The light gray MZ-20 helicopter sped away in a southwesterly direction in the dim sky.

The route of the flight is basically along the Kra Isthmus, across the peninsula, and then into the Indian Ocean. The MZ-20 heavy helicopter has a cruising range of 700 kilometers without adding auxiliary fuel tanks, and if it is equipped with auxiliary fuel tanks, it will reach 1,000 kilometers.

Therefore, according to Li Mai's instructions, the helicopter had to fly to the storm area to inspect the situation on the spot, and it took about 600 kilometers to make a round trip, which took two and a half hours.

Li Mai must take a look, not pretending to be forced, but very necessary. At this time, sitting next to Li Mai was a man in his forties named Zhu Guangjiu, wearing thick glasses. He is a meteorologist, a heavyweight recruited by Li Mai from the National Meteorological Research Center with a high salary.

Also accompanied by Li Xian and Chen Feifei, two pilots and one mechanic. Chen Yingfei brought a cameraman and an assistant to shoot and record. and Li Mai's new assistant, Song Jiangao. Song Jiangao is the real Li Mai's assistant. Pei Xiaoshuai was followed by Zhang Dongyue, and after Zhang Dongyue began to gradually take charge of himself, he naturally needed a new assistant to fill the vacancy.

Song Jiangao was recommended by the board office, and Li Mai chose this young man with a steady temperament and a down-to-earth work from several candidates.

"Teacher Zhu. Do you estimate when you will land in Ranong?" asked Li Mai.

Zhu Guangjiu raised the frame of his glasses, looked through the hatch, and could already see the dark storm area in front of him that could not distinguish between the sky and the sea.

"This Typhoon No. 1 route is bizarre, the factors that formed it are complex, and based on the previous analysis of the speed of movement, it is accelerating irregularly. It is difficult to tell when it will be ready to make landfall, but it is certain that it must have landed off the coast of Ranong. Zhu Guangjiu's voice was a little floating, the whispers of a typical literati.

Li Mai's face sank and said, "Can you calculate the approximate time?"

Zhu Guangjiu lowered his head and thought for a while, and said, "About three hours, but I can't be sure." ”

Three hours meant that nearly half of the fleet's machinery could not be unloaded. Chumphon Port was originally a small port, and there was simply no way to accommodate the shelter of so many large ships. The only way is for all the ships to anchor together to resist the typhoon.

Someone built a yì before, temporarily shelved the unloading, and used the weight to resist the typhoon. But after thinking about it, Li Mai rejected this plan. Those construction machinery are more important than the safety of the ship. To put it mildly, Li Mai would rather lose more than a dozen giant ships than have no way to bear the loss of this batch of construction machinery. Because that would seriously delay the start of the project.

For the sake of time, Li Mai will not hesitate to pay a price.

Although the contract was signed, in his opinion, only when the Kra Canal was dug out as soon as possible could it really become a foregone conclusion.

"Three hours, it looks like I've paused unloading. Li Mai said with a deep groan.

At this time, Li Xian said, "The intensity of this storm is very high, safety first, and I will immediately arrange for the fleet to defend against typhoons." ”

Looking at the time, Li Mai asked, "How long does it take for the fleet to be ready?"

Song Jiangao immediately replied: "According to the plan, it will take two hours for the desired ships to do a good job of preventing typhoons. ”

"Go to the beginning and the end, that is, now the order must be given. Li Mai said to himself, thought about it, and said, "Li Xian, inform the pilot, drive further, and I will see with my own eyes what the situation is in the storm area." ”

Li Xian said, "Brother Mai, you can't fly forward." Too dangerous. ”

"No problem, as long as it doesn't pass through the storm zone, the MZ-20 can. Li Mai said.

Li Xian could only carry out the order, and he knew that no one could change Li Mai's mind.

Anyone on the plane who has a little aviation knowledge knows the danger of doing this, but Zhu Guangjiu, his attention is either on the tablet or on the weather in front of him. Li Mai invited him to take charge of the establishment of the Weather and Meteorological Department under the Gun Regiment Construction Group, which was largely for the purpose of serving the Kra Canal.

Many people don't understand why Li Mai spent so much money to establish such a department that other companies don't have. Weather ...... The state has more specialty, isn't it better to get information from there?

But Li Mai thought about it more.

After all, the Kra Canal is a canal carved along the Kra Isthmus, which runs for more than 100 kilometers. What kind of impact will the emergence of this canal have on the local ecological environment, and how to avoid these impacts as much as possible. Li Mai must be taken into account, and the Tianhou Meteorological Department is obviously not as simple as simply forecasting the weather.

It is true that Li Mai can ignore these at all, and the Thai people must live or die on Cheng Dù, and they have nothing to do with Li Mai.

But Li Mai thinks long-term, the more perfect the Kra Canal is, the longer it will be stored, and the more good reason it will have to be in his own hands.

It's not like a few years later, when someone else would use the ecological environment as a big killer to seize FKY's control of the Kra Canal.

The plane began to shake, and the amplitude increased. Heavy raindrops crashed against the hatch windows, crackling. The storm zone ahead is a thunderbolt of lightning, and the power of nature makes people feel small.

