Legendary Captain

Chapter 241 I am no match for you!

The next morning, before dawn, at Hulan Airport.

Hulan Airport is a small airport with very few flights. Its main function is to handle Kunlong Airlines' local training missions. The airport and Kunlong Airport have a very good working relationship. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to schedule a local training session for early tomorrow morning at such a late hour last night.

Of course, Hulan Airport was only doing so because it was Han Qi who took the initiative to make the request. Otherwise, even with extensive cooperation between the two companies, they might not have made the exception for such an urgent request.

"Instructor, if you haven't made a move five feet below, then I'll take over the control directly," said the instructor cooperating with Han Qi on the fifth side of runway 07 at Hulan Airport.

The instructor was seated on the left, and Han Qi on the right. Having been away from the right-hand side of the plane for a long time, switching from left-hand to right-hand grip felt a little awkward, so Han Qi practiced a couple of takeoffs and landings on the right first to get a feel for it. By the third lap, Han Qi felt he had a good feel for it and began to get down to business.

This time, Han Qi wanted to verify how difficult it was for Xu Xian to perceive the leveling machine operation entirely through physical sensation.

Although Han Qi is already thinking about retirement, he still wants to experience some interesting things firsthand, such as Xingyou 6333's operation this time.

Before takeoff, Han Qi instructed the maintenance crew to disable the aircraft's radio altimeter and electronic communication function. When they were about 200 feet above the ground, he put on a pair of glasses, just like Xu Xian had done.

Han Qi wasn't nearsighted, so when he put on his glasses, everything outside was blurry. Plus, the sun hadn't risen yet, and it was pitch black all around; he could only vaguely make out the track lights. The effect was quite similar to Xu Xian's situation back then.

It must be said that Han Qi is a genius when it comes to setting up simulated scenarios.

However, this operation is extremely dangerous. Therefore, Han Qi specifically asked the company to arrange for an instructor-level pilot to assist. If the instructor fails to sense the leveling of the aircraft, the instructor will take over to land or go around.

Even the operation of this aircraft is extremely difficult. Therefore, Han Qi specifically requested that the instructors be of Class B or above. These instructors are all highly experienced and have very solid skills. Only in this way can Han Qi feel at ease.

After all, one only has one life, and Han Qi hasn't lived enough yet!

Five feet is the typical height at which a balloon phenomenon occurs, and this height is already very low. If the controls are not handed over, there may not be enough time to achieve a grounding posture.

Therefore, the height of five feet is a dividing point. If Han Qi has not yet sensed the leveling mechanism by this point, then for safety reasons, he should relinquish control.

"Hmm!" Han Qi nodded, then glanced at the instructor: "Straightening it out five feet won't be a problem, right? Are you confident?"

To be honest, performing a leveling maneuver at five feet is relatively late. Pilots who normally level off late usually start around ten feet, so leveling off at five feet is considered unconventional. This deviation from normal operating procedures can sometimes be very unusual and lead to unexpected problems.

The instructor next to Han Qi will definitely have no problem landing normally, but if he deliberately deviates from his usual operating habits and chooses an extremely late leveling point, will he feel very uncomfortable and have problems with his operation?

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be a big deal; if something went wrong during the operation, at worst a re-landing would be arranged, and it wouldn't be a matter of life and death. But in this situation, if the instructor felt he couldn't handle the five-foot leveling issue properly, Han Qi wasn't prepared to let him cooperate.

If the instructor couldn't cooperate, he would have to land himself, balancing on a height of about five feet. However, in this situation, he would have to maintain visual observation, otherwise it would be too dangerous. But doing so would make it impossible to accurately reconstruct Xu Xian's situation at the time, which is quite regrettable.

Thinking about this, Han Qi felt a little regretful; he seemed to have been too hasty. He should have waited a little longer so that the fleet could contact pilots with higher skill levels, preferably Class C instructors. He had rushed the flight arrangements so much that finding a Class B instructor from the fleet was already the limit.

However, safety comes first, no matter what. If the instructor in charge wasn't capable, he wouldn't have tried to be brave; it's just a shame about the fuel cost for this training session.

"Um, it should be fine, right?" The instructor scratched his neck. "There shouldn't be any major problems."

The instructor's gesture immediately amused Han Qi. He patted the instructor on the shoulder: "Don't be nervous, and don't try to be brave just because you're cooperating with me. My life is in your hands later. If you can do it, you can do it; if you can't, you can't do it. I won't blame you. We're not doing an inspection, right? To be fair, I do have some reputation, so give me a straight answer?"

Han Qi was worried that the cooperating instructor might say something he couldn't possibly do because he was afraid of his authority, which would be dangerous. Therefore, Han Qi had to talk things out and let the instructor let go of his psychological burden.

