Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 537 Taishan Flight School Subject Examination, Purchase of P-40 Aircraft
Fang Wen, who had just returned from Hong Kong, stopped his work to meet with an American named Chennault.

Ten minutes later, he was taken to the general manager's office by Zhao Junping.

He introduced himself: "Hello, my name is Chennault, former senior tactics instructor at the U.S. Air Force Tactical School, and now commander of the Foreign Air Force Corps."

"Please have a seat." Fang Wenqi sat opposite him on the office sofa. "What would you like to drink? I have coffee and tea here."

"Coffee, thank you."

"Junping, make a cup of coffee for the guest, and I'll have one too."

Zhao Junping went out to make coffee, while Gong Xiuneng stayed by Fang Wen's side to protect him.

The conversation continued.

What brings you here?

"It's about pilot training. As far as I know, your flight school is currently the best in Asia, except for Japan. Next year, or maybe the year after, I would like to rent your school grounds, as well as equipment and instructors, to conduct pre-war training for my pilots."

"Pre-battle training, could you go into more detail?" Fang Wenming asked, feigning ignorance.

"It's like this: two years ago, I retired early due to an ear ailment, and was subsequently invited to serve as a flight instructor at the Kunming Air Force Officer School in your country. Later, the Secretary General of your country's Aviation Commission approached me and proposed the idea of ​​establishing a foreign air force corps. I accepted this task and set up a flight school in the suburbs of KM to prepare for it."

Fang Wen interrupted, "You mean you were setting up a foreign air force corps the year before last? Then why haven't I seen any of your pilots participating in combat?"

"Because I don't have the money," Chennault replied honestly.

Fang Wen remained silent.

The Nationalist government was not short of money; rather, the whereabouts of its funds were unclear.

As far as he knows.

Last year alone, overseas Chinese donated 2 million yuan in legal tender for the war effort, while domestic citizens and organizations donated 1.5 million yuan.

That's equivalent to over 1 million US dollars.

There was also a Soviet military loan (totaling $2.5 million), from which the Il-16s currently operating domestically and the Soviet pilots are currently supported.

US Tung Oil Loan ($2500 million)
Leaving aside the loans, the donated funds, according to official statements, were used for approximately 60% of the purchase of weapons and equipment, including more than 300 aircraft and more than 5 machine guns.

The remaining 20% ​​of the funds were used to help refugees. Newspapers reported that more than 2000 refugee camps were set up and more than 500 million people received relief.

In reality, there weren't 300 planes at all.

Last year, the Yellow River breached its banks, and the Changsha fire caused such massive chaos that these issues weren't properly resolved. So where did all these refugee camps come from?

Anyway, Fang Wen has never met him.

Pushing his thoughts aside, he made no comment on the matter, but instead asked, "So, do you have the money to start construction now?"

"Yes, I have received a commitment that your government will purchase American aircraft and hire American civilian pilots to fight in the war. I will be returning to the United States next month to lobby the government to ease restrictions on arms sales. However, the aviation school in Kunming is still too rudimentary, so we would like to borrow your school facilities and teachers."

“We also have teaching duties, and we have training programs abroad that need to be conducted at the school. I’m afraid we can’t lend you the venue,” Fang Wen politely declined.

Chennault did not give up: "Your school can't possibly have students studying all year round, I only need a portion of the time."

"I'm sorry, it really won't work." Fang Wen shook his head.

"May I visit your school?"

Fang Wen had some ideas about whether to let Chennault visit the school; he wanted the former senior U.S. Army flight instructor to evaluate the teaching quality of Taishan Aviation School.

He immediately agreed.

"Okay, tomorrow then. This batch of trainees needs to take their mid-term assessment tomorrow."

The night passed, and Chennault, who was staying at the company guesthouse, got into Fang Wen's car and headed to Taishan Industrial Park.

The car drove into the industrial park and into the No. 1 aircraft manufacturing plant.

Chennault was very interested in the Xuanming long-haul seaplane parked at the aircraft manufacturing plant.

"This time when I go back to the United States, I will be flying to the Philippines on a Pan Am aircraft, which is this type of plane."

"Yes, we have an exclusive contract with Pan Am, and this model will only be sold to them."

"I suddenly realized that flying in Asia is all related to your Taishan Airlines. Whether it's going to Europe or flying over the Pacific Ocean, it's all your planes."

“Yes.” Fang Wen parked his car downstairs in front of the aviation school’s office building.

The school's principal, Shao Sishen, came to greet them.

Fang Wen introduced Chennault to Shao Sishen: "This is Chennault, an American, who is preparing to establish a foreign air force to aid the war effort. He wanted to take over our school's facilities for training, but I didn't agree. However, I agreed to bring him over to take a look."

