Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 81, Section 80: Harassing the Japanese First Fleet; Self-taught Military Flight Maneuvers: Roll; Taking Pan Jiafeng as Apprentice
1932 9 Month 28 Day.

At dawn, the Shrike was flying at an altitude of 3000 meters.

We have now passed through the city of Shanghai.

Near the coast, a warship that broke in half sank at sea.

That was the cruiser Izumo.

Fang Wen piloted the plane past his spoils and flew towards the sea.

Looking down at the sea from above, it is not an endless expanse; a few scattered islands dot the surface.

These islands have become the best barrier for Hangzhou Bay.

Flying over these small islands, Fang Wen searched for Japanese warships at sea.

This sea area is where the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea meet. On the vast sea, even when Fang Wen looked down from high above, he still could not see any reference points.

This is a major danger of flying over the sea, as it is difficult to use reference points to determine the course of a flight over a wide expanse of water.

More often, compasses, maps, or even the sun and stars are used.

Fang Wen checked the compass, confirmed the direction again, and flew north.

After flying 200 kilometers, Fang Wen, in a state of mechanical perception, finally spotted the target.

On the sea, there are several small black dots lined up and slowly moving south.

After lowering the flight altitude, Fang Wen confirmed that it was a Japanese naval fleet.

It then plunged down at high speed.

The Japanese Navy's First Fleet patrols.

This area originally belonged to China, but unfortunately, due to insufficient military protection, it was left to be ravaged by the fleets of these invaders.

They were unrestrained, even frolicking on the ships, completely disregarding the danger.

These Japanese naval officers and soldiers believed they were the strongest in Asia, and that no one in Asia could challenge them.

And that is indeed the case; these arrogant guys controlled the Asian seas during the War of Resistance.

But today, their perception has been shattered.

A black dot swooped down rapidly from high above.

Many soldiers and officers on deck noticed this scene.

They shouted loudly and rushed to their posts, the alarm sounding throughout the entire fleet.

It was an unidentified enemy fighter jet, and its speed was astonishing.

The enraged warship commander issued the order for the carrier-based aircraft to take off via radio.

Those short Type 3 carrier-based aircraft hastily took to the sky, attempting to use their numerical superiority to surround the enemy aircraft.

Fang Wen piloted the Shrike and swooped down past the Japanese warship, completing a provocative act.

This was not a reckless act of suicide, but rather a carefully considered decision by Fang Wen.

The Shrew's speed was between 350 and 400 kilometers per hour, while the Japanese Type 3 carrier-based aircraft had a maximum speed of 240 kilometers per hour, making it impossible for them to catch up.

At that time, shipborne air defense weapons were mainly anti-aircraft machine guns, and they were manually aimed, so they couldn't detect the flight path of the Shrike at all.

Just as he had planned, before the anti-aircraft gunners could even finish calculating the firing parameters, the Shrike had already arced into the sky.

Then the Type 3 carrier-based aircraft that took off from the enemy ship had no chance of catching up with him.

But this is not the end.

The Shrike flew into the clouds and disappeared.

The three carrier-based aircraft that followed surrounded the airspace and formed fighter squadrons to search for the area.

Little did they know, the Shrike was lurking 8000 meters above their heads.

At this moment, Fang Wen was absolutely confident that he could shoot down one or two enemy fighters and then escape quickly.

But he's considering whether it's worth it.

War is not a one-person affair. If we start fighting now, we will break the newly signed ceasefire agreement, not only creating unnecessary trouble for ourselves, but also complicating the future.

Fang Wen did not want to bring war forward just for a moment's pleasure.

He suppressed the urge to fire, merely adjusted the fuselage, aimed the machine gun at an enemy aircraft, and then quickly flew away.

But on the way back, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

They forcefully widen the gap in flight technology by relying on their mechanical perception capabilities, thereby gaining an advantage.

But that's not all there is to air combat.

Just like a peerless swordsman.

To roam the martial world, he needs a good sword (airplane), extraordinary talent (mechanical perception), and unpredictable swordsmanship (military flight tactics).

What I lack is the last one.

However, these aspects are not covered extensively in biplane instruction.

Now that the era of monoplanes is about to arrive, even without formal instruction, we must figure it out on our own.

Time flies, and another month has passed.

The citizens of Shanghai recovered from the shadow of war and returned to peaceful lives.

Unbeknownst to anyone, the Japanese naval fleet at sea had already been harassed by mysterious aircraft three times in the past month.

The enemy plane, which was extremely fast, gave them a major headache. They tried various methods to deal with it, but they were unable to defeat this elusive aircraft.

This is Fang Wen using the Japanese fleet to hone his air combat skills.