Although Han Qi held an extremely high position at Kunlong Aviation, he never abused his power and his character was impeccable. Since he had said that, the cooperating instructors naturally relaxed a little.

The instructor initially treated this collaboration as a task, and felt somewhat burdened. However, after hearing Han Qi's words, he felt relieved.

He thought about it seriously for a moment, then licked his lips: "No problem! I'm on the plane too, I can't risk my life!"

Han Qi was fully aware of how dangerous the situation he was simulating was, so after relieving his psychological pressure, he carefully evaluated it before arriving at this conclusion.

Moreover, he felt he could take responsibility for it!

"Are you a little nervous?" Han Qi suddenly asked.

The instructor smiled wryly and said, "How can I not be nervous about something like this? But being nervous is one thing, and being able to do it well is another. I know what I'm saying; I'm not just trying to be brave."

"Yeah! How could he not be nervous about something like that?" Han Qi sighed. "I wonder what he was feeling at the time."

Even the instructor who was cooperating with them could see the outside world and was still so nervous, let alone how much pressure Xu Xian was under at that time. Moreover, although Han Qi's simulation was very realistic, his state of mind was completely different. After all, Han Qi knew that there was someone else there to cover for him, so the pressure was actually not that great.

Xu Xian, however, was different; he only had one chance. Failure meant certain death! What immense pressure that was! When pressure exceeds a certain limit, it ceases to be motivation and becomes resistance.

The instructor who was assisting Han Qi knew who he was referring to. The general manager of the flight department had contacted him and explained the basic situation when he asked him to come and assist with this flight. At first, he didn't think much of it, but once on the plane, he realized the immense pressure that the man named Xu Xian was under.

Talented people emerge in every generation, each leading the way for hundreds of years; truly, the younger generation is formidable! Compared to the co-pilot's performance, I, as an instructor, am utterly inadequate.

"Are you sure everything's okay?" Han Qi asked, confirming again.

The cooperating instructor nodded, giving an affirmative response.

Han Qi didn't say anything more. Since things had come to this point, if he felt there was no problem, then there was no problem. After all, he had reached the level of instructor and could distinguish between what he could and couldn't do.

He was on the plane himself, and he couldn't risk his life, so Han Qi still believed him.

"Let's begin! Get ready to steer!" Han Qi smiled.

The instructor was taken aback: "What?"

Amid the instructor's questioning, Han Qi abruptly cut off the right throttle without further ado, and after the engine slowed down with the throttle lever, he immediately cut off the starter lever on the right side of the engine.

The right-side engine stalled instantly!

If you're going to act, you have to go all the way. The Star Traveler 6333 landed with its right engine off, so Han Qi naturally did the same.

"Damn it!" The instructor didn't expect Han Qi to cut off the engine without warning. He quickly increased the thrust of the left engine and simultaneously resisted the left rudder, carefully maintaining the aircraft's status and trajectory.

The instructor, carefully controlling the aircraft, couldn't help but exclaim, "You're going to land with only one engine?"

"What else? Star Travel 6333 is a single-shot landing vehicle, isn't it? Since we're simulating them, we definitely need to make the full set!"

The instructor was speechless. He knew that the Star Wanderer 6333 was a single-shot landing weapon, but was it really necessary to make it so realistic?

"I thought it would just be a test run of the leveling machine! This is a single shot..."

"What's wrong with single shot? Can't handle it?" Han Qi laughed.

The instructor cleared his throat: "It's alright. I can handle it!"

"That's it!" After receiving the instructor's assurance, Han Qi chuckled, set the landing speed to 15 for the flaps, activated the near-ground flap suppression switch, turned off the engine start switch on the right, and pursed his lips: "That's about right! I remember that kid Xu Xian didn't even have a speed reference, tsk tsk tsk, what a monster!"

Initially, Hamchi Airport was equipped with a rudimentary speed measurement device. After the landing configuration was established, Xu Xian, in order to avoid being distracted by the airport's speed updates as he approached touchdown, did not receive any speed data from Hamchi Airport during the final stages of landing. In other words, Xu Xian had no speed reference during the final phase.

Han Qi started the APU, stretched, yawned, and put on his glasses. For someone who doesn't need glasses, everything outside is blurry when they put them on. Not only that, a wave of dizziness began to wash over Han Qi, and he instantly felt extremely uncomfortable.

This is a normal reaction for people with normal vision who wear glasses. Although it is a little uncomfortable, it is quite acceptable compared to Xu Xian operating the aircraft in an environment with a high concentration of toluene diisocyanate.

Han Qi took off his glasses, wiped them, and then put them back on. After a while, he felt better. Once he felt more comfortable, he contacted the Hulan control tower: "Turn off all the lights except for the runway centerline lights and runway end lights!"

This operation had been communicated with the control tower in advance. After Han Qi made the application, the airport immediately complied. Soon after, before the two could see, only a vertically distributed centerline light strip and runway end light strip remained.

