Chapter 1635 Zuo Yu, Take Off (It’s so confusing, the first two chapters have all been reviewed, I’m
Time seemed to be pushed by the cold wind, quickly sliding towards the penultimate day of 2014.
The surface temperature at Beiling Airport is -21 degrees Celsius, and your breath turns to frost.
In a special area designated next to the airport runway, hundreds of technicians, engineers, security guards from different units and a small number of core personnel who were allowed to enter stood in line.
Without exception, their eyes were focused on the huge door of the final assembly workshop at the far end of the runway.
The heavy workshop door slowly slid open to both sides.
A few seconds later, a sharp motor sound was suddenly heard.
As everyone watched with bated breath, a flying vehicle with an extremely avant-garde appearance and sharp and smooth lines was slowly towed out by a tractor.
It is covered with a special matte dark gray coating that reflects almost no light in the winter sun, as if it absorbs all the surrounding light.
The slender and flat body is integrated with a tailless layout.
The most eye-catching thing is, of course, the aerodynamic shape of its parallel waverider body.
A closable air intake cover on the back hints at the turbojet power hidden inside.
On both sides of the armpits are the iconic ramjet engine air intakes.
It is the "Zou Yu" No. 01 prototype.
Lying quietly behind the tow bar, like a dormant beast.
After deliberately slowing down to allow the publicity officer to take a few pictures, the tractor accelerated again along the preset route.
Through the wide apron, through the long taxiway, and in front of everyone on the scene.
The tires pressed against the solid ground, making a regular sound.
Finally, it stopped steadily at the take-off position at the end of the runway.
Here is the starting point for it to move towards the sky.
Several engineers wearing thick cotton coats jumped off the tractor.
They moved swiftly and skillfully, conducting the final inspection of the "Zou Yu" before takeoff:
Remove the landing gear safety pins, check the control surface status, confirm the ground power and communication link connection...
Every step was taken meticulously, and in the severe cold of more than 20 degrees below zero, the exhaled white air condensed quickly.
About fifteen minutes later, all checks were completed and the engineers gave the "OK" sign.
The tractor quickly detached and withdrew from the runway, leaving the vast take-off space completely for the aircraft that was about to make history.
The atmosphere in the tower was also highly tense.
Chang Haonan paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. In front of him were rows of display consoles flashing various data.
Since "Zou Yu" is an unmanned verification aircraft, the entire flight process relies entirely on the precise coordination of the ground command and control system and the onboard autopilot system.
The flight controller sat in the main control seat, his fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard, his eyes fixed on the data and indicator lights on the screen.
Fu Guoxiang is considered a veteran of Shengfei's test pilot team.
When Chang Haonan came here to participate in his first major project, Fu Guoxiang was the test pilot of the No. 04 J-8C prototype, and he was also the first pilot Chang Haonan came into contact with on this timeline.
Given his age, he naturally stopped flying at the beginning of this century.
But fortunately, he soon caught up with the peak of unmanned equipment development.
So he participated in the training and assessment for drone flight modification, successfully overcame the age barrier, and stayed on the front line of test flights until today.
When deciding on the person to carry out the first flight, Bian Lizhen inadvertently mentioned to Chang Haonan that Fu Guoxiang would reach retirement age at the end of 2015.
Therefore, if nothing unexpected happens, "Zou Yu" will most likely be the end of his career.
A glorious end.
A few seconds later, a steady voice sounded through the internal communication channel, clearly reaching the ears of everyone in the tower:
"Reporting to the commander-in-chief, the ground control system has successfully connected to Unit 01. The communication link is stable and the redundant backup is normal."
"Turbojet power system, ramjet power system, flight control system, avionics system, pre-cooling system... all subsystems of the aircraft have completed self-inspection and no abnormalities were found."
Fu Guoxiang paused for a moment and forced his voice to sound calm:
"Aircraft 01 meets the conditions for takeoff, requesting instructions!"
At the same time, two side-by-side images were switched on the huge integrated display screen on the front of the tower:
This is the real-time image transmitted back from the camera on the back of "Zou Yu".
One after the other.
In the picture on the left, there is an empty straight runway that stretches into the distance and ends at the gray-white skyline.
Everyone's eyes were focused here, on the lines of status parameters jumping at the bottom of the screen.
Chang Haonan stood beside the command seat, his eyes scanning all the screens, finally landing on the runway that was being transmitted back in real time.
He took a deep breath of the slightly dry air in the tower:
"Begin the test flight!"
The voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard throughout the tower.
"Understood! Start the test flight procedure!"
Fu Guoxiang responded immediately and decisively pressed the "Start/Ignition" button on the console.
Buzz…!
On the big screen, the real-time image from the back of "Zou Yu" began to shake slightly.