As he absorbed the mysterious energy of the four golden Buddhas, he felt his mechanical perception ability continuously improving, making the Type 3 carrier-based aircraft, which was half the speed, the best training subject.

It was precisely this kind of combat-oriented military training that enabled Fang Wen to combine his mechanical perception ability to create the first set of tactical flight maneuvers that a biplane could not perform, but which were suitable for the Shrike.

Tactical maneuver roll: A basic tactical maneuver that involves making a gyroscopic motion in the air, rapidly flipping the aircraft to slow down and avoid enemy pursuit.

Although this set of movements is basic, it is not as easy to perform as it sounds.

It was used, in particular, in the first generation of monoplanes.

Fang Wen needs to continuously change the direction of lift during this rolling around the longitudinal axis and coordinate with the push-pull rod action to quickly carry out spatial maneuvers.

Furthermore, the lateral movement can be further subdivided to adapt to different tactical environments.

For example: fast roll, slow roll, and large radius roll, as well as rising roll, vertical roll, horizontal roll, and sliding roll.

Mastering these military combat flight maneuvers gave Fang Wen the feeling of comprehending a divine martial arts manual.

He couldn't help but think of Pan Jiafeng, who wanted to become his apprentice.

This kind of tactical flight maneuver can be passed down. Perhaps it can be taught to Pan Jiafeng so that he can pass on this military flight technology and improve the quality of the Chinese Air Force.

After having this idea, Fang Wen would write lesson plans at home after work every day.

After the lesson plan was finished, Fang Wen asked Shunzi to go to the training center and call Pan Jiafeng over.

"Young Master, Pan Jiafeng has arrived."

"Let him in alone."

Fang Wen said in the room.

Pan Jiafeng swallowed hard, feeling nervous.

He walked in, stood properly, and didn't dare to say a word.

"How's your studies going lately?" Fang Wen asked.

"First in the class in academic subjects, first in physical training, and first in flight simulation," Pan Jiafeng replied, a hint of pride in his voice. "Not bad, come with me on the plane tomorrow," Fang Wenping replied calmly.

"Huh?!" Pan Jiafeng exclaimed in surprise, then suddenly asked with delight, "Can I start actual flight training now?"

"Not yet, but you can learn from me, observe more, and think more. By the way, this military flight technology manual is one I just wrote. Take a look, and ask me if you don't understand anything."

Fang Wen took out the booklet he had just finished writing and handed it to Pan Jiafeng.

Looking at the booklet in his hand, Pan Jiafeng couldn't help but open it.

When I saw it read: "Military Flight Training Manual, Basic Air Combat Maneuvers: Roll".

This thing is no less than an ancient secret manual.

Pan Jiafeng knelt down with a thud and said loudly, "Master, please accept my bow."

The commotion inside was also heard outside.

Shunzi said regretfully, "Young Master is taking on disciples. If I had knelt first, would he have accepted me first?"

Fang Shouxin gave his son a hard knock on the head: "If you can't pass the flight apprentice exam, you don't even have the right to say anything. Stop embarrassing yourself here. Go study some academic subjects and try again next time."

After reprimanding Shunzi, Fang Shouxin shook his head regretfully and went to knock on the door.

“Young Master, the matter of becoming an apprentice must be done in a respectable manner, not in private. Especially for someone as well-known in Shanghai, even if you don’t hold a formal ceremony in the city, you should at least invite some people to witness the ceremony, or at the very least, publish it in the newspaper.”

Fang Wen, who was in the room, was stunned. He realized that he had taken the matter of becoming an apprentice too lightly.

Since that's the case, then let's do as Fang Shouxin says.

"Don't make it too big. How about this, we'll set up a table at the tavern and have Sun Debiao, Manager Liu, Shao Sichen, and Howard come to witness the ceremony."

"Yes, young master, I'll make the arrangements right away."

"Nothing much planned. Let's go to the tavern first and see who's there."

Fang Wen then led Pan Jiafeng directly to the tavern.

Inside the tavern, Sun Debiao and Howard were drinking together.

After spending a long time together, the two had a good relationship, especially when drinking. Fang Wen, Manager Sun, and Shao Sichen all took drinking in stride, but the two of them couldn't live without alcohol every day.

The two stopped drinking when they saw Fang Wen enter.

"General Manager, you finally have some free time today," Sun Debiao asked with a grin.

“When I have time, I’ve taken on a new apprentice. I’m planning to set up a table here for you all to sit down and witness this,” Fang Wen replied.

"Oh, that's great!" Sun Debiao shouted in a loud voice, "Boss, come over here quickly, prepare a table of good wine and food, our general manager is taking on an apprentice."

The tavern immediately sprang into action.

Fang Shouxin also went out to find Shao Sishen and Manager Sun.

After a while, Manager Sun and Shao Sichen arrived, and everyone was there.

