Chapter 20

The empty ground inside Factory 501 had been leveled anew, with the runway lines marked out in lime, giving it a feel of a sports meet.

Lu Daming and Hu Hu, the two of them, this time pushed a J-7 fighter jet simulator that was twice as large as the previous F-14, carefully aligning the nose of the aircraft with the runway.

Not far from this empty ground, in the top-floor meeting room of Factory 501's office building, the room had been completely transformed.

Several cables ran through the windows of the meeting room, extending from the roof. These were the connection lines for the whip antennas on the roof, which connected to the back of the control panel in the center of the meeting room, where cables crisscrossed.

At the center of the meeting room was a control panel that completely simulated the cockpit of a J-7 fighter jet. However, unlike the original J-7, the complex instruments had been simplified. On the control panel's interface, apart from a few necessary flight parameter gauges, there was only a 15-inch color TV displaying the image.

Hu Wenhai sat somewhat uncomfortably in this simulated cockpit. In reality, the space in a fighter jet is very precious, leaving little room for movement.

Seeing that the aircraft's nose on the display was aligned with the runway, Hu Wenhai picked up a microphone from the control panel, pressed the switch, and shouted, "On-site, on-site, this is the control panel. Can we proceed with the takeoff procedure?"

On the runway, surprisingly, the J-7 simulator actually transmitted Hu Wenhai's voice. If it weren't for the difference in size between the simulator and the real aircraft, it would be hard to tell them apart from a distance.

Lu Daming and Hu Hu carefully circled the simulator and the runway twice before confirming, "Control panel, this is on-site. The runway is ready, and we can proceed with the takeoff procedure."

As childhood friends, Lu Daming and Hu Hu had watched Hu Wenhai gradually transform a toy-like model aircraft into the current simulator.

Compared to the original model, this simulator was a significant upgrade. Just the 20 liters of mixed fuel alone made the simulator twice as large and much heavier.

Just imagine, if these 20 liters of fuel were 16 bottles of 1.25-liter Coca-Cola, how heavy and how much space they would occupy?

Not to mention, the aircraft's skin, which was originally somewhat rough, was now crafted by the factory's experienced masters, with quality and detail far surpassing what the two of them could achieve with hammers.

The current simulator was 3 meters long, with a wingspan exceeding 1.5 meters, and a total weight of over 100 kilograms. If it weren't for the improvements to the engine by the director of the 601 Institute, it might not have been able to fly at all.

Hearing Lu Daming's confirmation from the control panel, Hu Wenhai skillfully began the operations.

"On-site, conducting pre-takeoff checks. Power supply to the entire aircraft is connected, disconnecting ground auxiliary power."

"Ground auxiliary power disconnected!"

"Fuel level confirmed, power level confirmed, flaps confirmed, tail rudder confirmed, navigation lights on, final self-check."

"Checking, fuel level full, power level full, flaps confirmed, tail rudder confirmed, navigation lights on, self-check complete!"

"Engine ignition!"

"Engine ignition normal!"

...

Hu Wenhai, somewhat nervous, completed all the pre-takeoff preparations at the control panel and then turned to nod slightly at Si Xingu, who was standing beside him.

Si Xingu picked up the phone he had been holding, with a serious expression, and said into the microphone, "Control tower, please respond. This is the temporary runway of Factory 501, confirming weather conditions."

"Control tower, this is the temporary runway of Factory 501, preparing to conduct the simulator test flight, executing route 0001, altitude FL32, weather conditions confirmed, requesting takeoff."

"Takeoff clearance confirmed, begin takeoff!"

On the ground runway, the simulator, with its engine ignited, suddenly spewed a burst of orange-red flames. The previously stationary simulator began to slowly taxi along the runway.

At the starting point of the runway, Lu Daming and Hu Hu maintained a crouched position, pointing into the air, watching the simulator lower its flaps and lift its nose at the end of the runway, the landing gear leaving the ground with a roar.

Unlike the F-14 model, which could take off after a short taxi, the enlarged simulator now had to taxi a long distance, just like a real aircraft, before it could lift its heavy body into the sky.

A moment later, a sharp roar, indistinguishable from a real aircraft's engine, echoed over Factory 501, and a gray silhouette shot into the sky with lightning speed.

