Chapter 139

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 139: The Aerial Knights Challenge in Zambia

Lin Mo smiled and nodded, looking at Nolaf. “How about you? It’s your turn! Are you ready?”

Nolaf swallowed hard, his lips twitching as he said, “I’m ready!” His tone sounded like someone on the way to the execution ground.

“Captain Lin Mo, don’t give them too difficult tasks; after all, they are not Chinese pilots,” Major Huang De, the head of the instructor group, said to Lin Mo. He could see that the maneuvers performed earlier were not too difficult for elite domestic pilots, but for these Zambian Republic pilots who had only flown J-6s and MiG-21s, it was a bit harsh.

“Got it! I have a rough idea,” Lin Mo replied. He realized that the abilities and physical fitness of these Zambian Air Force pilots were somewhat different from his expectations.

Whether it was luck for Lin Mo or fate, the country he was in was relatively strong in the world, starting at a higher level but had not yet engaged in actual air combat. He presumed that the skill level of pilots in other countries would be similar to his, only to find the reality was quite different from his imagination.

It seemed that the countries purchasing the export version of the J-10, the FC-20, cared more about showing off than actual combat capabilities. Even if the Zambian pilots were in F-35s, they would likely still struggle against Chinese pilots flying the J-10. Ultimately, it would come down to the individual’s skill.

Understanding this, Lin Mo accompanied Nolaf to board the K-8 training aircraft once again. This time, Lin Mo called out a few maneuvers suited for the J-10 for Nolaf to try, but his performance was still only passable. It appeared that these Zambian pilots operated quite roughly and simply, unable to handle the more complex flying maneuvers suited for the agile and flexible J-10.

“Alright, let’s start with the basics. For the next month, we’ll focus primarily on theory!” Lin Mo planned to help Lieutenant Grafido and Lieutenant Nolaf strengthen their fundamentals, which was the tone set by him and several other air force instructors during a discussion after class.

Understanding the structure of the FC-20 would significantly aid in learning the new aircraft features. Major Huang De and the others quickly adapted Lin Mo’s methods, but instead of instructing the pilots to assemble aircraft themselves, they invited two Chinese aircraft engineers to give on-site lectures while copying some of Lin Mo’s invaluable tips, which were not even recorded in textbooks.

To facilitate the theoretical teaching, the four-person instructor group from China rotated to give classes to all the Zambian pilots in the morning, explaining the most fundamental flight movements, emphasizing the differences between the FC-20 and J-6 and MiG-21, and guiding them from the basics of operation. In the afternoon, they would enhance physical and reaction training to develop habits suited for operating the FC-20.

Without simulator access, the teaching speed wasn’t as fast as in China. Sometimes, they had to reference the operation panels of the MiG-21 and K-8 to explain the differences with the FC-20.

After spending more than two weeks, the first FC-20 was assembled and passed its test flight. This was a timely relief for Lin Mo and the instructors struggling with teaching methods. However, Zambia’s annual military budget was just over 100 million dollars, and buying four FC-20s had already stretched their finances, leaving no extra money for a two-seat J-10 trainer. Each of these four FC-20s was a single-seater, so if they wanted to fly together, they would need to assemble another one, which bore a considerable risk.

They could only adapt to the circumstances, utilizing the cockpit of the FC-20 and building a platform outside so that the trainees could gather around and observe the pilot operating from the pilot’s seat.

Each instructor worked with their students to simulate operations, allowing the Zambian pilots to practice various tasks while the instructors would remind and correct any mistakes. Only instructors experienced in flying the J-10 could perform such blind flying teaching.

For simpler and easier-to-remember lessons, Lin Mo and the other instructors cooperatively built a rudimentary one-to-one model of the cockpit out of wood. Lin Mo’s impressive carpentry skills left everyone astounded. He was well-known for his “demon king” model fighter creations that amazed the Central Military Commission. The simulated cockpit was crafted with such precision that it appeared lifelike, even including several universal joints. Two large steel rings allowed for a freely rotating cockpit, and simple mining rails below provided some overload acceleration. Lin Mo’s craftsmanship truly impressed the Zambian military.

In reality, Lin Mo’s modeling skills paled compared to his ability to pass off a gold giant dragon coin as a watch.

