Legendary Captain

Chapter 303 I'll Start the Fighter Jet?

The original plan was to visit the Luohang Industrial Aircraft Base in Rongfu the day after tomorrow. However, it is estimated that Ye Qing opened a back door for Xu Xian, allowing Xu Xian to come a day earlier, so that Xu Xian would have the opportunity to observe the C16 in person.

Xu Xian was naturally overjoyed by this opportunity to get something for free. He loved getting things for free the most; getting something for free was fun for a while, and getting something for free all the time was even more fun.

Upon receiving Ye Qing's call, Xu Xian readily agreed. He remembered that Xingyou Airlines didn't have direct flights from Wuhan to Chengdu, but Chimelong Airlines did. Adding a Chimelong Airlines crew would require an email, making the process slightly more complicated. Although Chimelong Airlines and Xingyou Airlines were essentially one company, even close relatives kept clear accounts; adding a Chimelong Airlines crew wouldn't be as easy as adding their own.

However, the procedures for adding a flight crew are a little complicated, but it's not a big deal. I'll go back and look for an email template for applying to add a flight crew with my friends.

That's right. Emails requesting additional flight crews also need to be in a specific text format. Sending random, haphazardly formatted emails will not only prevent you from getting additional flight crews, but may also be penalized as an example of non-standard document format.

Sometimes Xu Xian found it strange that an email requesting additional crew members was considered an official document; was it making a mountain out of a molehill?

Of course, even though he had many complaints about such things, Xu Xian could only follow the rules, otherwise the company would cause him trouble again.

Compared to Xu Xian, who was busy with the crew matters, Cheng Jingdong, who was intimidated by Lu Xinyu, was completely terrified.

To prevent simulator trainers and flight instructors from slacking off during their work, the flight department will periodically access the simulator's in-cabin monitoring data.

Before management became so strict, many trainees and instructors would eat and drink excessively during refresher training. The next day, they would be exhausted when they boarded the simulator. There was even an incident where two trainees and an instructor, having drunk too much, only managed a two-hour nap before getting into the simulator. Without exception, all three of them pretended to fly for less than half an hour before falling asleep in their seats. They slept sprawled out in the simulator for over three hours before the next group of trainees discovered the situation.

Unfortunately, the instructor who took over the training group was a leader from the flight department, and now everything was under their watchful eyes. From then on, the flight department began checking the training monitoring footage from the simulator.

The simulator's monitoring camera is located above the cabin door, directly facing the simulated cockpit and control panel, providing a clear view of the actions of the two trainees and the instructor. Cheng Jingdong's action of pushing Lu Xinyu, causing him to slam into the seat back, was definitely recorded by the camera.

There is a very big difference between flight schools and airlines. In flight schools, it is very common for instructors to beat and verbally abuse students, and it is not uncommon for them to physically assault students; there have even been cases of blood splattered in the cockpit.

However, these behaviors are limited to flight schools. In airlines, no matter how high one's technical level, there are many who can talk a lot and curse, but physical violence is absolutely forbidden. If anyone resorts to violence, the nature of the problem changes.

It can only be said that Lu Xinyu is indeed very cunning. As the person in charge of inspecting the monitoring of pilot simulator training, he naturally knows where the monitoring cameras are in each simulator center.

Inside the simulator, he clearly had a chance to avoid Cheng Jingdong's shoving, but he simply didn't move, letting Cheng Jingdong push him so hard that he crashed into the back of the seat. This scene was recorded, solid evidence, and Cheng Jingdong had no way to overturn the case.

Sometimes, Xu Xian was genuinely afraid of people like Lu Xinyu. Just now, he had personally witnessed Lu Xinyu's upper body initially flinch slightly, but he quickly returned to his original position, taking the full force of Cheng Jingdong's push.

It can only be said that Lu Xinyu's mind works too fast when it comes to framing others and setting traps.

Moreover, the strength Lu Xinyu displayed in stopping the steering wheel from shaking was truly astonishing; Xu Xian, with his small arms and legs, certainly couldn't have overpowered him.

Once he was out of the simulator, he was certain there were no surveillance cameras outside. When Cheng Jingdong caught up, he slapped him across the face.

