Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 53, Arrival in Fuyang, Inspection of Airport Construction
Outside Fuyang City.

On the newly built makeshift airport.

The county magistrate of Fuyang County, county government officials, and wealthy merchants and gentry from the city all came to wait.

There were also the regimental commander and deputy commander of an infantry regiment sent from Hefei.

Behind them were a band and local Fuyang residents watching the spectacle from a distance.

They stood in the sun, occasionally shielding their eyes with their hands, gazing at the sky through the bright sunlight.

"Here it comes. I see its shadow."

Someone shouted, and everyone immediately became lively.

The county magistrate hurriedly ordered, "Quickly, notify the people from Bada Company. Didn't they say they wanted to use radio to confirm the landing arrangements?"

Bada Company was established by eight major families in Northeast China to invest in an airline.

The deputy regimental commander of the infantry regiment explained, "County magistrate, no need. They can make the contact themselves. Look, the plane is circling; it's about to land. Let's all step back a bit so as not to interfere with the landing."

"Yes, everyone step back, band, get ready."

Immediately, the crowd retreated to within 50 meters of the airport runway.

In the sky.

Fang Wen departed from Nanjing and arrived over Fuyang more than three hours later.

The radio device transmits a call on its aviation frequency.

"This is Fuyang Airport, please respond."

Fang Wen picked up the microphone: "Received, this is Qingyun."

"The airport runway has just been leveled and is still a bit loose, please be careful."

"clear."

After putting down the microphone, Fang Wen adjusted the aircraft, gradually lowered it, and landed precisely on the runway.

The newly constructed runway was not very smooth, and the hydraulic landing gear experienced slight up-and-down contraction, causing the fuselage to shake.

The Potez 25, officially renamed 'Qingyun', glided for a long distance before slowly coming to a stop.

That's gone too far.

Seeing the crowd behind him walking towards him, Fang Wen turned the plane around and flew back.

The crowd immediately stopped and waited.

The plane stopped in front of the crowd, and two airport staff pushed the boarding stairs over. Fang Wen then got off the plane.

He had just come downstairs when he heard someone shout, "Play music!"

A sound of string and wind instruments drifted over.

It wasn't Western orchestral music, and Fang Wen couldn't help but look over.

The band members were dressed in long robes, some standing and some sitting.

There were many musical instruments. I could recognize the yangqin, flute, sheng, and yueqin, but I didn't recognize the others.

At this moment, Sun Debiao, the person in charge of the airport, came over with a group of people to greet them.

"General Manager, this is the County Head of Fuyang, the Security Chief, and the Education Minister."

Fang Wen smiled and responded without saying a word, shaking hands with each of the local officials and gentry.

After introducing the local officials and gentry, Sun Debiao was about to introduce two more men in military uniforms.

This time, without him saying anything, the two walked straight up to Fang Wen, saluted, and shook hands.

"I have long admired Mr. Fang's name. It is my great honor to meet you today. My name is Ning Hangsheng, and this is my deputy, Ni Shinai."

Now that everything has been introduced, we can say we have a basic understanding.

Fang Wen then spoke up: "Gentlemen, I have two things to do here today. First, to assist with aerial reconnaissance for the bandit suppression, and second, to inspect the airport's construction progress. Perhaps I should take care of the second task first, so that I can focus on cooperating with the bandit suppression later?"

The county magistrate, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, said with a smile, "This is our first time here too. Why don't we take a look together?"

The others nodded in agreement.

Then, a group of people walked around the airport.

Fang Wen carefully inspected the construction progress inside the airport.

Although the airport is still quite basic, it has everything you should have.

The hangar, staff dormitory, security team barracks, airport control tower, oil depot, and runway have all been completed.

This was the result of spending money to pave the way; a lot of silver dollars were used, and laborers from Fuyang worked here for a period of time. The runway was constructed by first laying gravel and then covering it with soil and pressing it flat. The surface was not smooth enough, requiring continuous filling and construction, which placed certain restrictions on the take-off and landing conditions for aircraft.

