Just 10 minutes before the IL-20 took off, the two-seater MiG-1 on the runway, which was used to observe the attitude in the air, had already taken off, piloted by Major Tukolev, the No. 2 test pilot, and the observer in the back seat was one of the deputies of designer Ravel and Polikarpov. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Ilyushchenko served as a test pilot in the first two test flights, and he has already mastered the take-off characteristics of this new-powered aircraft: The I-20 has a slower acceleration and a higher take-off speed requirement, and its take-off characteristics are very different from those of a propeller fighter.

After the plane exceeded the take-off speed, Ilyushchenko pulled the control stick, and the plane began to climb at an elevation angle of 5 degrees, quickly disappearing from the sight of the crowd at the airport.

Polikarpov was already commanding from the airport tower, wearing a headset with an intercom, and Ilyushchenko's index report on the plane was clearly heard on the loudspeaker in the command room.

"Everything is normal, climbing, altitude 800."

A minute later, Ilyushchenko measured the ability of the new aircraft to climb at low altitudes under full load, at 1,300 meters per minute. In fact, the I-20 would not really be "fully loaded": in Polikarpov's design, it could also carry a 500-liter disposable drop fuel tank under the belly to increase range, or two 12-shot 76-millimeter air-to-air rocket launchers on the inside of the two engine bays of the wings during interception missions.

In accordance with the instructions of the deputy commander-in-chief, the designers did not design any bomb pylons for the I-20, although its maximum load can meet the needs of carrying a 500-kilogram bomb on the belly of the aircraft -- the loading of the bomb will not only increase the starting resistance and greatly affect the maneuverability of the aircraft, but more importantly, the structural strength of the I-20 cannot withstand the enormous stress of dive bombing.

If it is used as a fighter-bomber, the IL-20 can only carry out horizontal bombing, and a dive with a slightly larger angle may cause the plane to disintegrate in the air! It is not necessary to use the I-20 to carry out low-altitude horizontal bombardment of Polikarpov, and the higher the altitude, the deviation of the impact point may be calculated in "kilometers", which has no practical value at all!

The IL-20 is not at all suitable for use as a bomber, nor does it belong to the category of an early "destroyer," and the strength of the fuselage structure is limited by its other characteristics, and it can even be said to be a pure interceptor.

Ilyushchenko could hear the peculiar sound of the jet engines on both sides of the plane while wearing a flight cap in the cabin, and the farm workers near the base heard a much louder noise!

But the comrades of the "Dawn Farm" were accustomed to that almost terrifying sound, and when they first heard the thunderous roar a few days ago, the reaction was fierce, especially for those who were working in the farms—the pigs in the pig farm and the live chickens in the chicken farm had begun to rebel!

The loud roar made people shudder, and the animals became even more restless, probably thinking that the end of the world had arrived!

Outside, the farmer saw a plane whizzing by in the air, but they couldn't see it much because of the distance: there was an air base in the distance, and they knew that the wheat fields of the "Dawn Farm" were connected to the wall on the left flank of the base. In addition to the Shuguang Farm, there are no other buildings within a radius of more than ten kilometers in this area, which are all needed for aviation.

And the comrades on the farm were educated in the security of the army, and they seemed to have nothing to do with the planes that flew out of the airfield, let alone any curiosity about them, except for a glance - even the children knew this!

Curiosity kills cats, and the Russians know this very well, and it is their duty to do their job well: what is in the base is as distant to the bankers as the snowy fields of Siberia and has nothing to do with them.

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According to estimates, the maximum speed of the I-20 at high altitude should exceed 850 kilometers per hour, and Ilyushchenko took a high-speed climb in a circle to pull the plane up to an altitude of 8,000 meters and leveled it, and the MiG-1 piloted by Tukolev was already waiting at an altitude of 8,500 meters.

"The conning tower, I'm 02, with about seventy percent of the fuel reserves, is starting to accelerate in level flight."

"The tower understands, and the approval is accelerated."

Ilyushchenko pushed the throttle pusher, which had been retracted to a single section, forward, and the two DP-1-2 engines emitted a total thrust of up to 1850 kg, and the plane was getting faster and faster!