As the saying goes, revenge is the best revenge, and Cheng Jingdong truly embodies the saying that retribution is inevitable.

Lu Xinyu glanced at Cheng Jingdong, whose mind was clearly blank, then looked up and met Xu Xian's gaze in the simulator: "Take your things and let's go! Don't worry about him, let him embarrass himself here."

After speaking, he stretched his back muscles. During this process, Lu Xinyu still grimaced, showing that the collision had caused him some damage.

Xu Xian gave an "oh," knowing that a skilled inspection couldn't proceed any further at this point. Since his part of the inspection was finished anyway, there was no need to worry about it anymore. He quickly packed his things, leaving only Cheng Jingdong's training course behind.

Cheng Jingdong's situation is a bit complicated now, and he doesn't really want to get involved.

As Xu Xian passed Cheng Jingdong at the exit, he secretly glanced at him and found that Cheng Jingdong's face was ashen and his eyes were devoid of any spirit, probably because his brain had really gone blank.

Cheng Jingdong had previously harassed Wen Jingshu, and given the consequences, Xu Xian naturally wouldn't have any overly compassionate feelings. However, he secretly sighed at how formidable Lu Xinyu's methods were.

When Lu Xinyu quickly left the training center and arrived at the debriefing room, he was on the phone, seemingly talking about Feibiao.

"That's right, Cheng Jingdong's proficiency check failed. Forward the email to me, and I'll approve it," Lu Xinyu said to the person on the other end of the phone. "Also, who is Cheng Jingdong's squad leader? Check if he has shifts tomorrow. If not, have him come to my office tomorrow afternoon. Also, contact the Hanjing Simulator Center and retrieve the simulator monitoring video I checked today. And cancel my shift tomorrow morning."

"Cancelled? Mr. Lu, is there something urgent?" Fei Biao asked casually.

Lu Xinyu scoffed, "Urgent? Is going to the hospital considered urgent? Also, forward the email to the planning office and the dispatch center, don't forget!"

Whenever a pilot fails the proficiency check, the Flight Standard system, after receiving feedback from the inspector, must compile the details of the pilot's failure into an email and forward it to the Chief Pilot. The Chief Pilot then issues instructions, and finally, the Flight Standard system forwards it to the Planning Department and the Dispatch Center. This process is used to modify the pilot's subsequent flight assignments.

If a captain or higher-level pilot fails the proficiency check, he or she will be demoted, and a notice of suspension of his or her captain's qualification will be posted on the department bulletin board. After that, the scheduling will be based on the senior first officer. This involves a lot of factors, all of which require approval and verification from the chief pilot.

However, since Lu Xinyu is the chief pilot, it is indeed easier for him to operate.

After finishing his business with Fei Biao, Lu Xinyu turned around and saw Xu Xian coming in. He greeted him, "You're here. Bring out everything I need to sign, and I'll sign it for you."

There are still many documents that require the inspector's signature during proficiency checks, such as proficiency check work orders and simulator check task sheets.

Xu Xian took out all the documents that needed to be signed and handed them to Lu Xinyu. He then sat down opposite Lu Xinyu and asked, "What did Cheng Jingdong say? Are we just going to ignore him?"

"Are you going to interfere with him?" Lu Xinyu sneered disdainfully, then stopped signing the document and asked Xu Xian, "So, how did Cheng Jingdong offend Li Chuan? Li Chuan specifically told me to teach Cheng Jingdong a lesson. What exactly happened? I heard that you beat up Cheng Jingdong in the lobby not long ago. What personal grudge do you have?"

Lu Xinyu's barrage of questions left Xu Xian speechless. He countered, "So you didn't offend Cheng Jingdong? Li Chuan told you to deal with him, so you did without asking why?"

"Why do you need to ask why? I've disliked him for a long time too, he's ruined the reputation of the flight team." Lu Xinyu snorted, "What did he do to offend you? The other day, there were rumors that you broke one of his arms."

