In the midst of the storm, the No. 1616 J-16 fighter was swaying in the dark, and the sound of dense raindrops the size of soybeans smashing on the cockpit glass was even very clear.

Li Zhan's eyes were shaking, and he needed to hold the glass cover with one hand to see the flight data on the instrument panel clearly. The flight trajectory showed that the fighter was inevitably swept into the cloud wall area of "Sana", and there was a huge force sucking the fighter into the eye of the wind, and even Li Zhan suspected that there were already multiple tornadoes on the sea.

The expected terminal of communication with Fu Zhi, Fu Zhi can only grasp the situation of No. 1616 J-16 through radar signals, at this time Fu Zhi has completely lifted the combat state, and all efforts are for the safe return of No. 1616 J-16 fighters. At this time, the threat of nature is more serious than that of the adversary, and any flight in bad weather can obtain precious data, which is very beneficial to the combat training of the troops under complex meteorological conditions in the future.

Li Zhan thought of the benefits and was inexplicably happy.

There are not many opportunities to cross the typhoon circle, and under normal circumstances, the superiors will not approve such flights, unless they are to assist national scientific research projects in meteorological research. But even then fighters will not be sent, and planes with straight wings using paddle engines are more suitable.

Of course, apart from Li Zhan's thinking about the unit's future combat training under complicated meteorological conditions in such a dangerous and emergency situation, all others were concerned about was whether he would be able to fly back safely.

This year's Typhoon Signal has developed at an unexpected rate, and the impact of warm and cold air convection is more severe than expected, which shows that there are still many uncertainties in the prediction of weather by modern technology.

If someone asks which aviation support department is the most important, the pilots will unanimously say that it is the meteorological department, but there are many uncertainties and force majeure in the area that this department is responsible for. Airplanes have to deal with the weather as long as they go to the sky, and in a way, pilots and peasant uncles are the same kind of people - they both depend on the sky for food.

The more you know about nature, the better you can survive in harsh climatic conditions. If we can fly in weather when the enemy cannot fly, it means that our side has the absolute initiative and superiority, and it is conceivable how great the significance of this is in combat.

Because it is a real combat test flight, many sensors are additionally installed on the fuselage of the 1616 J-16 in order to obtain more data from the flight process. Different from the performance test flight, in the case of actual combat test flight, the fighter will carry out combat activities in different battlefield environments and operational backgrounds, and the situations encountered will be diversified and complex.

Zhang Chongming even said that he hoped to get some flight data of fighters in the extreme state, and those data were too important.

Chen Fei in the rear cabin once again smelled the breath of death, and he had never felt like this since he dropped a Jianjiao-7 more than two years ago. The last time the danger happened in an instant, I didn't even have time to be afraid when I was unprepared, and passively accepted everything. This time it was different, it was semi-actively rushing into the typhoon circle.

Maybe the superiors transferred him over to join Li Zhan because his ability to resist pressure was stronger than others, after all, working with Li Zhan, a well-known contemporary outstanding revolutionary soldier, would be on the verge of collapse if his psychological endurance was a little worse.

Li Zhan found that it was much easier to control the fighter plane in such an environment than he imagined. The advanced fly-by-wire system balances the effects of crosswinds and air currents, and even automatically fine-tunes the aircraft's other control panels to adapt to new situations even when the tail rudder is perceived.

The sophistication of fly-by-wire systems over mechanical control systems can often be summed up in one sentence: to keep the fighter flying in the envelope forever.

To use a simple analogy, Li Zhan always needs to have one hand to hold the control stick when flying the J-7, if you don't do this, the attitude of the aircraft will change, if you let go of the attitude of the aircraft, it will exceed the envelope and cause a crash, but if you drive the J-10 or J-11 These third-generation aircraft, if you don't move the joystick, the aircraft will maintain the original attitude to fly, you don't need to worry about the attitude of the aircraft will exceed the envelope.

"The use of fly-by-wire control systems" is regarded as the most important feature of third-generation aircraft, and it is also the main condition for defining second-generation and third-generation aircraft.

The fly-by-wire control system of the J-16 was developed from the set of things used in the J-10 series, which is not much more advanced than the one used in the SU-30MKK, and it is said that it has received some technical support from the fourth-generation aircraft, and has a lot of late-mover advantages in avionics.

Objectively speaking, among all the air force fighters produced by the Shenfei Factory, the J-16 has the most advanced fly-by-wire control system, even more advanced than the J-15. Some analysts believe that the reason why the J-16 took more than ten years of research and development to come up with a prototype is because of the continuous use of new technologies in the research and development process, such as the advanced cockpit technology that overflowed from the fourth-generation aircraft project.

Shen Fei Factory learned a lesson, did not blindly rush forward when engaged in the J-16 project, and also put down the big brother's shelf and humbly asked Chengfei Factory for advice and learning, so there is a J-16 that is the same as the SU-30MKK in appearance but completely changed inside.