At the same time, in the main parameter display area, the status of the "WP-14P" column instantly jumped from "off" to the blazing "start"!
The right edge of the picture suddenly became dark, and a beam of light appeared in the center.
That is the gas that is ejected when the engine turns on afterburner.
The needle of the analog tachometer in front of Fu Guoxiang pointed steadily to the predetermined takeoff speed range.
"The turbojet 14P started successfully! The speed is stable!" Fu Guoxiang reported loudly.
"Brake release!"
He released the brake lever.
At the end of the runway, the dark gray streamlined figure shook violently and the nose of the plane rose slightly.
The high-temperature airflow ejected from the tail nozzle instantly distorted the cold air behind it and even caused the thin frost on the surface of the runway to vaporize and rise instantly.
"Zou Yu" started to move!
Like an arrow shot from a bow, propelled by its powerful turbojet engine, it began to accelerate along the wide and straight runway!
The tower was completely silent, and you could hear a pin drop. Only Fu Guoxiang's steady voice reporting and the observer's confirmation of distance through the telescope could be heard alternately:
"Taking speed 80 knots... 100 knots... 120 knots... keep accelerating!"
"Running distance: 100 meters!"
"200 meters!"
"300 meters!"
Everyone's heart was in their throat, and their knuckles turned white from their clenched fists. Chang Haonan's eyes were like a hawk, fixed on the figure on the big screen that was accelerating forward and the speed value that was constantly rising.
Xing Muchun took two steps forward almost unconsciously, his body pressed against the cold floor-to-ceiling window glass, staring without blinking at the gray arrow shadow on the runway that was getting faster and smaller.
He felt his heartbeat was almost in resonance with the distance number reported by the observer!
"500 meters!"
"800 meters!"
"1000 meters!"
"1200 meters!"
"1500 meters!"
Since the aerodynamic design of the "Zou Yu" is highly optimized for hypersonic flight, its low-speed lift characteristics are relatively weak, and it needs a very high taxiing speed to obtain enough lift to take off. At this moment, it is still accelerating at full speed and has not yet reached the theoretical front wheel lifting speed.
The tense atmosphere almost solidified into substance.
"1600 meters!"
"1700 meters!"
Fu Guoxiang's breathing also quickened. He held the joystick firmly with his right hand, and his left hand hovered above the control button representing the flight status switch. His eyes quickly switched between the speedometer and distance display.
"1800 meters! Reached Vr!"
The observer's voice suddenly rose!
At this critical moment, Fu Guoxiang did not hesitate at all and decisively switched the flight status on the console from "taxi" to "take off"!
The instructions were transmitted instantly to "Zou Yu" via high-speed data link.
On the big screen, in real-time footage, at the trailing edge of the "Zou Yu"'s unique forebody waveriding configuration, the two huge control surfaces (equivalent to flaps) suddenly deflected downward to the maximum angle!
This action instantly increases the downforce moment on the tail of the aircraft.
The "Zou Yu" was seen holding its head high, and the contact pressure between the front landing gear tires and the runway suddenly decreased. Then, under the powerful aerodynamic effect and continuous engine thrust, the front wheels were lightly lifted off the cold runway!
"The front wheel is off the ground!" Fu Guoxiang reported loudly, his voice filled with a hint of tense excitement.
At this moment, only the main landing gear is still firmly gripping the ground.
The high-temperature airflow ejected by the turbojet 14P at full force directly washed the runway behind without any obstruction, stirring up a blurry heat wave.
"Zou Yu" has entered the critical stage of wheel-lifting and skating. Its posture is like a javelin ready to be launched, and its speed is still soaring!
"1900 meters!"
Inside the tower, the air seemed to freeze. Chang Haonan clenched his fist tightly. Xing Muchun's forehead was almost touching the glass. Bian Lizhen held his breath.
Suddenly, the real-time image on the big screen showed an extremely brief, imperceptible left-right shake! This was the natural reaction of the aircraft's aerodynamic and attitude adjustments as it approached the critical point of lift!
In the next second of this shake!
The dark grey figure seemed to break free from the invisible restraints, and the tires of the main landing gear instantly lost the last touch with the runway!
The entire fuselage, like a sword drawn from its sheath, leaped steadily into the blue northern sky with an indomitable momentum!
"The main wheels are off the ground! The take-off posture is stable! Plane No. 01 took off successfully!" Fu Guoxiang's excited voice resounded throughout the tower, with an uncontrollable tremor.
"Success!"
"Take off!"
"it is good!!"
After a brief silence, the tower erupted with long-suppressed, deafening cheers and applause!
On the big screen, the camera image on the back of "Zou Yu" has turned into the shrinking airport runway and the vast land of Northeast China.