"If his hands weren't clean, then we had to break them, isn't that normal? I just didn't expect this guy to recover so quickly. They say it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, but it hasn't been that long." Xu Xian didn't go into the details of what happened, just gave a few perfunctory words: "But, you just said you were going to not let him pass the second examination, is that true?"

Let alone the captain, even a first officer rarely fails the proficiency check twice. If Cheng Jingdong really fails the proficiency check twice, he'll be truly infamous.

However, if he did that, Cheng Jingdong would become a complete joke, as his methods would be quite cruel.

Xu Xian didn't pity Cheng Jingdong, but he felt that doing so was somewhat dishonorable and could easily push Cheng Jingdong to the brink of desperation, leading him to complain to the authorities. In that case, it would make the whole company look bad, which was really pointless.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he can't find anything wrong with what I'm doing." Lu Xinyu was quite unconcerned. "If I can't even handle Cheng Jingdong, who has no power or influence, then what's the point of climbing up the ladder all these years? By the way, when are you planning to go back? I noticed you didn't add to tonight's flight. Do you have other plans?"

"Yes, I'm not going back today. I'm going to join the Chimelong crew to go to Rongfu Airport tomorrow morning."

"Rong Mansion? What would you do at Rong Mansion?" Lu Xinyu quickly realized his rudeness and immediately added, "It's nothing, forget I asked."

"It's nothing," Xu Xian waved his hand. Lu Xinyu was being a little too respectful to him, making Xu Xian feel uncomfortable. "It's just that a friend invited me to visit him, nothing serious. Hey? Can you approve my request to add a crew to the Chimelong crew? I'm adding a crew to the Chimelong crew, which requires the squadron leader's approval. But I checked the squadron leader's schedule, and he's flying a long four-leg flight this afternoon, so he might not have checked the email. If he doesn't see it, I might not be able to add a crew to tomorrow's early shift. Or I can send it to you, and you can approve it and then forward it to the dispatch center?"

Lu Xinyu's lips twitched. He was, after all, a chief pilot, yet Xu Xian kept dragging him along to do trivial tasks. Nevertheless, Lu Xinyu readily agreed.

So, Xu Xian sent the flight information for the additional crew to Lu Xinyu, who agreed and forwarded it to the dispatch center. Upon seeing that it was a request from the chief engineer, the dispatch center immediately added the crew for Xu Xian. After finishing, they even called Xu Xian to say that the plan to add the crew would be online soon—the efficiency was truly remarkable.

Sure enough, within fifteen minutes, Xu Xian's flight schedule and crew list showed the information for the Chimelong Airlines flight to be added the next day.

Many of Xingyou Airlines' planes do not have first class. If it were a Chimelong Airlines plane, it would almost always have first class. Moreover, Xu Xian checked the passenger information and found that the first class seats on the flights he added were empty, so Xu Xian could easily get a free first class seat.

After confirming the flight information, Xu Xian immediately sent it to Ye Qing. Ye Qing offered to pick Xu Xian up at Rongfu Airport the next day, based on the flight's landing time.

After everything was arranged, around 10 a.m. the next morning, Xu Xian, who had just come out of the arrival hall, was picked up by Ye Qing and driven straight to Luohang Industrial's flight base.

The headquarters and flight base of Luohang Industry are not located in the same place. Because new fighter jets take off and land at Luohang Industry's flight base all year round, the location of this flight base is relatively remote for certain security reasons. After picking up Xu Xian, the two set off from the airport and drove for less than two hours before arriving at a heavily guarded airport.

At the entrance, Ye Qing presented his identification and asked Xu Xian to do the same. Xu Xian wasn't an employee of Luohang Industries, but Ye Qing had already entered Xu Xian's information into Luohang Industries' temporary access list beforehand. Once Xu Xian's identification was verified, he would receive temporary access for one day. After midnight, Xu Xian's temporary access would be revoked, requiring Ye Qing to enter Xu Xian's information back into the temporary access list in advance.

After verifying that everything was correct, the two drove into the venue, parked the car, and then Ye Qing took Xu Xian's temporary work permit and got a reflective vest. They would be going to the tarmac later, and they would have to wear the reflective vest whenever they were on the tarmac.