Having prior flying experience made these Zambian pilots significantly better learners compared to the average civilian. The eight pilots recommended by the Lusaka Air Force Base demonstrated a learning capability above typical standards. By the time the second FC-20 was assembled, they were already capable of flying in formation.

Among the most fundamental lessons was the critical landing and takeoff procedures for fighter jets, which took priority. This ensured that without a two-seat trainer, new students could confidently grasp the operation of the FC-20 as quickly as possible.

Due to physical limitations, Lin Mo and Major Huang De could only explain how to perform the more difficult maneuvers, without being able to demonstrate them. Otherwise, they might end up like Grafido, weak and vomiting on the grass.

A dark green armed helicopter slowly approached from afar, roaring as it landed in front of Hangar 3 at Lusaka Air Force Base.

“What’s going on?” Lin Mo noticed many people seeming to have received some orders, passing messages to each other and heading towards the helicopter’s landing spot as though a significant figure had arrived.

“Oh, it’s the son of Air Force Commander Xin Gaoyuan, Major Kauala, who came to inspect the base today!” Grafido observed, his excellent pilot’s eyesight spotting a young officer stepping down from the helicopter with several aides while being protected by base guards. He smiled apologetically at Lin Mo, “Sorry, Lin, we need to go welcome him!”

“Major Kauala has quite a temper, you know, Lin!” Nolaf whispered, giving Lin Mo a knowing look.

Lin Mo was momentarily taken aback, just then hearing someone nearby call out, “Captain Lin Mo, assemble! The son of the Zambian Air Force Commander, Major Kauala, has arrived. Let’s go meet him together.”

Major Huang De waved at Lin Mo from not far away, also signaling to others. The Zambian Air Force Commander was the highest authority at the base, and as guests, it was appropriate for them to greet his son.

The four air force instructors gathered together, alongside all Zambian pilots and various departments led by their respective commanders, lining up for inspection.

Under the lead of the instructor group leader, Major Huang De, the four Chinese instructors and two engineers stood together at the end of the Zambian Air Force lineup.

Lin Mo saw a very young, dark-skinned youth, tall and robust, striding confidently in a military green summer outfit with short sleeves and wearing black sunglasses, holding a short riding crop. He was flanked by armed soldiers and several bodyguards in dress shirts and ties, walking toward them.

Accompanying him was Major Mora, the highest-ranking officer at the Lusaka base, who was introducing this new face to Kauala. When they reached the Chinese personnel, Mora raised his voice a bit, introducing, “This is Major Huang De from China, the leader of our instructor group training FC-20 pilots. This is Major Han Ringuang, with 2,000 hours of flight experience. This is Captain Zou Han, who has experience flying more than three kinds of fighter jets. And the one behind is Captain Lin Mo, code-named ‘Gold Coin,’ the youngest ace pilot.”

One of the conditions for several small African nations to jointly purchase the J-10 was to have the pilot nicknamed "Gold Coin" as a training instructor. For the Zambians, the record of downing two fighter jets was enough to consider someone an ace. Especially his remarkable flying skills displayed during training were hard to believe for someone with less than 500 flight hours; he seemed no less skilled than veteran pilots like Major Han and Major Huang.

“‘Gold Coin’?” Major Kauala flashed a bright smile, eagerly scrutinizing Lin Mo. “I heard you are the best pilot in China?!”

The best?! Are you praising me or insulting me? Lin Mo couldn’t help but furrow his brow, shaking his head as he replied, “Me? No, I’m just an ordinary pilot. I’ve been in the military for less than a year, and there are many pilots in China who are more skilled than I am.”

Lin Mo’s statement was completely honest; Colonel Jiang and other experienced pilots from Team 7759 were much better than him, even downing the gold giant dragon coin himself. Lin Mo did not yet feel confident enough to shoot down the coin from the sky with the J-10.

However, Major Kauala interpreted Lin Mo’s honesty as excessive modesty. He smiled, “I’m a pilot too. How about we have a friendly match – a friendly air competition between Zambia and China? What do you say?”

Others looked taken aback. Kauala was clearly provoking the Chinese. This could lead to a negative impact, regardless of who won or lost. If Zambia won, China might not provide such generous assistance next time, and if China won, Zambia would find it hard to hold their head high among other African nations. It was clearly not worth the risk.

“Kauala, don’t be reckless!” Major Mora’s expression changed, speaking in a voice only audible to himself and Kauala.