140: All eyes are on the maiden flight!

On August 15, 1980, Long Country's first third-generation aircraft rolled off the assembly line!

History took a turn here!

August 20, 1980.

A military test flight base in Yanjiao.

A silver-gray J-10 fighter jet lay dormant on the runway, its slender fuselage like a drawn sword.

The forward-swept canards were slightly upturned behind the cockpit, forming a unique triangular coupled layout with the main wings, like the folded wingtips of a raptor.

The J-10 fighter jet's ventral intake was oval-shaped, with a pale blue composite material pattern at the transition edges, aggressive like shark gills.

The fighter's vertical stabilizer adopted a large sweepback angle design, with a slender deceleration parachute compartment extending from the tail cone.

The leading-edge extension of the main wing was sharp like a blade, outlining a smooth S-curve where it merged with the fuselage.

The wingtip pylons were slightly downward-sloping, and the silver-white body of the composite-mounted PL-12 missile formed a clever visual continuation with the main wing.

This fighter, developed with all the wisdom of Long Country's entire aviation industry, was now ready for its first test flight!

Along both sides of the test flight base's runway, engineers from major Long Country aviation military factories such as Changhe, Shenfei, Chenfei, Xifei, and Shanfei were almost all present.

In addition, leaders from the Ministry of National Defense, high-ranking Air Force officials, representatives from various participating research units, and designers from various military factories had all gathered here.

Along the runway of the test flight base alone, tens of thousands of people involved in the design, development, and manufacturing of the J-10 were gathered!

They had been waiting here since the eastern sky first showed the faint light of dawn, just for the moment of the J-10's maiden flight!

It is no exaggeration to say that the J-10 "Vigorous Dragon" fighter jet, currently lying dormant on the runway, was the focus of all attention!

7:30 AM.

Peng Lin, the chief designer, chief engineer, and chief test flight commander of the J-10 fighter jet, appeared at the Yanjiao military test flight base.

His appearance undoubtedly pushed the atmosphere of the entire maiden flight site to a peak!

On both sides of the airport runway, aviation experts, engineers, and representatives from military factories such as Changhe and Shenfei were the first to excitedly raise red flags!

Because during these hundreds of days and nights, it was under Peng Lin's leadership that the entire Long Country aviation military industry was able to unite so seamlessly, overcome the challenges of third-generation fighters, and create this miracle!

In their eyes, Peng Lin was the undisputed leader of the J-10's tens of thousands of development team members!

He was the soul of the J-10 fighter jet's design team!

After Peng Lin arrived, a group of ground crew and mechanics also quickly rushed to the runway to perform the final pre-flight checks on the J-10 fighter jet:

"Hydraulic system pressure stable!"

"Avionics self-test passed!"

"Taihang engine test run data normal!"

"..."

Wang Pengcheng, the director of the final assembly engineering department, held a checklist and verified each report from the mechanics and ground crew.

Once everything was confirmed to be correct, he jogged from the runway to the central command center of the test flight base.

"Comrade Peng Lin, Chief Commander, J-10 fighter jet 001's maintenance and field operations are ready!"

"Now, requesting takeoff!"

"Please give your instructions!"

Wang Pengcheng stood at attention and saluted, his voice strong and clear.

"Approve J-10 fighter jet 001 for its maiden flight according to the approved test outline!"

Peng Lin took a deep breath and gave the order in a deep voice.

"Yes, sir!"

Wang Pengcheng again stood at attention and saluted, shouting loudly.

After Peng Lin's order was given, all tens of thousands of people at the entire Yanjiao test flight base fell silent simultaneously.

Including Marshal Xu Yong'an, the Minister of National Defense, and Air Force Commander Liu Yufei, who were present at the maiden flight ceremony, all held their breath and looked at the J-10 "Vigorous Dragon" fighter jet on the runway!

At this moment, Long Country's ace test pilot Lei Yi also entered the J-10's "waterdrop canopy."

"WS-10 status check!"

The command came from the control tower.

The ground crew gave a thumbs up, and the pilot pressed the start button in the waterdrop-shaped cockpit.