"Shall we take a short break first, or go straight to the hangar? The C16 observation time we applied for today is only two hours, but only the duration is set, not the time. As long as it's before 2 PM, you can start whenever you want." Ye Qing asked Xu Xian for his opinion after seeing that the preparations were almost done. After all, some people are easily tired after such a long car ride, not to mention that Xu Xian had also taken a two-hour flight before, making it almost five hours in total. He probably needed to rest a bit.

The observation opportunity granted this time only allows Xu Xian to test-ride the C-16 fighter jet on the ground; he can't even leave the hangar, let alone take to the air. If he wants to fly, he can only wait until the designated time tomorrow.

Although there's no flight today, it's enough time for Xu Xian to familiarize himself with the C-16 fighter jet, saving him from spending more time on the ground teaching basic procedures tomorrow. By moving some of the material to be taught tomorrow to today, more time can be freed up for flight training tomorrow.

"Where's a place to get some water? Let's grab a drink and head over, I can't wait any longer." Just now, as they reached the parking lot, he could already see rows of hangars in the distance, filled with fighter jets of all types, a dazzling array, like a dream. Xu Xian had never seen so many fighter jets up close before, the real kind, and it filled him with immense excitement.

At this moment, Xu Xian's mind was filled with images of fighter jets, so he didn't care about resting at all. He thought about having a drink of water and catching his breath before heading straight to the hangar.

Seeing Xu Xian's impatient expression, Ye Qing was very satisfied. Sure enough, no man could resist the temptation of a real fighter jet!

"Alright, there's a lounge up ahead. Let's grab a drink there and head to the hangar," Ye Qing said. "Also, when we get to the hangar, remember, don't take any pictures. It could cause trouble."

The Luohang Industrial Flight Base houses many of the latest fighter jet models that have not yet been publicly announced, so secrecy is necessary. If anyone were to take photos of them and be discovered by patrol personnel, it would be a very bad thing.

"Of course I know, do you think I don't know that?" Xu Xian readily agreed. How could he not know? This isn't an amusement park; we can't just take pictures here!

After giving Xu Xian a few instructions, Ye Qing led him to have some tea before heading straight towards the hangar.

Part of the tarmac at this flight base is open-air, and part is covered. However, the C-16 that Xu Xian could observe was not on the tarmac, but in a hangar in a corner of the tarmac.

The two put on reflective vests and crossed the tarmac, where there were patrol personnel. They recognized Ye Qing, but Xu Xian was a complete stranger, so they were just doing a routine check.

Ye Qing helped Xu Xian explain the situation to the patrol personnel and showed them Xu Xian's ID and temporary work permit. Each patrol officer had a data terminal on which they could check the temporary pass list that Ye Qing had mentioned.

The flight base here has secrets, and as patrol personnel, they naturally cannot be careless. They can't just believe everything Ye Qing says; they have to investigate it themselves.

Sure enough, they found Xu Xian's name on the temporary pass list, along with his identity information. After verifying the information against the documents he was carrying, they were allowed to pass.

After the patrol team's inspection, Ye Qing led Xu Xian straight to the hangar, where several maintenance workers were sunbathing at the entrance.

"Can you guys stop being so lazy? You want to sunbathe in the morning, have afternoon tea in the afternoon, and do you want to have a midnight snack in the evening?" Ye Qing was furious at the lazy appearance of the maintenance crew.

One of the leaders laughed and said, "We brothers are quick and efficient; we can finish a whole day's work in half a day. It's not unreasonable for us to take a break, is it, Brother Ye?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Xu Xian beside Ye Qing, a knowing look on his face: "Is this the brother you brought here to observe today?"

Ye Qing pushed Xu Xian forward: "Xu Xian, you should be one of us in the future."

The maintenance worker suddenly realized, "I understand now! Hehe, go in, it's parked right inside, you can go in. By the way, according to the rules, Brother Xu Xian is still an outsider, so we need someone to keep an eye on him, don't mind."

"I understand the rules!" Ye Qing nodded. Although Ye Qing had just made it clear that Xu Xian was very likely to join the Luohang Industrial fleet in the future, he was still an outsider for now, wasn't he?