Only then did Li Zhan have confidence at this time.

If he was driving a second-generation aircraft such as the J-7 or J-8 now, Li Zhan would definitely not be as confident as he is now. Maybe a strong crosswind will come over the J-7 or J-8 and fall headlong into the sea.

Li Zhan suddenly had a surprise discovery - the crosswind could be used to offset the error moment of the tail rudder. He seriously felt the regularity of the air flow in the storm, and tried to adjust the elevation and roll angles of the fighter, and the fighter could really fly in a straight line.

He said excitedly, "Fu Zhi, the air flow in the cloud wall is regular, and the crosswind can be used to offset the error effect of the tail rudder, please inform the comrades of the maritime search and rescue detachment to return home, I can fly back, over!" ”

The sea conditions within a few dozen kilometers of the coastline have been in shambles, and the strong typhoon has brought waves five or six meters high, which is very dangerous for the ships of the maritime search and rescue detachment. Li Zhan didn't want to put his other comrades-in-arms in danger for his own sake, and besides, he didn't have to abandon the plane.

Obviously, Fu Zhi would not agree to him, and the commander on duty said, "Test sixth, the maritime search and rescue team will proceed as originally planned, and you must get out of danger before they can return, and it will be over." ”

"Fu Zhi, it's completely unnecessary! I'm sure I'll make it back safely! Complete! Li Zhan insisted on his suggestion.

There were more than 200 people on board several search and rescue ships, and if more than 200 people were in danger in order to save him, Li Zhan thought it was completely unnecessary! He thinks that there is no value for money at all!

But Fu Zhi and the higher-level chiefs don't think so, not to mention an excellent test aircraft group, even if it is an ordinary soldier, a lot of search and rescue forces will be invested. It's not a question of price-performance ratio, it's the principle of the troops!

No hope will be given up, no one will be abandoned.

The commander on duty of Fu Zhi said solemnly: "Test the sixth, obey the order!" If you're not sure about flying back, you'll have to abandon the plane and skydive! Is it clear? ”

The commander was furious.

"Understood! Experiment 6 understand! ”

Li Zhan was very helpless, and the immediate solution was to fly out of the cloud wall area as soon as possible, only in this way would the superiors let the maritime search and rescue detachment that ventured out to sea return. He asked the fighter plane to fly north, and the direction of return should be northwest, which confused the commander on duty of Fu Zhi.

"What does he want to do?" The commander on duty frowned, feeling that Comrade Li Zhan was angry.

The staff officers around him didn't know the essentials, and hurriedly analyzed in a low voice with the weatherman.

The weatherman grabbed a pencil tip and threw it into the file box, the pencil tip scattered in all directions, and said solemnly, "The air flow in the cloud wall area is almost like this, and the air flow is irregular in the case of strong convection. The pilot said he was able to use the crosswind to keep the fighter in direct flight, and I don't know how he did it. ”

The staff officer waved his hand and said, "No matter how he did it, the fact now is that he did maintain a direct flight, but he was flying north, is there the right consideration for flying north from a meteorological point of view?" ”

The weatherman said, "Yes, Sana is moving northwestward, and he is flying north to get out of the cloud wall area faster with the wind." The pilot was very thoughtful. ”

The staff officer looked at the commander on duty, "Chief? ”

"Well, keep an eye on the weather in the Cloud Wall area." The commander on duty nodded slightly.

The communications staff officer suddenly said, "The communication has been cut off again, and they may have entered the thunderstorm zone!" ”

The atmosphere in the tower was solemn again.

The communication between Fu Zhi and the J-16 No. 1616 has been intermittent, completely depending on the electromagnetic environment in the airspace where the fighter is located. If you can't get in touch, you can only rely on the signals detected by the radar to judge the latest movements of the 1616 J-16.

"In five minutes, he should be able to get out of the Cloud Wall!" Radar operator reports.

The red dot representing the 1616 J-16 broke away from the cloud wall area to the north at a speed of about 380 kilometers per hour, and the heart that everyone in the tower hung high slowly lowered as the red dot moved.

"Huh? He's turning to the left, and the angle of the turn is huge! "The radar operator suddenly reported loudly.

Because "Sana" is moving to the northwest, the 1616 J-16 will once again rush into the cloud wall area when it turns left, and all previous efforts will be in vain.

The combat staff officer frowned and said, "Did he get lost?" ”

There is this possibility, in the environment of strong electromagnetic interference, some instruments of the fighter will have large errors or even failure, especially the induction end deployed on the surface of the fuselage, such as airspeed meter, horizon meter, etc.

The commander on duty grabbed the microphone and called No. 1616 J-16, "The test unit has received an answer!" Test Six! You're on a yaw! Test Six! ”

There is no echo, only the sound of electromagnetic interference.