Shao Sishen shook hands with Chennault, and then discussed business with Fang Wen.

"The trainees' mid-term assessment is divided into morning and afternoon sessions. The morning session focuses on theory, while the afternoon session tests flight skills. The theory exam is about to begin."

As they were talking, a teacher struck the hanging iron with a small hammer, and the clanging sound indicated that the exam had begun.

After the students took their exams, Fang Wen took Chennault to explore other parts of the school.

Chennault was very satisfied as he looked at the training facilities.

He not only made the request again.

"General Manager Fang, your school is indeed very suitable. If you can lend it to us for training, please feel free to make your request."

What do you want, and what can Chennault provide?
Fang Wen's first thought was airplanes. Since the other party wanted to establish the American Volunteer Group, they would naturally need fighter jets to support it.

He then asked, "What type of fighter jet are you planning to use?"

“The P-40. A new fighter jet that only came out last year,” Chennault replied.

Fang Wen's retired aircraft, the Shrike, is the B-model of the US military's P-26 fighter jet, manufactured by Boeing.

However, this P-40 was produced by Curtiss, the same company that manufactures the Hawk 2 and Hawk 3.

It seems the Nationalist government and this company have a connection.

Fang Wen was more interested in knowing the performance of the P-40.

Chennault answered the question readily.

The P-40 is an improved version of the P-36 "Eagle".

The main difference lies in the engine; the former uses a Pratt & Whitney air-cooled engine, while the latter has been replaced with an Allison V-1710-19 liquid-cooled engine.

Upon hearing this, Fang Wen was stunned.

He went through a lot when it came to choosing an engine.

He has used Pratt & Whitney engines and the Allison V-1710 prototype engine, but now he has embarked on the path of developing and producing engines independently.

But the performance of the Allison V-1710 still left a deep impression on him.

Moreover, he remembered that the P-40 was a fighter jet model with very high sales volume in the United States' foreign military sales.

Following the Lend-Lease Act, this model sold over 5000 units.

If Taishan Aviation wants to expand its military aircraft industry, it will need to rely on large-scale foreign military sales to increase its production capacity and capital chain since it cannot rely on domestic resources.

Therefore, the P-40 is Fang Wen's future competitor.

He needs to know more about it.

He then asked, "If I want to buy a P-40, can you help me get one? If so, the school's arrangements are no problem."

Chennault hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Sure, but if I manage to do it, I'll need to complete the transaction in the United States and bring it over from the US mainland, which will be very troublesome." The trouble wasn't the important thing; the key was to understand the advantages and disadvantages of this best-selling model so that he could surpass it.

Fang Wen took out his notebook, wrote down a passage, then tore off a page and handed it to Chennault: "I'll give you a contact number, Taishan International. After you go to the United States, you can call them directly, and they will take care of everything."

After putting away the papers, Chennault took his leave, and Fang Wen asked Gong Xiuneng to drive him away.

After watching the car drive away, Fang Wen went upstairs to inspect the examination room.

He saw that the Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army trainees were deep in thought, struggling to put pen to paper.

The theoretical exam was conducted in this way, especially for soldiers whose academic performance was not good.

However, there was one exception: Sun Tianrui, whom Fang Wen brought back from the Guangdong battlefield, was a passionate flyer.

This man, who had taught himself everything, had managed to fly a biplane across the Japanese blockade line, which made Fang Wensheng think highly of his talent.

His performance in this exam was also outstanding. While others were racking their brains, he answered questions quickly and without any hesitation.

What exactly is the exam content?
Fang Wen asked Shao Sishen to bring him one copy of each of the exam papers to see what the questions were.

There are five exam papers in total.

These are aerodynamics and principles of flight, aircraft structure and mechanical principles, navigation and communication technology, meteorology and aviation environment, and military theory and strategic common sense.

Although there are many papers, each paper has only a few questions, mainly consisting of three types: essay questions, multiple choice questions, and true/false questions. Each paper will not have more than 20 questions.

Fang Wen opened the first page on aerodynamics and flight principles.

The multiple-choice and true/false questions mainly cover Bernoulli's principle, lift/drag generation mechanisms, airfoil profile design, and stall and spin recovery principles.

These are all essential theories that must be mastered; the test assesses the students' basic knowledge and is not difficult.

That big question was a bit difficult.

By analyzing the aerodynamic layout of the Water Cloud Type 1 gull wing, we can understand the airflow characteristics during low-speed flight.

This question requires you to use your own language to understand and answer, so it's quite difficult.

The second session: Aircraft Structure and Mechanical Principles

The stress distribution of the metal skin fuselage, the mechanical linkage of the control surfaces (ailerons, elevators, rudder), and the landing gear retraction mechanism are all considered.

The students' answers were all quite good.