According to regulations, a third party needs to be present to supervise in such situations to prevent any irregularities from occurring.

"That makes things easier. It's only two hours. I'll start timing now," the maintenance worker laughed, then patted the person next to him: "You just follow along and keep an eye on things. Don't disturb Brother Ye."

The person next to them immediately agreed and followed Ye Qing and Xu Xian into the hangar.

The hangar is mainly used for the daily maintenance and upkeep of aircraft. It contains a lot of maintenance equipment, and there is a single-engine fighter jet parked in the middle.

"Is this the one?" Xu Xian was as excited as a child, circling C16 again and again, his face beaming with undisguised joy.

"This is it." Ye Qing followed behind Xu Xian, quite satisfied with Xu Xian's reaction. "Want to sit inside and take a look?"

"Get in? The cockpit? I can get into the cockpit?" Xu Xian's breath almost stopped. He had thought he could only watch from the sidelines, but he never expected to be able to get into the cockpit.

"What else?" Ye Qing pointed to the iron ladder next to C16: "Our fighter jets don't have passenger boarding bridges or jet bridges, so we'll just have to make do with this."

"Okay, okay, okay!" Xu Xian glanced at the maintenance worker who had come over to supervise and found that he didn't say anything, which was considered tacit approval. He immediately couldn't suppress his impulse and climbed straight up the ladder to the cockpit.

As soon as Xu Xian sat in the cockpit of the C-16, he felt that Boeing's cockpit was really spacious enough. There was basically no room to stretch out in the cockpit of the C-16 fighter jet, which made Xu Xian feel a little uncomfortable.

Compared to Airbus aircraft, which can accommodate small tables, Boeing's cockpit is relatively cramped. However, compared to fighter jet cockpits, the space in Boeing's cockpit is quite acceptable.

Unlike Boeing's yoke control, the C16 uses a control stick located between the legs, which is different from Airbus's side stick. It's somewhat similar to the DA series aircraft he used during his commercial pilot training.

There are three electronic display screens in the C16 cockpit: two larger ones on the left and right, and a smaller one above the left electronic screen. The rest are mostly mechanical instruments.

Mechanical instruments are relatively rare in passenger plane flights, so Xu Xian was a little unaccustomed to seeing so many of them all at once.

"How do you start this thing?" Xu Xian suddenly asked.

"Start? Start the engine?" Ye Qing was standing on the ladder, to Xu Xian's left. He glanced down at the maintenance crew supervising below and asked, "Can we start the engine from here?"

The mechanic shrugged: "The brakes are already engaged. Just maintain the idle thrust."

The C-16's thrust levels, from lowest to highest, are: idle thrust, intermediate thrust, maximum thrust, and afterburner level 1 and afterburner level 2. Afterburner level 1 and afterburner level 2 are only used in conjunction with the afterburner and are generally only employed during supersonic flight.

"No problem, I'll explain the startup steps to him first. I'll still need to get on the machine to actually operate it," Ye Qing said.

Ye Qing is currently positioned diagonally above the engine's air intake, which could be quite dangerous if the engine were to start. He can only explain the procedures to Xu Xian first; once it's started, he'll have to get on the machine himself.

This C-16 is more accurately described as a C-16D, an improvement on the C-16B, and is a two-seat fighter with two seats in the front and back.

The C16 has many variants, including single-seat single-engine, two-seat single-engine, and even twin-engine models, making it a large and diverse family.

As he spoke, Ye Qing patted Xu Xian's left shoulder, signaling him to listen carefully: "See the panel on your left? It's just below the edge of the hatch. That's the engine fuel supply knob. Turn it to the normal position."

The C16 cockpit panel layout differs from that of passenger aircraft. The main panel is located directly in front of the pilot, unlike the overhead panel found on passenger planes where the pilot needs to look up to see it. In addition to the panel directly in front of the pilot's line of sight, there are two other panels on the pilot's left and right sides.

The engine fuel supply knob that Ye Qing mentioned is on the left-hand panel, below the hatch latch.

"Shall we turn around now?" After all, it was his first time on a real plane, and Xu Xian was still a little nervous. Even if he was just turning a small knob, he had to confirm with Ye Qing, just like when Xu Xian first started learning to fly.