All the employees of Factory 501, and even many residents near the factory, looked up at the direction of the sound. A plane that was hard to distinguish from a real one was rapidly climbing at a speed of 180 meters per second.

"Daming, what's this gesture for? I've never seen ground crew do this at the airport!" Hu Hu, watching the simulator ascend into the sky, asked Lu Daming curiously.

"Brother Hai said this gesture is called 'go ahead,' meaning permission to take off!"

"Ah? Does the Air Force have this gesture?"

"I have no idea." Lu Daming shrugged.

"But, this gesture is pretty cool, ha ha!"

While Lu Daming and Hu Hu were chatting, just ten seconds later, the J-7 simulator had changed its posture and entered a level flight at an altitude of one kilometer.

"Retract the landing gear." Si Xingu, standing beside Hu Wenhai, began to guide him through the simulator's performance tests according to the test checklist.

"Landing gear retracted."

On the control panel, the red light indicating the landing gear status turned off, and a green light turned on.

Hu Wenhai, though not a real pilot, had experience operating jet models and was familiar with various flight simulation software. However, sitting in this cockpit that felt like a real aircraft, he couldn't help but sweat and feel damp under his arms.

"Good job, don't be too nervous." Si Xingu patted Hu Wenhai's shoulder with a reassuring smile. Today's test was just a routine flight, and there was no need to perform any high-difficulty maneuvers. When it came to that, professional flight instructors from the aviation school would handle it.

Hu Wenhai took a deep breath, finally dispelling the tension in his body. Following the flight plan, he began a series of flight tests.

The simulator's tests not only evaluated its own flight performance but also compared it to the real J-7. Although the simulator had been made as similar to the real aircraft as possible, the flying experience was definitely different. Hu Wenhai's task was to compare the simulator's various flight data with the real J-7, to determine whether the simulator could handle the task of simulating flight.

Nearly two months of hard work, whether it could achieve the initial goal, would be decided today.

Speaking of the late 20th century, China was indeed in a tough spot. Not to mention the United States, the UK, France, and Russia, even the so-called "strong nations" in early 21st-century web novels were often imagined as Japan! The equipment level of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force and the 8·8 Fleet was considered an alien-level enemy.

In novels, Chinese people used various methods to defeat enemies that wouldn't even be worth a second glance a decade or two later. From balloon bombing Tokyo to low-altitude slow-speed small aircraft with Jinlong batteries, the famous iron-blood novel "Awakening Lion" in 2010 was seen as a five-cent novel, let alone the pessimistic and surrendering "Dragon Curse," whose author might as well be a CIA writer.

The reason for such pessimism in society was that China's military strength in the 1990s was truly lacking. The navy was poor, and the army was not much better. The air force had aircraft but dared not train, which was not a secret.

Chinese pilots had aircraft but dared not fly, and if they did, they dared not perform maneuvers. In the event of an accident, the aircraft was more important than the pilot. Hu Wenhai had heard about these issues. In short, it was all due to poverty. Chinese pilots' flight hours were a fraction of those of American pilots, and there was no real combat capability. Pilots were said to be made of gold, but that was for American pilots; Chinese pilots were probably just gilded brass.

Hu Wenhai knew he couldn't change China's overall environment or single-handedly build up the air force. But he could contribute to the air force with his abilities.

Although the simulator couldn't fully replicate a real aircraft, it could at least familiarize pilots with the equipment, maintain their skills, and even test new tactics and perform dangerous maneuvers that real aircraft couldn't, without the risk of life. This was already a significant contribution.

Moreover, the simulator was much more economical than a real aircraft. A single flight of a fighter jet, not to mention the cost of aviation fuel, consumed fuel by the ton.

If the simulator could replace even one-tenth of the training of a real aircraft, the savings would be substantial. Not to mention, these pilots might later transition to flying drones, saving the country time and costs in training.

The simulator, after retracting its landing gear, followed the specified route, altitude, and speed, flawlessly completing all the tests. Although it was Hu Wenhai's first time flying the simulator, the entire system was his own design, and performing these simple flight maneuvers was effortless.

After a half-hour of test flights, the J-7 simulator successfully completed all the in-air tests. On the control panel's TV, the aircraft's nose was aligned with the runway, and the landing gear was slowly lowered.

Soon, from the office building of Factory 501, the temporary runway, and even every corner of the factory, excited cheers erupted.