However, it falls short in its coverage of the working principles of radial and V-type engines, ignition systems, carburetor adjustments, and troubleshooting of common faults.

This is understandable, after all, they are soldiers, not engineering students. It's already quite good that they can memorize it.

The third phase focuses on navigation and communication technologies.

The navigation section assessed map interpretation, flight path calculation, landmark identification, and sextant astronomical positioning.

This is a crucial question to ensure navigation and avoid getting lost. The trainees answered it well, clearly demonstrating that they had practiced it extensively.

The questions on radio communications mainly consist of Morse code memorization, operation of airborne aviation radio equipment, and operation of the Taishan walkie-talkie.

This is also a required course for gunship pilots.

The fourth topic is meteorology and aviation environment.

The questions include: analyzing the effects of air pressure, wind direction, visibility, cumulonimbus clouds, etc. on flight, learning to draw simple weather maps, and judging suitable meteorological conditions for flight.

There is also a longer question: answer the strategies for dealing with dangerous weather such as icing, turbulence, and low-level wind shear, and how to avoid cumulonimbus clouds by adjusting flight altitude.

The fifth session: Military Theory and Strategic Common Sense
This test paper is quite special; it only has five major questions, which students need to answer one by one.

This includes: how gunships and aircraft should respond to hit-and-run tactics, circling flight techniques, a brief description of echelon formations, airdrop positioning in airborne operations, and a discussion of joint air-ground operations.

Fang Wen finished reading all the papers.

Well, the difficulty level is moderate.

Moreover, all of them are required questions on the exam.

Therefore, the pass rate is very important, and those that fail must improve in these areas.

The five theoretical exams have concluded.

The teachers immediately began grading the papers.

After all the scores were released, Fang Wen took a look.

Sun Tianrui came in first place, with a significant score difference compared to the other trainees.

But one thing surprised Fang Wen was that nearly 80% of the students passed the exam.

This is a very good mid-term assessment result.

Of course, the assessment is not over yet. Next, they will need to take a real flight test, which will be the time to verify their true abilities.

After lunch, the practical assessment began.

The afternoon sun shone on the sea, making the sea airport sparkle.

Fang Wen and Shao Sishen stood in the control room of the seaplane airport tower, scanning the six "Shuiyun II" gunship trainer aircraft parked in the berth with binoculars.

This training aircraft has been slightly modified to give the instructor in the co-pilot seat more control over the braking.

The first step in the assessment is communication.

Shao Sichen picked up the microphone and called out, "Attention all machines, begin frequency adjustment. If the frequency adjustment is not completed within 2 minutes, 1 point will be deducted."

After he finished speaking, he took out his pocket watch and waited.

Two minutes later, exactly two minutes later, Shao Sishen made a call using the adjusted frequency.

"This is the ground command center. Respond immediately to any calls."

The equipment emitted a series of responses, and all six trainees passed the first test.

"Take off in numerical order," Principal Shao announced over the loudspeaker. "The assessment consists of three parts: basic takeoff and landing, formation flying, and emergency handling."

Immediately afterwards, six gunship training aircraft took off in sequence and flew in formation.

The subsequent handling of special circumstances involved the examiner providing questions on the spot.

Shao Sichen picked up the microphone: "The advance troops have spotted enemy traces to the east and are calling for air support. Your formation can proceed immediately."

After he gave the specific location, six gunboats flew to the designated area.

There, teachers were already waiting on the ground, ready to evaluate and score the gunship aircraft as soon as they appeared.

This is the entire process of the aerial assessment.

The requirements are not complicated, but they test whether trainees have the ability to pilot gunship aircraft in combat.

After the fifth batch of flight assessments were completed, Fang Wen said to Shao Sishen, "Gather all the trainees; I have something to say to them."

On the aviation school's training ground, the students are lined up in neat square formations.

Fang Wen walked up to them and said seriously, “Your performance in this mid-term assessment can only be described as average. What does average mean? It means you can take off and land in gunship aircraft and complete simple combat missions. This performance will improve with your subsequent learning, and you will eventually become qualified gunship aircraft pilots. But my requirements for you go beyond that. Gunship aircraft are easy-to-master low-speed military fighters. Their difficulty mainly lies in circling flight and air-to-ground coordination, which are not very complex flight skills. In addition to gunship aircraft, there are high-speed fighters with speeds almost double that. I don’t expect you to become experts overnight and have the ability to pilot high-speed fighters. But you must build a solid foundation so that you will have a chance to cross the threshold of low-speed fighters. Do you all understand?”

The trainees replied in unison, "We understand."

Fang Wen nodded: "Alright, the second half of the training will be a bit more difficult. I guarantee that as long as you pass it, you will see a huge improvement."

(End of this chapter)