Not only Ilyushchenko is accelerating, but the MiG-1 is also accelerating, trying to keep up with the speed of the Il-20. "Ravel, 02 is already faster than us."

Tukolev's speedometer showed a speed of 640 kilometers per hour, and the Il-20 was still accelerating, and the distance between the two planes was getting farther and farther away, and it would not be long before it would leave its field of vision in a few minutes.

Lavelle in the back seat was busier than Tukolev, and he had been recording the state of the testing machine, and the speed characteristics it showed were so exciting that it should not be a problem to exceed the design indicators!

"The tower, speed 780, attitude is steady, and it is still accelerating."

The sound of Ilyushchenko's report was clearly transmitted to the command room of the airport tower, but judging from the radar, the acceleration of the IL-20 can only be said to be average, but at the current speed it is already invincible -- in the take-off acceleration stage, it moves as slowly as a clumsy transport plane!

Ilyushchenko, who was in the cockpit, felt that the noise was starting to increase, but the plane did not show the most worrying chatter, and everything was normal. "At a speed of 880, the limit has been reached for ten seconds, and the plane has no tendency to continue accelerating. After fifty seconds I'll reduce my speed to 600. ”

"02, the tower understands."

One minute of maximum speed test, everyone in the command tower was sweating in their hearts, at the highest operating speed, there should be no problems with those impellers!

A minute was as long as an hour, and Ilyushchenko's report came again on the loudspeaker: "Everything is normal, I have recovered the throttle, the plane is slowing down, making a turn at 650, and then maintaining the speed of 600." ”

Polikarpov made a few notes in a notebook in front of him, on which was a simple hand-drawn test route map, and the number "880" was recorded in a straight line at an altitude of 8,000 meters.

"We built the second fastest plane in the world, and Zhukov's comrades would have had a carnival if they had known our data here." Polikarpov said a word to the people around him.

However, Zhukov's "ghost" institute will not know the data here, which is top secret, but the "ghost" data Gorky will know, because the unimaginably fast "ghost" is one of the targets of the I-20.

However, it seems that the characteristics of the flying wing make it impossible for the I-20 to catch up with the speed of the "Phantom" in any case, and it is impossible for Polikarpov to make only minor repairs to the I-20 to increase the maximum speed of the I-20 to more than 100 kilometers.

However, the maximum speed of 880 kilometers per hour is at least 200 kilometers faster than the maximum speed of propeller fighters in other countries, and the technical advantages are very obvious.

"Tower, 02 turn complete, speed reduced to 600."

"The tower understands that the target is already waiting in airspace No. 7 at an altitude of 4,000."

"02 understands, airspace seven, altitude 4000."

The No. 7 airspace is on the right side of the airport, which is the airspace where the aircraft conducts shooting training, and the radius of nearly 500 square kilometers is no man's land.

The Pi-2 bomber, which is responsible for the towing mission, has already released an all-metal hard towing target with a stabilized wing surface connected by a winch in the predetermined airspace, and the aircraft is traveling at a speed of 400 kilometers per hour, simulating the speed of a normal bomber. If the situation warrants, it will also increase to 500 kilometers for the I-20 to carry out a second attack.

Five minutes later, Ilyushenko had seen the Pe-2 with the naked eye; Soon, a small towing target 300 meters behind the plane was also clearly visible.

At a small depression angle of 10 degrees, Ilyushchenko pushed the throttle forward a section, and the plane began to accelerate - he was going to enter the attack at a speed of at least 650 kilometers or more, although this would result in a speed difference of more than 250 kilometers from the target. This difference in speed is actually not an ideal attack speed difference, and the Il-20 will quickly rush past the target, but the characteristics of the Il-20 doom it to not be a fighter suitable for grappling, and all that is required is such a high-speed approach, and after an attack, it will break away, and then decide whether to turn according to the situation, enter at high speed and carry out another attack.

The IL-20 air combat maneuverability is relatively poor, and the acceleration and roll rate are relatively sluggish, making it unsuitable for dogfight with highly maneuverable propeller fighters. However, if you carry out a high-speed approach attack, the target such as a bomber is a hungry tiger and a sheep, or the opponent is a fighter, and as long as the opponent is negligent, it will be disintegrated in the air!