With most of the lights off, the instructor's face darkened, and all his sorrow could only turn into a sigh, without saying anything.

Han Qi, busy looking outside, didn't notice the instructor's reaction. He peered carefully outside, his eyes narrowing, but after a moment, his brows furrowed deeply: "I still can't see anything!"

In Han Qi's view, the centerline lights on the runway were all blurred together, so how could they be used as a directional reference?

As he spoke, Han Qi glanced at the APU and noticed that it was already running. After turning on the right-side ignition switch of the APU engine, he took off his glasses and patted the instructor on the shoulder: "Try wearing these!"

Han Qi handed the glasses to the instructor, casually adjusted the stabilizer surfaces a few times with his right hand, and tweaked the rudder a bit with his left, then said, "Let go!"

"I'll hand over control?"

"Yeah! Hand over the controls, I'll take over!" Han Qi said.

The instructor glanced at Han Qi, whose hands weren't even on the steering wheel, and asked somewhat nervously, "Don't you need to lend a hand? Won't there be any problems?"

"Hurry up and let go, try putting on your glasses. The plane is about to land, why are you talking so much nonsense?" Han Qi was getting annoyed. He had clearly explained the handover of control, but the other guy was still nagging.

When the instructor saw Han Qi get angry, he trembled and slowly loosened his left hand from the control wheel. He didn't dare to loosen it all at once, so that if anything went wrong, he could take control of the plane again.

However, as the instructor released the control stick, the aircraft did not change and remained in a balanced state.

"And the rudder! Let go!" Han Qi said impatiently, "Do you think I can flip the plane?"

A hint of embarrassment flashed across the instructor's face. He put a little force on the toe of his left foot to test the rudder's rudder position, only to find that Han Qi had already adjusted the rudder's rudder position through rudder trimming, so he didn't need to apply any more force to the rudder surface.

Han Qi can accurately adjust the balance of the stabilizer and rudder without having to experience it himself, which is truly terrifying.

Is this the pinnacle of skill for a civil aviation pilot?

The instructor had no further objections, took the glasses from Han Qi, and immediately put them on.

Just like Han Qi had reacted earlier, the instructor felt extremely uncomfortable wearing his glasses. He not only felt dizzy and lightheaded, but also saw the lights outside as overlapping images, making it impossible to distinguish objects.

Just as the instructor was about to remove his glasses, Han Qi suddenly reached out to stop him, asking, "With this thing on, can you even land?"

The instructor paused, lowered his hand from removing his glasses, looked outside again with the glasses on, and after about five or six seconds, finally took them off: "It's no use, I can't see anything at all!"

Even when only the centerline lights and end lights of the runway are turned off, the field of vision is still filled with a large amount of radiating light when looking through the two lighting systems. These halos occupy almost 70-80% of the field of vision and are extremely obvious, making them impossible to ignore.

These halos cover a great deal of useful information that can be obtained visually, including the location of the runway surface.

When the instructor wasn't wearing his glasses, he could vaguely make out the location of the track, but once he put on his glasses, he was almost blind. Apart from the light pollution, he couldn't see anything else at all.

"How many years have you been flying? Almost twelve years, right? He's only been flying for a little over a year, what a contrast!" Han Qi sighed, "Such an enviable talent! Xu Qing's judgment of character is definitely better than mine!"

Han Qi's achievements today are the result of taking one step at a time, while Xu Qing and Xu Xian seem to have no accumulation period, directly rushing to the peak and never coming down.

Previously, Xu Qing had a very high opinion of Xu Xian, believing that he was very likely to reach the same level as himself and Han Qi. At that time, Han Qi was skeptical, but now it seems that time has proven Xu Qing's judgment correct.

Taking the glasses from the instructor, Han Qi put them on again. This time, he only frowned slightly and didn't say anything more. Immediately, Han Qi gripped the steering wheel with his right hand and the throttle lever with his left, decisively reducing the left throttle to a slow position.

"You can deploy the flaps at your own pace!" Han Qi said calmly.

At this moment, both people in the cockpit were extremely experienced in flying. Han Qi was too lazy to dwell on those standard announcements anymore. What he needed to do was to establish a landing configuration as quickly as possible so that he would have more time to adjust his state.

Actually, this approach is somewhat crude. The standard announcements and the proper procedures for deploying flaps should still be followed. Han Qi's rough deployment of flaps is rather unprofessional.

Of course, having a Class B instructor overseeing Han Qi meant there wouldn't be any problems. However, Han Qi's behavior also reflected that he was probably under some pressure. This pressure made the usually "law-abiding" Han Qi become "unruly" at this moment.

The instructor understood what Han Qi wanted him to do, but through Han Qi's profile, he noticed a hint of seriousness in Han Qi's expression.

