155: Chapter 155 The Pilot's Shock!
"Very good."
Shen Wang nodded and pointed to the fleet of aircraft covered by canvas, saying:
"There are six trainer aircraft over there, specifically prepared for you. Gao Zilong, take a few of the most experienced comrades first to try them out and get familiar with them."
"Yes!"
Gao Zilong suppressed his excitement, nodded to two team members, and walked quickly toward the six relatively smaller aircraft that had been partially uncovered.
When the canvas was completely removed, revealing the CJ-6's classic yellow-green livery, tandem cockpit layout, and the propeller at the nose, the eyes of Gao Zilong and the others lit up.
Beautiful!
This plane is really beautiful!
If it looks good, it's a good plane!
They quickly circled the plane for an inspection, touched the skin, looked at the instrument panel, and tested the control stick.
Gao Zilong reported to Shen Wang: "Mr. Shen, the structure of this plane looks simple and sturdy, and the control system is intuitive. We request to conduct an adaptation flight!"
For Gao Zilong and the others, flying this kind of propeller plane was almost effortless.
"Approved!" Shen Wang nodded. "Be careful, start with simple take-offs, landings, and circling."
"Yes!"
Soon, with the assistance of temporary ground crew, Gao Zilong and another pilot boarded the planes and started the engines.
Vroom—!
The propellers began to spin from slow to fast, emitting a familiar and powerful roar.
The planes began to taxi on the makeshift runway, accelerated, the noses lifted slightly, and then they lightly left the ground and soared into the blue sky!
"It's flying! It's really flying!"
"Our plane! Our Eighth Route Army's own plane has taken to the sky!"
On the ground, the Brigade Commander, Li Yunlong, Zhao Gang... everyone involuntarily held their breath, and then erupted into earth-shattering cheers and applause!
Everyone clapped frantically, some even with tears in their eyes!
Especially the Brigade Commander, watching that small plane circling steadily in the azure sky, his lips trembling slightly, unable to contain his excitement.
This moment was a historic one!
They had waited for this day for so, so long!
The plane circled over the airfield a few times, performed some simple turns and ascents/descents, then aligned with the runway, landed smoothly, and stopped steadily after taxiing for a distance.
Gao Zilong and his companion jumped off the plane, ran quickly to Shen Wang, and saluted: "Report, Mr. Shen! Initial adaptation flight mission complete! Status is good!"
However, Shen Wang keenly noticed that the faces of Gao Zilong and the other pilots did not show much excitement; instead, there was a hint of... hesitant gravity.
"If you have anything to say, please feel free to speak." Shen Wang gestured with his hand.
Gao Zilong exchanged glances with the others, took a deep breath, and began: "Mr. Shen, Commanders, this plane... is indeed very good. It is easy to operate, safe, and reliable, but..."
He paused, his tone becoming somewhat strained: "But its speed, the speed is too slow! I'm afraid it's not even 300 kilometers per hour."
"This speed..." another pilot beside him couldn't help but interject, "is not even as fast as the Japanese's oldest Type 97 light bomber (maximum speed about 432 km/h), let alone their Zero fighter (maximum speed about 534 km/h)."
"In aerial combat, speed is life!" someone else added.
"If our future fighter jets only have this speed, then facing the Japanese main fighter planes, we will be very... very passive!"
Their words were like a basin of cold water, causing the mood of the Brigade Commander, Li Yunlong, and others on the ground, who were just boiling with excitement, to instantly plummet from the clouds.
The smiles on their faces froze, and their brows furrowed tightly.
That's right, just having a plane isn't enough; it depends on what kind of plane it is!
If the performance gap is too large, going up into the sky is just becoming a live target!
Seeing the grave expressions of the Commanders, Gao Zilong immediately straightened his chest, his voice resolute: "Please rest assured, Commanders! All comrades of our Independent Flight Squadron have long since put life and death aside!"
"Even if the enemy's planes are faster, we will never retreat! Even if we have to ram them, we will ram one down!"
"Right! Never retreat!" the other pilots also roared in unison.
Shen Wang looked at these adorable and respectable soldiers, and admiration welled up in his heart.
This is the backbone of the nation!
Ramming planes?
For a moment, Shen Wang felt like crying.
He gently patted Gao Zilong on the shoulder and took a deep breath: "Gao Zilong, comrades, you have misunderstood."
"Those six are just trainer aircraft, for you to practice and train new students. The real fighter planes..."
"Are those behind!"
He waved his arm, signaling the ground crew: "Uncover them, let the 'Fifth Master' show itself!"
Several soldiers pulled hard on the largest pieces of canvas.
In an instant, twenty-four jet fighter planes were stunningly presented before everyone's eyes!
Under the sunlight, the silver skin reflected a cold metallic luster, and the entire plane was full of a simple, sharp, and highly aggressive beauty!
That streamlined silver fuselage, that swept-wing layout, that huge air intake at the nose, and the exhaust nozzle at the tail that was so different from propeller planes...
Especially the nose without a propeller, and the device at the tail that was obviously a jet exhaust, completely overturned everyone present's perception of "planes"!
"This... this is..."
Gao Zilong and the others instantly widened their eyes, opened their mouths, and their minds went blank.
No propeller? How... how does this fly?!
The Brigade Commander, Li Yunlong, and others were also dumbfounded.
Shen Wang began to explain: "comrades, this type of plane is called—a jet fighter!"
"It doesn't rely on propellers to pull air to generate thrust, but rather relies on this jet engine at the rear to suck in air, mix it with fuel to burn, and produce high-temperature, high-pressure gas that is violently ejected backward, thereby obtaining huge forward thrust..."
"Simply put, in short, all in all, it can fly higher and faster than traditional propeller planes!"
Everyone listened, bewildered. Although they didn't quite understand, they understood one thing...
That the plane in front of them flies higher and faster!
"How... how fast can it fly? How high?" Gao Zilong hurriedly asked.
Shen Wang smiled slightly and uttered two earth-shattering numbers:
"This fighter plane has a maximum level flight speed of—1,145 kilometers per hour! Service ceiling—16,000 meters!"
Boom—!!!
These two numbers, like a thunderbolt from the ninth heaven, struck hard upon the heads of Gao Zilong and the eight pilots, as well as the Brigade Commander, Li Yunlong, and everyone else!
1,145 kilometers? 16,000 meters?
Gao Zilong's head "buzzed," and it seemed as if stars were dancing before his eyes.
As a professionally trained pilot, he knew all too well what these two numbers meant!
The Japanese's most advanced Zero fighter only had a maximum speed of 534 km/h and a service ceiling of about 6,000 meters.
And this jet plane in front of them... its speed was more than double that of the Zero!
What did this mean?
It meant that in aerial combat, this plane could rely on its absolute speed advantage and altitude advantage to fight when it wanted to, and leave when it wanted to!