With Fang Wen's own small circle of friends as witnesses, Pan Jiafeng officially became Fang Wen's disciple.

Pan Jiafeng's becoming Fang Wen's apprentice means that Fang Wen's inner circle has gained another trustworthy person.

These days, the bond between a master and apprentice is just as valuable as that between a father and son.

In particular, when Pan Jiafeng's parents learned that their son had become an apprentice but without any formal ceremony, they came over and scolded him.

The matter of becoming an apprentice should not be handled by the master; it should be done by the apprentice.

According to their family custom, on an auspicious day, Pan Jiafeng prepared generous gifts and went to their home to perform the apprenticeship ceremony. The whole thing was a lively affair before it finally came to an end.

Now everyone in Shanghai knows that the general manager of Taishan Airlines has taken on a personal apprentice to teach aviation skills.

Some people envied him, while others were jealous. Comments about Pan Jiafeng circulated within Taishan Airlines.

Pan Jiafeng felt immense pressure; he knew he could only prove himself by excelling in his studies.

Therefore, he reported on time every day and boarded the plane to study.

There weren't many seats on the plane, so he had to take over the position of the airmail clerk, counting and handling mail and cargo after takeoff and landing.

During flights, unlike other airmailers who stayed in the cargo hold, he stayed in the cockpit watching Fang Wen pilot the plane and diligently learning.

With a mentor providing hands-on training and the ability to ask questions at any time, plus the fact that the Boeing 80 is a commercial airliner designed for smooth operation, it is relatively easy to learn.

Pan Jiafeng did indeed have some talent for flying, and he quickly mastered the essentials of flying the Boeing 80.

After accompanying him on fifteen flights, Fang Wen decided to have Pan Jiafeng undergo actual flight training.

But it wasn't a Boeing 80, it was a biplane called Qingyun.

In order to better complete the test flight training, Fang Wen decided to convert the Qingyun into a trainer aircraft. After all, now that he has the Boluo, he will basically not need the Qingyun anymore. Converting it into a trainer aircraft will be just right for the flight students to use for actual flight training.

The Qingyun has two pilot seats. The rear pilot seat was originally the position of the machine gunner and bombardier, and it needs to be modified into a linkage device so that the front and rear seats can operate the aircraft at the same time.

In this way, if a student makes a mistake due to panic, the instructor in the other pilot's seat can correct it in time.

After several days of modifications, the linkage device was completed, and Taishan Airlines' first real flight training for flight apprentices began.

As a result, all flight apprentices at the training center suspended their courses and came to the airport to observe.

Under their watchful eyes, Fang Wen led Pan Jiafeng onto the plane.

He sat in the back seat, while Pan Jiafeng drove in the front.

Looking at Pan Jiafeng's stiff shoulders, Fang Wen said, "Take a deep breath, relax, don't be nervous."

Pan Jiafeng took a deep breath and nodded vigorously: "Master, I can begin."

"Alright, let's begin the live flight training. First step: ground acceleration of the aircraft."

Upon receiving the order, Pan Jiafeng started the engine and controlled the aircraft to move forward slowly. As the speed continued to increase, Fang Wen said, "Okay, stop. There are some issues you need to pay attention to. Your acceleration process is not smooth. The acceleration before takeoff should be a smooth increase."

"But I don't know how to increase the speed at a constant rate?" Pan Jiafeng replied, troubled.

"Can you sing?"

"Master, I can sing."

"I'll give you a rhythm, you write it down, and next time you accelerate, you gradually increase the throttle according to the rhythm."

This is a little trick summarized by Fang Wen, which is the most reasonable acceleration method he came up with based on his understanding of the Qingyun ship through mechanical perception.

In this way, Pan Jiafeng successfully reached that state, which greatly boosted his confidence.

"I feel like I can take off now."

"Then let's give it a try."

Fang Wen agreed. With him there, even if Pan Jiafeng had a piloting problem, he could cut off the other party's control in time and adjust the flight status back.

The plane then returned to the takeoff point and accelerated again.

When the speed reached takeoff level, Fang Wen said, "Pull up."

Almost simultaneously, Pan Jiafeng did as his muscles reflexively instructed.

The plane lifted off at a slight angle and gradually took off into the air.

"How was your first takeoff?" Fang Wen asked with a smile.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master. I've memorized the feeling of takeoff, and I'll succeed next time," Pan Jiafeng replied confidently.

He proved to be a promising pilot, and quickly developed his skills through practical flight training.

Although he couldn't reach Fang Wen's level, he could still be considered a successful beginner as a pilot.

Next, it's time for Pan Jiafeng to learn how to fly a Boeing 80, so that Fang Wen can free up time to do other things.

(End of this chapter)