Chapter 1512 Intermission Preparation

Six J-15 fighter jets are parked neatly on the deck of the Liaosheng aircraft carrier, like six resting steel eagles.

The sea breeze, carrying a salty smell, blew across the ship, blowing away the remaining heat from the engine.

But on the deck, the scene was becoming increasingly bustling and bustling.

"Attention all departments, check the status of the aircraft, especially the tail hook and landing gear!"

The sound from the main flight control room was transmitted via radio to the ears of nearly a hundred ground crew members on the deck.

More than a dozen aircraft maintenance officers wearing brown vests and brown helmets quickly took their positions, came under the aircraft they were responsible for, and carefully checked every part of the tail hook and landing gear hydraulic mechanism.

Although the landing process just now was perfect, according to regulations, a thorough inspection must still be carried out.

Meanwhile, red-coated ordnance personnel gathered at the ammunition elevators, simulating the preparation of designated ammunition and drop tanks, refueling pods, navigation/FLIR pods and other payloads.

This mission certainly did not include any weapons mounting. In fact, the Liao Province did not carry any serious aviation ammunition on this voyage.

However, since it is a full-process simulation, the ammunition department must not be idle.

For the same reason, even though the six planes had been refueled with enough fuel for the return trip before taking off in the morning, several low-chassis deck vehicles followed closely behind and drove to the parking position. Fuel workers in purple vests jumped off the vehicles and started to supply fuel and other oil and gas supplies to the planes by pulling the refueling hoses...

After signing the flight checklist, Wang Wei stood aside and watched the busy figures of the ground crew.

He took off his flight helmet and sweat dripped down his temples.

The tension and excitement from landing had not yet completely subsided, so much so that my fingers were still trembling slightly.

Not far from him, the news and publicity team had already set up cameras and reflectors.

Military Network reporter Zhang Ying was standing next to aircraft No. 01 and asked the unit commander Dai Mingmeng: "As the first Chinese pilot to successfully land on an aircraft carrier, how do you feel now?"

Dai Mingmeng's expression seemed serious, but the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes had smoothed out and the muscles on his face twitched frequently, obviously trying to suppress the urge to laugh.

“This is a collective honor.”

He answered according to the routine content that he had prepared long ago:

"Without the hard work of the scientific researchers, the careful maintenance of the ground crew, and the close coordination of the command system, we pilots alone would definitely not be able to complete such a difficult task..."

"..."

For China, aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft have extremely special significance.

Therefore, as a commander, you will inevitably have to do some publicity work that requires you to be in the public eye.

Looking at the commander who handled the situation with ease, Wang Wei suddenly felt a little lucky.

If he were to face the camera, it would probably be difficult for him to give such a perfect performance.

Thinking of this, he retracted his gaze, turned and walked towards the flight briefing room.

According to the plan, after landing, the pilots will have a few hours of meal and rest time.

But they had just completed a mission that would go down in history, so how could they rest so easily?

Sure enough, the moment I opened the door, I was greeted by the sound of heated discussions.

Four pilots sat around a long table, on which were scattered various charts and notes, apparently reviewing the landing process just now.

In fact, judging from the results alone, the operations of the six people were perfect. They all hooked the second or third arresting cable, which is the most ideal condition during the landing process.

But when it comes to breaking down the operations of each step, everyone still has different experiences.

Or on the other hand, you also need to find an opportunity to vent the surging desire to express yourself.

"Glide slope control still relies too much on visual judgment. The Fresnel light system is not recognizable enough under strong light..."

"I think the arresting cable tension can be increased by 5%. The deceleration during landing just now was not obvious enough..."

"That's because our training facility uses a mechanical energy storage structure, and the ship is equipped with an electromagnetic arrester, so the speed change is more even..."

"..."

Seeing Wang Wei coming in, the pilot of aircraft No. 07, Zheng Hui, immediately stood up:

"Chief of Staff! You've come just in time. We are discussing which steps in the landing process can be further optimized, and also... the key points of the takeoff action later."

Wang Wei waved his hand to signal him to sit down, and pulled a chair over:

"The key to ski-jump takeoff is throttle control and angle of attack. Although it is at sea, the entire operation process is no different from that on land. It can even be said that it is simpler than the landing process. The key is to keep a clear mind and not get confused..."

"..."

Just as everyone was sharing their experiences, the door was pushed open again.

Two middle-aged men in plain clothes appeared at the door.

The briefing room immediately fell silent.

Although they were wrapped tightly, Wang Wei was able to quickly recognize the identities of the two people.

Luo Yang, chief engineer of the J-15 carrier-based aircraft project, and Liu Yongquan, chief designer of the WS-10H.

During the prototype flight test and subsequent ground training, they had a lot of contact with the training base and were deeply trusted and respected by their comrades.