Could it be that this landing of Xingyou 6333, one of the top civil aviation pilots in the country, also put him under pressure?

These discoveries greatly surprised the instructor. In his mind, Han Qi should be omnipotent, at least within the scope of civil aviation, there was nothing that could stump Han Qi, which was the belief of most pilots in the country.

But at this moment, he realized that Han Qi also seemed to feel anxious and nervous!

Before the instructor could even let his thoughts wander, the plane's speed had already dropped below UP speed. The instructor was startled and dared not think any further, quickly placing the flaps in flap position one.

As soon as the flaps were deployed, the instructor shouted, "Flaps in place, green light!"

After glancing at the airspeed indicator and confirming the speed was correct, the instructor prepared to lower the flaps. Just then, Han Qi suddenly blurted out, "Pay close attention later, don't let your mind go blank when it's your turn!"

The instructor's heart skipped a beat. Han Qi's words clearly indicated that he thought Han Qi might not be able to get down in time.

"He actually felt he couldn't keep up?" The instructor's understanding seemed to be shaken, and his movements naturally slowed down.

At that moment, Han Qi's voice rang in his ears: "What nonsense are you thinking about?"

Startled awake by Han Qi, the instructor quickly put down the flap five and began to gather his scattered thoughts, focusing intently on the landing.

Since it was a single-engine landing, the landing configuration used flap 15. After confirming that the configuration was correct, the instructor briefly reviewed the contents of the single-engine landing checklist in his mind to ensure that nothing was missing before focusing on the external situation.

That's right, the instructor went through the single-engine landing checklist from memory. The single-engine landing checklist is used extremely frequently in training, so memorizing it completely isn't anything remarkable. Of course, this isn't something they normally do, but this flight wasn't exactly a standard flight anyway.

After the instructor confirmed that everything was in order, he checked one question: "Continuous landing?"

"Continuous landings!" Han Qi replied.

"Okay!" After receiving Han Qi's answer, the instructor turned the automatic brake to the OFF position, retracted the pre-positioned speed brake, picked up a towel to wipe the sweat from his palms, glanced outside, and felt it was about time. He then gently gripped the steering wheel with his left hand and placed his right hand below the accelerator lever. This scene looked very much like the instructor training Han Qi to fly.

There was no other way; five feet was too low. The instructor had to ensure he could take over control at any moment and not waste a single second. Han Qi had just told him to concentrate and be ready to take over and land, which practically implied that the possibility of him taking over control later was at least not negligible.

As previously agreed, any shouting about speed and altitude is prohibited after 200 feet off the ground; otherwise, Han Qi would subconsciously use that as a reference, which would make it impossible to recreate Xu Xian's situation as accurately as possible.

All the manipulation depends entirely on Han Qi's intuition!

The instructor noticed that Han Qi was maintaining a very precise course. Although he didn't know how Han Qi managed to achieve this with such poor visibility, the low-altitude maneuvering that followed was the main event.

As the plane descended, the lights on the runway became increasingly bright, but to Han Qi's eyes, all he could see was a white blur, making it impossible to see anything outside.

As the altitude decreased, the wind direction and speed began to change due to ground friction, causing the aircraft to gradually deviate slightly. Furthermore, the low-altitude airflow began to experience some weak turbulence due to the undulating ground, making the aircraft somewhat unstable.

Han Qi frowned. These external air currents were most likely to interfere with his perception of the aircraft, but he still had to face them.

After a flash of white light, Han Qi vaguely noticed a row of green lights passing by; those were the lights from the runway entrance. Now Han Qi knew he had entered the airspace above the runway.

It needs to be grounded!

At that moment, Han Qi, who was usually as still as a mountain, also sat up slightly. After a moment's hesitation, he made the same decision as Xu Xian and slowly closed his eyes.

The instructor next to him saw that Han Qi had closed his eyes, and his heart was pounding in his throat. He gripped the steering wheel with increasing force with his left hand.

No longer disturbed by the outside world, Han Qi sensed every slight change in the plane. He needed to find that crucial moment in these fleeting changes.

Even at such a low altitude, slight turbulence was still affecting the aircraft, causing Han Qi a lot of trouble.

Finally, the additional head-up moment of the balloon phenomenon is indeed more noticeable than the ground effect at other times, but it is still not very significant and is easily confused with the effects of airflow.

In fact, the landing weather conditions at Hulan Airport today were much better than those at Xianchi Airport yesterday. However, Xu Xian was still able to seize the elusive opportunity, like a shooting star, even under more adverse conditions.

Suddenly, Han Qi, who had been waiting, felt the plane's nose lift slightly, a lift that seemed different from the effect of airflow. However, the feeling was weak, like a mirage, both real and unreal!

In that brief moment of hesitation, Han Qi suddenly heard a voice beside him: "Hand over control!"

(End of this chapter)