Seeing that it is about to successfully break out of the cloud wall area, a yaw at this time can lead to catastrophic consequences. The J-16 1616 has been in the air for more than three hours, they must be running out of fuel, and the plane will lose control and crash at any time if the tail rudder fails.

"Test Six!" The voice of the commander on duty echoed in the tower command room.

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy, and seeing the 1616 J-16 spinning in circles and preparing to embark on the old road, it was difficult for him to bear the tearing of the "Sana" typhoon signal cloud wall area where the wind gradually increased.

The 1616 J-16 was in a catastrophe, and the commander on duty said in a deep voice, "Send the location of the plane to the maritime search and rescue team, and let them speed up and rush over." ”

"Yes!"

Before the staff officer could convey the order, the weatherman suddenly raised his hand and said loudly, "Chief! Sana has major changes! ”

The commander on duty strode over, and the weatherman pointed to the huge display and said excitedly, "Sana has turned!" You look at the clouds, the clouds are gathering north, Sana is turning north! ”

It took a few seconds for the commander on duty to react, and he couldn't help but high-five and excitedly said, "Good guy!" Perfect detachment! How did he know Sana would turn north? He's better than the Weather Observatory? ”

The meteorologist smiled and didn't know how to explain, quickly calculated the latest movement path of "Sana" according to the latest data, and drew it on the map, and after looking at it carefully, he couldn't help but smile and said, "Boss, this is Sana's latest movement trend, you look at where it is to the north." ”

"Japan?" The commander on duty raised his eyebrows, inexplicably happy, but he looked very sad on the surface.

The weatherman couldn't help laughing, but his face was full of heaviness, and he said, "It is likely that it will strengthen, and there is no suspense if the maximum wind force exceeds level 18, and the most powerful one is very likely to cause a tsunami." ”

The young combat staff officer couldn't help but be overjoyed, and suddenly found that everyone's faces were very heavy, and he said very unconfidently, "Why do I feel happy and you look heavy?" Am I being too narrow-minded? ”

"No, just because you're normal."

The commander on duty said solemnly, "We are also normal people, but we are happy in our hearts, and we don't show it like you." After all, in the face of catastrophes, we are all global people, and we are all one family! ”

Now everyone really couldn't hold back and laughed.

The question is how did Li Zhan know that "Sana" would turn and turn so fast. Chen Fei who was sitting in the back cabin didn't know, let alone others, in fact, Chen Fei was also puzzled by Li Zhan's choice just now, but he didn't bother Li Zhan, until he gradually felt that the flight attitude of the fighter plane was becoming more stable, and he realized that he had left the Cloud Wall area.

He couldn't help but ask, "Why is this happening?" ”

Li Zhan said with a smile, "Sana turned north, I continued to turn left just to avoid its limelight, and followed the error value of the tail rudder to speed up the turning and flying speed, and I could see the coastline for more than 120 kilometers." ”

At this time, Chen Fei noticed that the number of the locator that was jumping randomly just now returned to normal, and quickly calculated the latitude and longitude, and sure enough, it was only more than 100 kilometers away from the coastline.

"How do you know Sana will turn?" Chen Fei was very puzzled, this kind of prediction was not something that could be predicted by pinching his fingers, and at this time, the visibility was zero and he couldn't see the situation outside at all, how could Li Zhan judge?

Li Zhan said, "I'll teach you when I get back." ”

"Fu refers to Fu Zhi, the test is called six, and it is over." Li Zhan tried to call Fu Zhi.

The commander on duty of Fu Zhi was so excited that he picked up the microphone: "Test six!" I am a blessing finger! What about the plane? Complete! ”

"There are no more problems, I have left the cloud wall area, and I have requested an alternate landing at the high-flag airport, over." Li Zhan asked.

The commander on duty was stunned for a moment and asked, "Is it okay to have other alternate landing fields?" ”

"No, the fuel consumption is abnormal, I suspect there is a leak, over." Li Zhan said.

Chen Fei was startled as soon as this sentence came out, he didn't find the abnormality of the fuel gauge, in the situation just now, I'm afraid no one would and couldn't analyze whether the drop value of the fuel gauge was normal. But Li Zhan had obviously noticed it a long time ago and discovered the problem.

Chen Fei sighed in his heart, Li Zhan has really become a senior driver.

The commander on duty replied, "The test unit can be diverted to the high-flag airport, contact the southeast region, frequency 124.78, and then you listen to his command, over!" ”

"Contact the Southeast Regional Survey, frequency 124.78, understand!"

PS: Some readers think that the speed unit is wrong, so I will answer the question here: the airspeed unit used by the army is kilometers per hour, the height is meters, and the distance is kilometers. Civil aviation will use knots, feet, and miles.