Everyone on the Peter 2 was highly nervous, which was probably one of the characteristics of the target towing mission, not to mention that today was the first time that the new aircraft had fired at the target in the air. The distance of 300 meters is not long or short, but if the plane entering the attack has some problems in the angle, it is not a joke to fly a few shells!

However, Comrade Captain of the Pet-2 still had great confidence in the test pilot who flew the Il-20 -- Ilyushchenko was one of the best test pilots in the entire Air Force, and even if he was given a kite, it was estimated that he would not have smashed a shell on the nose of the towing target.

Looking at the sight "borrowed" from the MiG-1, Ilyushchenko opened the firing safety on the joystick and pressed his thumb on the red launch knob. The aura inside the sight has already appeared above the target, at a distance of 300 meters.

If the target is a group of bombers, Ilyushchenko should press down on the nose of the aircraft to attack, and the rain of bullets fired from three 30mm guns can completely tear apart the opponent! But now it was a small target, and he continued to keep his flight attitude steady and continued to get closer. Two seconds later, Ilyushchenko entered at a 20-degree cut angle to the left and pressed the cannon firing button at a distance of less than 150 meters!

Suddenly there was a thunderous roar in the air, and the three NR-30 guns roared, and the muzzle flames appeared, and the guns fired shells at the target like hail at a rate of 15 rounds per second each!

In less than a second, more than 30 shells were fired, and the trajectory was clearly indicated in the air, and at least 5 or more shells hit the target in a short time of 0.2 seconds!

Ilyushchenko did not have time to observe, the landline had already passed under the target, and the slightly swinging joystick made a small angle turn to the right. The recoil generated by the salvo of three 30mm guns was very large, but the extremely high rate of fire of the NR-30 gun did not cause the aircraft to yaw or cause destructive tremors.

The winch operator at the rear of the other 2 clearly saw the attack just now, and it was a short burst, and the shell tilted down like a wind! The target from 300 meters away was in flames, and there were shattered metal fragments blasting open! The flight attitude of the all-metal hard towing target with a stabilized wing surface immediately became unstable, and it was already swaying from side to side when the I-20 detached.

"Captain, the tow target has been hit, and it's a sieve! I'm going to cut the cable, it's shaking! ”

"Cut the cable now!" Hearing the report of the winch operator, the captain did not hesitate to give the order. "Tower, tower, I'm a trailer, the towing target was hit, I have cut the steel cable, pay attention to recovery."

"The tower understands, the tower understands."

Because the communication frequency is the same, Ilyushchenko also heard the report of the tractor: the high-speed state attack that was supposed to be carried out can only be canceled.

The target was balanced with a maximum of 5 0.4 square meters of holes, and Ilyushchenko's "target-like accuracy" had made the target lose its value for reuse, and the tractor could only cut the cable to ensure safety.

One attack solved the problem, and the fire density of the three guns was very good, and there was no scattering. And with the order of the tower, the recovery detachment in the ground anti-artillery trench immediately moved! The soldiers quickly got out of cover, and the conspicuous red target in the air was falling, and they drove into the truck to chase it!

"02, I'm the tower, return."

02 understood. Heading 090, altitude 3500. After two turns, the I-20 appeared in the view of the tower observer. At the first three o'clock, the landing gear was lowered, and Ilyushchenko landed smoothly.

As soon as the plane was firmly established, several cars had already driven to the edge of the plane. After turning off all electronic switches, Ilyushchenko pushed back the canopy, climbed out of the cockpit and jumped off the plane.

The mechanics began a preliminary inspection of the aircraft, and after concluding that everything was in order, the trailer attached the towing hook to the nose wheel of the aircraft and slowly towed the aircraft to the hangar, where Ilyushchenko was already in the war room to report all the details of the test flight to the designers.

Tukolev also landed in a plane and went to the war room with Ravel, where he saw that Ilyushchenko had not even taken off his flight suit and was reporting.

"The aerial firing was smooth, but this time I fired up to 40 shells, and it's hard to say what would have happened if I had fired a long shot. I recommend using a soft tow target next time to test the stability of the aircraft during long point fire. I think that no matter what kind of aircraft the target is, as long as the pilot's shooting skills are good, a single burst can completely destroy the target ......" (To be continued. )