190: Chapter 189: A Hardcore Demonstration, the Head Instructor's "Hidden Skill"

...

The rising sun completely dispersed the morning mist, casting golden light across Training Ground No. 3 and making the fuselage of the attack helicopter gleam with a cold, hard luster.

Su Han stood before the cockpit of the aircraft numbered "07," his fingertips sliding gently over the cold control stick.

Inside the cockpit, the instrument panel flickered with a ghostly blue light, and dense clusters of buttons and knobs were arranged like stars in the sky; just looking at them was enough to make one's scalp tingle.

"Today's subject: Basic Attack Helicopter Piloting." He turned to face the lined-up Women's Special Operations Team, his voice echoing across the empty grounds. "I don't need you to fly combat missions, but you must achieve three things—be able to start it, be able to make an emergency landing, and be able to operate the weapons systems in an emergency."

He pointed to a red button inside the cockpit: "This is the emergency engine cutoff switch. If the engine fails, you must press it within three seconds."

He then pointed to the nearby control sticks. "The cyclic stick controls pitch and roll, the collective controls vertical movement, the pedals control the tail rotor..."

Su Qingcheng and the others listened with rapt attention, their notebooks filling rapidly with notes. Occasionally, someone would frown and ask a question, and Su Han would answer patiently.

Several members of the War Eagle Squad were nearby calibrating equipment. Monkey had even brought over a projector, which was looping an exploded-view diagram of the helicopter's structure.

"Chief Instructor, these buttons all look the same. What if we get them mixed up?" Zhang Meng held up her notebook, pointing to a circuit diagram covered in question marks, her dark face full of confusion.

"If you mix them up, you die." Su Han's answer was simple and direct. "That's why you have to practice until it becomes muscle memory, so you can find the right button even with your eyes closed."

Just then, as if suddenly remembering something, Zhang Meng scratched the back of her head and blurted out, "Chief Instructor, do... do you know how to fly this thing?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the training ground instantly fell silent.

The soldiers of the Women's Special Operations Team looked at each other, a hint of curiosity flashing in their eyes—they only knew that Su Han was top-tier in shooting, combat, and tactics, but they had never heard of him being able to fly a helicopter.

The members of the War Eagle Squad looked up sharply, their expressions a colorful mix of surprise.

The projector remote in Monkey's hand fell to the ground with a 'clatter.' His mouth hung open as he said, "That's right... Chief Instructor, when did you learn to fly a helicopter?! You've been enlisted for less than a year. Your unit was just a field unit, not the Army Aviation Brigade. Logically, it's impossible for a recruit in their first year to come into contact with this kind of thing."

The rest of the War Eagle Squad also looked toward Su Han.

Clearly, they were also very puzzled by this question.

Piloting an attack helicopter requires at least half a year of systematic training; just learning to read the instruments and handle emergencies is enough to make a recruit break down.

Su Han had been in the army for less than a year, and most of that time was spent in conventional units or on the competition grounds. Where would he have found the time to learn this?

Furthermore, for the previous anti-vertigo and G-force training, the plans Su Han had formulated were terrifyingly precise, showing more expertise than even the professional Army Aviation instructors from the brigade.

At the time, they just thought Su Han was exceptionally gifted, but now, connecting it to helicopter piloting...

An absurd thought suddenly flashed through Zhou Mo's mind: Just how many hidden skills does this guy have?

He wouldn't actually know how to fly an attack helicopter, would he?

Su Han's heart skipped a beat, and he inwardly cursed his own oversight.

He certainly knew how to fly—as a top-tier special operations Soldier King in his previous life, he could handle attack helicopters, transport planes, and even light fighters. It was just that since transmigrating to this world, he hadn't had the chance to show it.

He had been too engrossed in the explanation just now and had forgotten that this body's "resume" had absolutely no flight record.

"Fly... I suppose I know a little bit." Su Han cleared his throat, a customary cunning smile appearing on his face as he tried to bluff his way through. "Back in the civilian world, I flew civil helicopters a few times with friends. The principles should be about the same. Besides, I've read a lot of materials on military helicopters; my theoretical knowledge is solid."

"About the same?!"

The members of the War Eagle Squad looked at each other.

They are miles apart, okay?!

A civil helicopter only has a few control sticks, whereas an attack helicopter has over twenty buttons just for the integrated weapons system. One wrong move could send a missile right onto your own people's heads!

Zhou Mo whispered to Su Han, "Chief Instructor, the avionics, weapons coupling, and emergency procedures of a military attack helicopter are worlds apart from a civilian aircraft. Without systematic training, it's very easy for things to get dangerous."

"Are you... sure you can fly it?"

The women of the Special Operations Team also grew nervous. Li Xue couldn't help but whisper, "Chief Instructor, how about... letting the instructors from the War Eagle Squad demonstrate instead? We can just follow their lead..."

Seeing everyone's skeptical looks, Su Han knew that words alone wouldn't be enough.

He suddenly smiled, pulled open the cockpit door, and slid inside. His movements were smooth and natural, as if he had sat there a thousand times.

As soon as Su Han's fingertips touched the cyclic stick, Zhou Mo's expression changed.

"Old Su! Don't mess around!" He dashed to the side of the cockpit, gripping the door with both hands, his voice filled with unprecedented urgency. "This isn't a civilian helicopter! Unit 07 is equipped with the latest turboshaft engine. Its thrust is five times greater than the civilian planes you've flown. One slight mistake and it'll stall!"

The veins on his forehead were throbbing—as the leader of the War Eagle Squad, he knew the dangers of an attack helicopter better than anyone.

Just last month, a veteran pilot from the Army Aviation Brigade made an operational error that caused a helicopter to suddenly flip while hovering, breaking three of his ribs on the spot.

Su Han was now a war hero famous throughout the entire army. If something were to happen to him on the Falcon training grounds, not only would Captain Wang skin him alive, but the entire Yuezhou Military Region would be shaken.

"That's right, Chief Instructor!" Monkey also reacted, tossing aside the projector remote and rushing to the cabin door, stomping his feet in anxiety. "This thing's weapons system is still loaded with ammunition! If you accidentally hit the missile launch button, it'll be a disaster!"

Su Han was momentarily speechless. "These are all training rounds. What's there to be afraid of?"

Monkey shouted, "Training rounds are still shells! They can still kill people!"

He wasn't exaggerating—to make training more realistic, the weapons pylons of Helicopter 07 were indeed carrying two simulated training missiles. Although they didn't have warheads, the power of the thrusters was enough to flip an armored vehicle.

Da Xiong came forward as well. "Chief Instructor, let me do it! I'm the pilot for the War Eagle Squad! I trained with the Army Aviation Brigade for a year and have flown this helicopter for three years. Even if I'm not an ace, I'm a qualified helicopter pilot."

Shan Mao didn't say anything, but he quietly moved to the emergency shutdown button at the edge of the training ground, his finger hovering over it. If Su Han dared to start the engine, he would dare to press it—compared to disobeying an order, he was more afraid of this "living legend" of a Chief Instructor having an accident.