Zhu Guangjiu's eyes widened, and he couldn't wait to stick his head out, carefully observing the clouds, and paying full attention.

At this time, the pilot's voice came: "Can't fly any further!"

Everyone looked at Li Mai anxiously, but Li Mai was calm and steady, but he was looking at Zhu Guangjiu.

Everyone else didn't dare to speak, and only Li Xian dared to speak at this time, but he asked Zhu Guangjiu: "Teacher Zhu, how long will it take?" ”

Zhu Guangjiu didn't speak, as if he hadn't heard, and a pair of eyes under the thick spectacle lenses were staring intently at the clouds in front of him.

The shaking of the plane is getting worse and worse, and it is still flying.

Suddenly, the red alarm light turned on, and the alarm sounded at once.

The pilot's voice came: "Mechanical failure!

Li Mai's brows furrowed slightly, and at this time, the mechanic had already heard the wind and rushed to the cockpit, and began to communicate with the pilot to deal with mechanical failures.

Zhu Guangjiu finally came back to his senses and said to Li Mai, "It's basically the same." ”

After speaking, he lowered his head, recorded a qiē word and number jù in a small notebook that others could not understand, and began to count. The sound of the sirens and the siren lights seemed to have no effect on him. This is an academic maniac.

Li Mai ordered: "Return home!"

The massive fuselage of the MZ-20 began to make a U-turn, and by this time, it had reached the edge of the storm zone.

Li Xian ran to the cockpit and asked loudly, "How could a mechanical failure occur?"

The captain was sweating profusely, trying his best to control the plane, and the flight attitude was quite normal, but the fault lights were still flashing.

"The tail is faulty!

"What's the matter!" Li Xian said angrily, "Didn't you do a comprehensive inspection before you set off! What is the situation now, can you fly back?"

The captain is a retired veteran pilot from the Army Aviation Corps and has a wealth of experience.

"I flew the MZ-20 and should be able to stick to flying back. The captain said categorically.

Li Xian suppressed his anger and said, "The boss's safety is in your hands, no matter what method you use, you must let the boss land safely!

With that, he returned to the crew compartment.

"What's going on?" Li Mai asked with a frown.

Li Xian took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "The tail wing is not faulty, and it is not a big problem." ”

With a faint smile, Li Mai said, "Big problem." Let everyone wear life jackets and prepare for the worst. ”

Li Xian was stunned for a moment, and looked at Li Mai inexplicably, "The flight attitude is quite normal now, and it will be fine." ”

Li Mai said in a deep voice, "I know more about helicopters than you." Arrange it down. ”

After speaking, Li Mai got up and walked towards the cockpit, patted the co-pilot on the shoulder, and said, "I'll come." ”

The co-pilot got up and gave up his position, Li Mai sat down, quickly checked the instrument, immediately checked the flight parameters, and said, "Descend the altitude and prepare for the forced landing." ”

The captain was about to say that he had not yet reached that time, when he saw the flashing tail fault light turn into a solid state, and the frequency of the alarm suddenly increased.

The question was stricter than he thought.

The captain said no more, took a deep breath, descended altitude, and tried his best to control the course. Li Mai quickly inspected the various systems to find out the cause of the failure, and only then could the fault be rectified.

Li Mai is proficient in helicopters, and he has piloted almost every kind of military helicopter when he was in service, and he is very familiar with the various types of helicopters produced by the Red Aircraft Factory. He remembers that the tail system of the MZ-20 helicopter had a set of backup circuits.

The helicopter was thoroughly inspected before takeoff, so it certainly wasn't a hardware issue. There are only two kinds of problems, circuits or oil circuits.

The plane swayed even more, and you could clearly feel that the tail was losing control. The tail is an important part of the course of a smooth flight attitude control, and once something goes wrong, there is only one result - a fall.

The people in the crew cabin, except for Zhu Guangjiu, were so nervous that their faces changed. Even Li Xian also raised his heart. Without personal experience, there is no way to appreciate the fear of fate being manipulated by other factors, especially in the air. The so-called down-to-earth, down-to-earth.

Li Xian now only thinks about one thing in his heart - no matter what, he must ensure Brother Mai's safety. The second thing to think about is whether this failure is sudden or man-made.

"It won't last long!" the captain said in a sudden deep voice.

That means a forced landing on the sea, and even if it is safe, it will not escape the storm. You know, it's very close to the storm zone right now, and the storm zone is approaching at a rapid pace.

Suddenly, just before the plane was completely out of control, Li Mai spit out a sentence: "Found it! Switch the backup oil circuit!"

The captain almost subconsciously made corresponding movements, and after about four or five seconds, the fault light went out, the alarm stopped, and the flight attitude slowly returned to normal.

Li Mai let out a long sigh of relief. The people in the crew compartment looked around, feeling that the plane was no longer trembling, and stabilized, and the pleasure of the rest of their lives after the catastrophe hit their hearts.

"Return as fast as you can. Li Mai only said one sentence and left the cockpit.

When he arrived at the crew cabin, Li Xian was about to speak, but was covertly stopped by Li Mai's eyes.

Li Xian secretly thought in his heart, it seems that the real storm is coming.

Note: Congratulations to Xiaoxiao on becoming a new elder! Thank you brothers for your support!