This engine fuel supply knob has four positions: OFF, NORM, AFT, and FWD. At this time, the knob is in the OFF position, which is the off position.

Ye Qing hummed in agreement: "Spinning around is fine, it's not like it'll fly to the sky after just one spin, is it?"

Ye Qing was a seasoned veteran, so he naturally had no worries.

"Then I'll turn it." Xu Xian's hand lingered on the knob for a moment, but he eventually turned it to the normal position.

"It's just like turning on the fuel pump on your passenger plane. Before you start the engine, besides turning on the crash lights, you also have to turn on the fuel pump, right? Depending on the amount of fuel in the central fuel tank, you decide whether to turn on six or four, right?" Ye Qing said smugly.

Xu Xian's eyes lit up: "You knew that?"

"That's right, I know everything!" Ye Qing snorted arrogantly.

As she spoke, she pointed to the panel on Xu Xian's right: "See the air supply panel? That's for adjusting the temperature. If you feel stuffy or uncomfortable later, just turn the temperature down a bit. Let's continue. Still on the left-hand panel, there's a main power switch on the fuel supply panel of the engine fuel supply knob, see it?"

With the oil supply panel as a reference, Xu Xian quickly found the main power switch, which has three positions: power, off, and main power.

"Now place it in the middle power supply position!"

Having learned from his experience of turning the fuel supply knob the first time, Xu Xian was much quicker this time when he switched on the main power switch.

"Now the aircraft has basic power. Below is the flight control power test switch, which is on the flight control panel. Look for it and switch to the test position." This time, Ye Qing gave Xu Xian a slight hint, pointing out the location of the flight control panel. Xu Xian quickly found it and switched to the test position as Ye Qing instructed.

With this flick of the switch, several lights immediately illuminated. One was on the flight control panel, and others were on the electrical panel.

"To test the flight controller power, we need to check the following lights, one of which is the four flight controller power lights!" Ye Qing pointed to the four small lights on the flight control panel. These were the flight controller power lights: "These four lights should be lit."

Then, Ye Qing moved his finger up to the electrical panel: "The flight controller readiness light should be off, and the flight controller power supply light and the emergency power magneto light should be on. Got it?"

The power supply for flight control and emergency power, as well as the magneto light, that Ye Qing mentioned are located outside the main power switch that was just turned on, making them very easy to identify.

"I'm just giving you a general overview now; you'll need to learn the details yourself later. Okay, now switch the main power switch to the main power position. Check that the emergency power engine and magneto lights are off. If they are on, it will be dangerous to start the engine later, so you must immediately turn off the main power switch." Ye Qing said, "Alright, switch it up."

Xu Xian hesitated for a moment, but still switched to the main power position.

"We should close the hatch now, but for the sake of explanation, we'll leave it open for now. Next, we'll start the engine. Don't do these steps yet, just listen to me," Ye Qing instructed.

Xu Xian knew the matter was of great importance and immediately nodded. Seeing that Xu Xian had understood, Ye Qing then said, "See this switch on the left panel? That's the JFS, the jet fuel start switch. There's a start mode on it. As soon as you turn it on, the jet fuel battery will start working, and the engine starting process will begin. Don't touch it yet, wait for me to get on the plane!"

Since it involves starting the actual engine, Ye Qing definitely needs to get on board and assist. How can he just stand by and watch? Besides, his current position is also very dangerous. If the engine starts, he can't stay there any longer.

Ye Qing first climbed down the ladder, then moved back a bit to face Xu Xian's back seat, and then smoothly got into Xu Xian's back seat.

After adjusting her posture slightly, Ye Qing muttered, "It feels like this is the first time I've ever sat in the back."

Immediately, Ye Qing felt he had finished adjusting things on his end. He gestured to the maintenance crew below, signaling them to maintain a safe distance, and then said, "Shall we switch JFS to start-up mode?"

"Me?" Xu Xian was taken aback. "Am I driving?"

"Yeah, you're the pilot, so what, am I supposed to do driving?"

(End of this chapter)