The WS-10 "Taihang" engine roared deafeningly, the afterburner spewed a dark blue tail flame, and the thrust surged from 7.8 tons to 12.5 tons.

The instrument showed a turbine inlet temperature of 1650K, a high-pressure compressor speed of 15000rpm, and all system parameters lit up green!

J-10 test pilot Lei Yi stared at the instruments in the cockpit at this moment, putting himself into the best state!

"Vigorous Dragon requests to taxi out!"

He said to the control tower with a firm expression.

"Approved!"

The next moment, the J-10 slowly taxied onto the runway, its canards slightly adjusted to a +5° angle of attack.

After adjusting his state, test pilot Lei Yi immediately pushed the throttle to full, and the fighter instantly shot out like an arrow released from a bow!

One month after the J-10 fighter jet project was approved, he and nine other test pilots were selected from hundreds of Air Force pilots and underwent special training under project chief designer Peng Lin!

During this process, they not only had to undergo daily flight skills and physical training but also had to follow the design team to deeply understand the J-10's design and development process!

Because only by understanding all the J-10's parameters as deeply as the R&D team could they truly master the J-10's performance and successfully complete the maiden flight and testing work!

"Now the task and mission have fallen to me!"

"I must not let down Chief Designer Peng and the tens of thousands of project team members!"

Lei Yi's eyes were firm, and he pushed the fighter's throttle to full.

At 200 meters, the J-10 fighter jet reached a speed of 180 km/h, its front wheel still clinging to the ground, and the landing gear hydraulic system's pressure was stable!

At 400 meters, the speed reached 260 km/h, Lei Yi gently pulled the control stick, and the all-moving canards and flaps deflected inlinkage, increasing the lift coefficient to 1.8!

At this moment, the nose instantly lifted, and the front wheel left the ground!

The J-10 taxied 580 meters, reaching a speed of 315 km/h, exceeding the theoretical fighter's rotation speed!

At this very moment, the J-10 fighter jet's rear wheels lightly left the ground, and the aircraft body pierced the sky at a 15° angle of attack!

Long Country's independently developed first third-generation fighter's wheels successfully left the ground, officially flying into the sky!

This was absolutely the first step for Long Country's entire aviation industry and Air Force to officially catch up and move towards becoming a major air power!

After a few breaths, the J-10 fighter jet climbed to 1000 meters with an incredibly light posture, officially beginning the core subject verification of its maiden flight:

According to the maiden flight test outline designed by Peng Lin, the first thing to be conducted was the stable turn test!

This is one of the most important links in fighter testing, mainly to examine the fighter's maneuverability and stability during a stable turn!

This is almost the most basic indicator of whether a fighter is stable and excellent!

Only fighters with excellent stable turn performance can more easily lock onto enemy aircraft through turning maneuvers and evade tracking by enemy missiles in close-range air combat!

It directly relates to the fighter's air combat capability!

Furthermore, the results of the stable turn test directly highlight the excellence of the fighter's aerodynamic layout design and the thrust capability of its aero engine!

Therefore, this test directly relates to the overall performance of the entire fighter!

And just as everyone was incredibly nervous, ace test pilot Lei Yi had already completed the stable turn test in a few breaths while piloting the J-10 fighter jet!

"Completed a 360° horizontal turn at 800 km/h in 20 seconds, overload stable at 6.5 G, flight control system accurately suppressed the Dutch roll tendency!"

The fighter data was reported in real-time to the central command center of the test flight base.

"What?"

"Completed a 360° horizontal turn at 800 km/h in only 20 seconds?"

Upon learning this data, Commander Liu Yufei was immediately shocked!

The J-8 fighter jet, which entered service this year, took 22-24 seconds to complete a 360-degree horizontal turn at the same speed!

And according to data actively disclosed by the Pretty Country's Pentagon, their third-generation fighter F-16 took 21-22 seconds for the same maneuver!

Don't underestimate this difference of just one or two seconds, but this is a generational difference in air combat performance between second-generation and third-generation aircraft!

Let alone two seconds, even one second in air combat can already decide too many things!

And now, the J-10 Vigorous Dragon fighter jet, which had just undergone its maiden flight test, was actually superior in air performance to the Pretty Country's third-generation F-16?