Chapter 215
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Chapter 215: The Super Cobra
"Well done! The takeoff posture is perfect!" Chen Haiqing said over the radio from the ground, wearing a headset.
If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger. If you pull the stick back, they get smaller. That is, unless you keep pulling the stick all the way back, then they get bigger again.
This phrase, taken from flight rules, perfectly mirrored Lin Mo’s feelings. With 14 aerodynamic control surfaces, there were more complex operations involved. Fortunately, the voice control module provided by the Hangzhou Applied Acoustics Research Institute allowed the pilot to give commands verbally, reducing the burden on him significantly.
"I’m going to try a few maneuvers! It’s a bit different from the simulator; the vibrations are stronger, and the engine noise is a bit loud!" As Professor Yan’s disciple, Lin Mo was one of the few professionals in the industry who combined theory with practice. Every word he uttered stirred the hearts of the experts on the ground. This was the most profound and direct assessment from an aircraft designer, and bypassing individual steps meant more precise information.
"Hehe, you sound like you’re from the Guizhou Liyang Aviation Engine Company. You know the manufacturing precision there. But the quality is much better than before; its lifespan is no worse than the Old Russian engines. This is still a new engine—just take care not to damage it."
Chen Haiqing smiled, dismissing Lin Mo’s complaints. From a pilot’s perspective, having a fighter jet in the air was already a success. Seeking perfection was a matter for specialists; they would talk about that after stepping down from the pilot’s seat.
"Little Lin, be careful! If things look wrong, eject immediately!" Professor Yan said, tightly holding onto his concern. He knew the risks involved with an experimental machine taking off.
Eject? What about the aircraft?
Concern led to chaos; the staff at National Defense Star (NDS) rolled their eyes collectively. If it crashed, it would be better for the new company to just declare bankruptcy; one mention of ejecting would render all their efforts useless.
"Don’t worry, teacher! This machine is great and pretty agile. I’ll try a few maneuvers before deciding," Lin Mo replied cheerfully, showing no signs of nervousness typical for a first-time pilot. He had quickly adapted to the J-14’s operations in the simulator and had prepared for unexpected situations.
After making a wide turn, the J-14 maintained an altitude of about 800 meters along the 2,000-meter-long runway, performing a spiral roll. Then, with a strong push on the throttle and pulling the stick, the aircraft responded swiftly; the nose of the aircraft pointed high up as it continued to accelerate, performing a 180-degree flip with an impressive lift coefficient of over 2.2 thanks to the canard wing.
After executing a beautiful backflip, it completed a series of precise aerial rolls before returning to level flight.
Bang! A crisp explosion echoed!
It sounded like a bus running over a capped plastic water bottle, magnified many times over.
A sonic boom cloud erupted around the J-14 as Lin Mo and the people on the ground began counting seconds; they were testing the supersonic cruising capability.
Mach 1.2
Mach 1.3
Mach 1.4
Mach 1.5
Mach 1.55
Mach 1.6
Though the vibrations of the aircraft grew intense in supersonic mode, they were remarkably uniform and rhythmic.
"Fantastic! Sixty seconds at supersonic speed! Now start to slow down, and report the fuel tank capacity!" Lin Mo heard the voice of Chief Engineer Gao Zheng, who was in charge of the J-14 experimental machine.
"Received, beginning to reduce speed!" Lin Mo gradually eased off the throttle, glanced at the fuel gauge, and said, "There’s about 7,500 liters left. Next, I’ll try a break the ‘S’ maneuver and the Cobra maneuver to test the stall capability."
A milky white sonic boom cloud appeared again as the J-14 gradually slowed down, hovering near the speed of sound, as if wrapped in a pure white veil.
"Alright, you can start now. Our radar can lock onto you," came the voice from the ground personnel. Despite being an experimental machine equipped with plasma stealth technology to enhance its invisibility, a working positioning beacon was loaded inside the aircraft’s weapon bay. This beacon constantly emitted location signals to assist the radar at the testing site in tracking the J-14. Without it, the aircraft’s radar cross-section of only 0.06 square meters would pose significant challenges for the semi-military radar, which might mistake it for a bird and filter it out.
Lin Mo began performing tricks with the J-14, climbing to an altitude of 8,500 meters, rolling 180 degrees level, then sharply pulling down on the stick. The J-14 seemed to lose control and lift, beginning to spiral downwards.