Soon, all the pilots stood up.

"Don't be shy, sit down." Luo Yang smiled and waved his hand, "We are here to listen to your real feedback, not to hold a report meeting."

The pilots took their seats again, but the atmosphere became noticeably more formal.

Considering that No. 01-06 were not full-state prototypes, Wang Wei immediately turned his attention to Zheng Hui and Lin Shuyan who were sitting on the innermost side.

If nothing goes wrong, the aircraft they are flying will be exactly the same as the future production model.

Seeing this, Zheng Hui cleared his throat first:

"Mr. Luo, Mr. Liu, in terms of flight control quality, the J-15's performance is perfect. With a good foundation and a three-wing design, even on the sea surface with unstable airflow, the low-speed maneuverability is still better than we expected, and the feel is almost the same as during the ground simulation."

"Especially in the final stage of landing, the lack of flexibility of heavy aircraft turned out to be an advantage. The aircraft would not react violently to minor operations or interference, giving us more room for correction... In contrast, the power feedback of the WS-10H was very sensitive, giving us full confidence before touching down on the ship."

Seeing that Zheng Hui had no intention of continuing, Lin Shuyan immediately took over the topic and added explanation:

"The performance of the aircraft makes us believe that even if we fail to hook the arresting cable in one go, we can easily complete the accelerated go-around without the risk of crashing into the sea due to insufficient speed."

"Of course, the actual landing is much more difficult than the ground simulation." The latter gestured with his hands, "The swaying of the aircraft carrier itself, the deck is visually smaller than the simulator, and there are turbulence reflected from the sea surface... These will increase psychological pressure, but they are not problems with the aircraft design."

"..."

Afterwards, several pilots took turns praising the aircraft and the engine.

These compliments were absolutely from the heart, but considering everyone's mood at the time, it was inevitable that they were a little too enthusiastic in their expression.

It was so overwhelming that the two designers were a little overwhelmed.

"Comrades, comrades, wait a moment."

Taking advantage of a moment when no one spoke, Luo Yang quickly raised his hand to stop everyone from speaking:

"As technicians, we are of course very pleased to hear such high evaluation from you, but we still hope to hear some more targeted feedback..."

Everyone looked at each other in shock when they heard this.

Finally, it was Wang Wei who spoke:

"We pilots really don't have any complaints. If we have to say anything..."

He paused for a moment, then continued:

"During the ground simulation phase, the command and dispatch department and the ammunition department both reported that it would be cumbersome to mount larger air-to-air missiles such as PL-15 or PL-2 on the J-8's 12/13 hardpoints..."

As a heavy aircraft with a dry weight of more than 15 tons, the J-15 has a very large wingspan under normal conditions. In order to reduce the occupied area when parked, the folding position of the aircraft's wings is designed to be very inward, resulting in the two most commonly used racks for mounting medium-range missiles being located on the outer folding section like the wingtip racks.

It is not a problem for lightweight combat missiles like PL-8 or PL-10, but for slightly larger ammunition, the folding wings can only be unfolded before mounting.

This means that the aircraft cannot complete ammunition preparation in the hangar or parking space, but needs to go to the takeoff preparation area to load bombs, which invisibly prolongs the reaction time before takeoff.

"We have heard feedback from our ground crew members on this issue before," Luo Yang replied. "However, the physical size of the J-15 cannot be changed. Given the relatively small hangar area of ​​current aircraft carriers, we must prioritize the number of aircraft on board and the transportation capacity of the elevators."

He took out a stack of blueprints from his briefcase and said, "However, we do have a second-best solution."

He spread the drawings on the table and showed a design for a triple hanger.

Compared with the Y-type pylon used for the J-10E, which is only used to carry one more air-to-air missile, it is closer to the T-type composite pylon used by the F15.

"This way, we can carry two additional air-to-air missiles without affecting the heavy-load capacity of the innermost attachment point of the wing, freeing up the two awkward outer attachment points - even the wingtip attachment points. Although it will increase some drag, it will greatly improve efficiency when performing offensive missions."

Wang Wei studied the drawings carefully and nodded from time to time.

This pragmatic attitude is exactly what he hopes to see - problems will always exist, but as long as there is the willingness and means to solve them, there is nothing to be afraid of.

Of course, the amount of ammunition that can be carried by a ski-jump takeoff is really limited. The so-called "maintaining heavy load capacity" is at most two Eagle Strike 83K anti-ship missiles or two 500kg guided bombs.

But on future catapult-type aircraft carriers, the value of this configuration is bound to be great.

The discussion lasted for nearly an hour until the commander of the troop pushed the door open.

"Everyone, the discussion time is over. We need to replenish some energy and rest for a few hours. We still have the other half of the task to complete in the afternoon."