select No. 07 Zheng Hui and No. 08 Lin Shuyan to participate in the mission, it caused quite a bit of controversy.

But what they considered was that given the ages of Dai Mingmeng and Wang Wei, after completing the initial verification work of the aircraft carrier's service, it would be almost time to stop flying.

Therefore, the real future of China's carrier-based aviation is still in the hands of these younger generations.

Should be given more chances.

Moreover, carrier-based aircraft take-off and landing are starting from scratch for everyone, and past experience in flying land-based aircraft is not suitable as a basis for selection.

"Let me emphasize the mission process again." After a brief pause, Dai Mingmeng clicked the remote control, and the landing process diagram appeared on the projection screen. "First, we will conduct a touch-and-go. The six aircraft will complete it in turn..."

"Our standards are stricter than what is actually needed. The main landing gear contact point must be before the second arresting cable, otherwise an immediate go-around must be performed..."

"After everything is completed, we will start the formal landing..."

"..."

Wang Wei's eyes fell on the red warning sign at the end of the flowchart: The success rate of tailhook landing is directly related to the pilot's experience.

According to public data from the U.S. Navy, the success rate of new pilots' first landing is less than 60%.

Ten minutes later, the task process was finally introduced.

"Director Bi Fengchun will explain the following details."

Dai Mingmeng gestured to an officer next to him who was wearing air force training camouflage instead of a flight suit.

Bi Fengchun immediately took the microphone and said: "According to the latest calculation results from the Navy Equipment Department and the Aerodynamics Research Institute, when an aircraft carrier is sailing at high speed, the starboard side will generate irregular updrafts when it is hit by the wind."

He switched slides, showing a set of complex airflow simulation diagrams:

"According to statistical laws, this kind of turbulence will tend to give the aircraft an additional lift to the right. The correction method is to immediately reduce the angle of attack and press the stick to the left at the same time. The action should be decisive but not too violent. However, it is turbulence after all, so the specific form is very irregular. When encountering this situation, you must be extra careful. If you are not sure, give priority to keeping the aircraft away from the island and increasing altitude..."

"..."

The briefing lasted forty minutes and covered more than a dozen possible emergency response plans.

At the end, Dai Mingmeng looked around at everyone:

"This is the first time in the history of the Chinese Navy, and it is also a day that is destined to go down in the history of the Navy. Of course, the mission was not broadcast live, but the Party and the country are watching us, and the people of the country are also watching us—" He paused, "In any case, safety always comes first. If there is any uncertainty, go around immediately. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" the other five answered in unison.

Walking out of the briefing room, Wang Wei looked up at the sky.

There was not a single cloud in the clear blue sky, perfect flying weather.

But he knew that the real challenge was not in the sky, but on the seemingly calm sea - when the fighter plane approached the constantly moving deck at a speed of tens of meters per second, any slight error could lead to catastrophic consequences.

"Chief of Staff, your plane is ready." A ground crew member came running to report.

Outside the hangar, the No. 02 J-15 was slowly pulled out by a towing vehicle. Under the morning sun, the August st military emblem on the fuselage shone brightly. Wang Wei walked around the fighter plane and did the final external inspection: the wing folding mechanism was locked, the flaps were intact, and the tail hook release mechanism was fully lubricated...

"Power on and check." He climbed up the stairs and sat in the small cockpit. The ground crew connected the external power supply, and the dashboard in the cockpit lit up one by one.

Wang Wei followed the checklist item by item: flight control system self-check, avionics system test, engine ignition procedure... Every switch and button was like an extension of his fingers. He repeated this process thousands of times in five years and it has become muscle memory.

"Tower, No. 02 requests radio check." He put on his headphones and adjusted the communication channel.

"No. 02, your signal is clear, volume 5x5." The tower replied.

During the engine test, Wang Wei slowly pushed the throttle to 80% thrust. The fuselage vibrated slightly, and the two turbofan engines emitted a deafening roar.

The instruments showed that all parameters were within normal range, so he shut down the engine and waited for the final takeoff instruction.

"Attention all pilots, take off as planned in fifteen minutes." The base broadcast sounded.

Wang Wei took a deep breath and closed his eyes. In his mind, he reviewed every step of landing:

The slip angle was controlled at 3.5 degrees, the approach speed was 145 knots, and corrections were made immediately when the Fresnel light turned yellow or red...

These numbers and processes were as clear as if engraved in his mind.

"Time's up." The voice from the radio made him open his eyes again.

Following the order from the naval chief in the tower, six J-15s slid onto the runway one after another.

Wang Wei's No. 02 aircraft was in second place, following the unit commander's yellow-painted No. 01 aircraft.

Through the canopy he could see the heat waves from the front nozzle distorting the air.

"Tower, No. 01 requests takeoff." The commander's voice sounded on the radio.

"Cleared for takeoff. Wind direction 090, wind speed 3 meters per second."

Plane No. 01 slightly adjusted its canards, then began to accelerate, pulling up its nose in the middle of the runway, like a gray arrow piercing the blue sky.

Thirty seconds later, the tower issued a command: "02, cleared for takeoff."

Wang Wei pushed the accelerator to full afterburner and released the brake lever. The fighter plane rushed out like a wild horse. The push on his back pressed him tightly against the seat, and the scenery on both sides of the runway quickly receded.

When the speed reached 200km/h, he gently pulled the lever and the front wheel left the ground.

A few seconds later, the main wheel also left the runway, and J-02 No. 15 officially took off.

Retracting the landing gear, retracting the flaps, adjusting the climb rate...the series of actions are done smoothly.

When the altitude reached 3000 meters, the aircraft leveled off and began waiting for other subsequent aircraft to arrive.

Fifteen minutes later, six J-15s formed into two three-plane wedge formations and flew towards the mission area in the southeast direction.