As the gradient indicator on the dashboard suddenly flipped to zero, Lin Mo pulled the stick back to maintain level flight. The aircraft’s path resembled a twisted, separated ‘S’ shape.
This was the moment true experts would notice the details. This maneuver tested the stability of the J-14. An inexperienced observer might mistakenly think the J-14 had stalled and that the pilot had pulled it back up, struggling before regaining control.
But this was not a mistake; it was a defensive flying technique used in close-range cannon combat. By quickly trading altitude for speed, a pilot could swiftly escape enemy attacks. Of course, if the opponent fired a missile, a different approach would be necessary.
If the altitude was insufficient, forcing a break the ‘S’ maneuver could lead to a close encounter with the ground, which truly tested a fighter’s maneuverability.
Climbing was akin to storing energy, comparable to pulling back a fist.
Lowering altitude would boost speed; during aerial combat, speed was the top priority. This is why modern fighters emphasize speed first, functioning like internal energy, with maneuverability coming next, akin to martial arts techniques.
When speed is sufficient, achieving a state where one force can overcome ten moves becomes possible. There would be no need to evade missiles; simply shaking them off would suffice—let the missiles and cannons deal with it!
The J-14 continued to climb above the testing ground. Each fierce maneuver required altitude, and Lin Mo had no intention of performing an astonishing ultra-low altitude Cobra maneuver in front of everyone. Many of the older gentlemen would likely get heart attacks, and that would be a huge burden on his conscience.
4,500 meters was a suitable height. Lin Mo quickly pulled the stick back, raising the nose of the aircraft by 120 degrees and gliding slightly forward due to inertia. This was somewhat challenging for the J-14, given its large wing area, but Lin Mo managed to control it. He warned the Gold Coins within the aircraft not to intervene. This was a matter of life and death for pilots across the nation. If some high-difficulty maneuvers could be performed due to interference from the Gold Coin, then when those pilots attempted them in the future, they would undoubtedly make significant mistakes.
Every test flight was a matter of countless pilots’ lives.
Lin Mo would not allow such a situation to occur. He must maintain a pragmatic attitude throughout the experimental machine’s test flight process; it was either feasible or not, with absolutely no coercion and no "gold element" cheats involved.
At 120 degrees, he could still increase the angle. Feeling that the aircraft still had control, Lin Mo slightly adjusted the stick. While those on the ground couldn’t see clearly with the naked eye, even with high-powered telescopes, the detection equipment would record everything completely.
"Now at a 130-degree angle! Can you hold it?"
Gasps erupted from the ground. This exceeded the original angle of the Cobra maneuver, the Su-27’s 120 degrees.
"No problem! 150 degrees! Speed 25! 160 degrees! Speed zero!"
Lin Mo’s voice came through the ground communication equipment, followed by shocking reports.
"170 degrees, speed negative 5! Ending maneuver, I want to change!"
170 degrees? Surpassing the J-10’s limit of 160 degrees by a full 10 degrees.
That was incredibly powerful, and it was at a speed of negative 5 kilometers. What did that mean? This was no longer just strong; it was almost unbelievable.
The J-14 was practically flying backward at high altitude, offsetting its forward speed, momentarily hovering backward—an exclusive maneuver for helicopters!
Even for an instant!
It was enough to shatter world records for jet fighters.
To think a jet fighter could execute such maneuvers—this was miraculous.
The ground erupted in chaos.
This was not a special effects-laden science fiction blockbuster; this was genuine, extreme action that completely surpassed the designers’ and manufacturers’ imaginations. The J-14 "Eagle Falcon" was not designed for such extreme maneuvers, which exceeded the theoretical thresholds outlined in the manual.
The group of aircraft design experts was in disarray, but moments later, an almost suffocating silence fell over them, every gaze focused like a directed energy weapon’s invisible beam on the screen displaying the aircraft’s angle.
If looks could harness energy, they would have seen only a mass of holes and flaws.
The constantly flashing negative 5 speed alarm was glaringly bright, seemingly exceeding the limits of their analytical programs, mere malfunctions serving as warnings.
The aircraft began to pitch back; the tail reached the front in an instant, just like a fadeaway shot in basketball, requiring precise balance for inertia hovering.
With a deceleration rate of 110 kilometers per second, the Su-27, creator of the Cobra maneuver, could only reduce its speed to 148 kilometers per hour. Losing control meant trouble.