This type of runway is fine for landing the Qingyun, but it would cause problems for the Boeing 80.

The track will need to be repaved with cement later.

The hangar for storing and maintaining Boeing 80s is the largest building.

Due to limited resources, it was not possible to build a hangar with a full steel frame. Instead, a simpler combination of steel structure and wood panels was used, with the roof covered with sheet metal to prevent wind and rain erosion.

The hangar's interior facilities were relatively rudimentary, but it was equipped with basic maintenance tools and equipment racks to meet the needs of aircraft maintenance and repair at the time.

The staff dormitory consists of several simple brick and tile houses with a limited number of rooms and basic facilities, mainly to meet basic living needs.

The security brigade is responsible for airport security, and its barracks are located between the airport entrance and the oil depot for rapid response.

The barracks were sturdy brick and stone structures, capable of withstanding certain external threats.

In addition, sandbag positions and guard posts were built at the entrance for defense.

Oil depots are essential airport facilities used to store fuel for aircraft. Due to a lack of advanced oil storage technology and equipment, oil depots typically use relatively simple underground storage tanks surrounded by firewalls and drainage systems to ensure safety.

When transferring oil, a simple hydraulic device is used to press the oil up and fill it into the oil tank, and then transport it to the hangar.

The control tower was the last part to be inspected.

The control tower is the airport's command and control center, responsible for scheduling aircraft takeoffs and landings and managing air traffic.

It is also the tallest building in the airport. The control tower at Fuyang Airport cannot compare with those in Nanjing and Shanghai. It is a brick-concrete structure with observation windows all over the top to observe aircraft take-off and landing.

The control tower is equipped with radio equipment to enable communication with aircraft.

In addition, there is a generator room.

It contains a 20-horsepower diesel generator to power the airport's wireless equipment and provide lighting for future operations.

After the inspection, Fang Wen and Sun Debiao talked for a while, and Fang Wen instructed them to reorganize the runway and other problems that had been found.

The airport inspection process is now complete.

The entire inspection process only took an hour.

The county magistrate made the suggestion at the opportune moment.

"It's noon now. Let's go to town for a quick meal and then discuss the bandit suppression."

As the local official, Fang Wen had no objections, so he naturally agreed.

The group then left the airport and took a car to the county town.

The county town is not far from the airport, only about 2 kilometers away.

From afar, you can see an ancient city with a long history standing on the plain.

The county head explained, "This place used to be called Yingzhou City. Later, the prefecture was abolished and the county was established, which is why it became Fuyang."

"Really!" Fang Wen looked at the ancient city and suddenly remembered a term he had seen on the internet before his transmigration.

"City Demolition Movement"

It seems that during the War of Resistance against Japan, the ancient city walls in the Central Plains urban cluster were ordered to be demolished.

That means that in a few years, this ancient city with a long history will disappear.

It's such a pity.

Just as he was feeling sentimental, the convoy drove through the city gate and stopped outside a restaurant with a sign that read "Dongtianchun".

The group went upstairs and split into three tables.

Fang Wenhe, the county magistrate, and several of the most powerful and wealthy people in the county, along with two military officers, sat at one table.

The restaurant owner, beaming, asked, "County Magistrate, may we serve the dishes now?"

"No need to ask, hurry up and go." Before the county magistrate could answer, someone urged them on.

Soon after, plates of steaming hot, freshly made food were served and neatly arranged on the table.

Under warm hospitality, Fang Wen enjoyed the local cuisine.

It tastes really good.

Seeing his expression, the county magistrate said, "This restaurant serves authentic Huaiyang cuisine and is famous for its river delicacies. Fuyang is well-connected in all directions, and there are countless restaurants. Tomorrow, I will take Mr. Fang to another one. I guarantee that the taste will be excellent, but the flavor will be completely different."

Fang Wen nodded: "Thank you. Let's talk about the bandits."

(End of this chapter)