Failure and success
All the procedures before takeoff were covered in the textbook. He only had to follow the instructions in the book. The truly difficult part came afterward.
Fortunately, since this was Li Zhi's first time, no complex environmental simulations had been added. He only needed to take off and land in windless conditions.
It sounded incredibly simple, but hardly anyone could do it. If you hadn't crashed eight or ten times, you couldn't call yourself a flight trainee!
The simulator cockpit reproduced the layout of the L-8 advanced trainer that Li Zhi and the others would fly in the future. A trainer that sold very well both abroad and domestically, the L-8 had been adopted across the major flight academies in 2002.
Li Zhi released the plane's brakes and slowly pushed the throttle forward. The plane began to taxi.
Since this was his first time operating it, Li Zhi kept his movements as gentle as possible, trying to avoid crashing during takeoff.
Li Zhi kept adjusting the plane's direction as it taxied onto the main runway, then stopped to wait. Even in a flight simulation, he needed takeoff clearance from the tower!
The simulator didn't have a highly intelligent human-machine dialogue system, though, so he only needed to wait a few seconds.
"Airfield pressure 1024, no wind, runway clear. Cleared for takeoff!"
The virtual tower gave him the signal to take off.
After setting the flaps to ten degrees, Li Zhi released the brakes and slowly applied throttle. The plane began its takeoff roll.
As the plane steadily picked up speed, Li Zhi recalled the L-8's performance specifications and its takeoff speed at normal weight.
The L-8's normal weight was around 2.8 tons. At that weight, given the airframe's aerodynamic configuration, a takeoff speed of 120 knots, or 222 kilometers per hour, was ideal.
The "spectators" outside the simulator also watched the display screen nervously. So far, Li Zhi had done everything by the book. It looked as though a freak capable of taking off on his first simulator attempt was about to appear!
[Crashed!]
Li Zhi failed to work a miracle. His first test flight ended in a crash.
He had been too cautious, causing the plane to accelerate too slowly during its takeoff roll. By the time it was almost at the end of the runway, it still hadn't reached takeoff speed.
Left with no choice, Li Zhi had to force the plane up despite its insufficient speed.
The result was predictable. The plane's main landing gear refused to leave the runway, and it finally ran off the end and crashed into the wire fence around the runway.
Seeing Li Zhi crash, the senior students outside let out an involuntary sigh of relief. If this junior, who was only in his second year, had succeeded on his first try, they really would have been too ashamed to show their faces!
The teachers nearby weren't too disappointed. The simulator stage was meant for everyone to make mistakes. Only by discovering their problems could they avoid dangerous situations when operating a real aircraft.
The second simulation didn't begin immediately. The doctor and psychologist standing nearby opened the cockpit door and carefully assessed Li Zhi's condition before allowing him to try again.
Because it was an eight-degree-of-freedom simulator, even the crash simulation felt extremely real and had a significant psychological impact on trainees.
The second simulated flight began!
After another perfectly standard set of preflight preparations, the plane soon reached the runway and waited for takeoff clearance from the tower.
"Airfield pressure 1024, no wind, runway clear. Cleared for takeoff!"
Following its preset program, the simulated tower mechanically gave the command clearing him for takeoff.
Li Zhi adjusted the flaps, released the brakes, and slowly pushed the throttle forward. Unlike last time, once the plane began its takeoff roll, he shoved the throttle all the way forward.
The sudden thrust made the plane somewhat unstable as it rolled, and the entire airframe veered left. Under Li Zhi's control, however, it didn't run off the runway.
The plane accelerated noticeably faster than it had last time and quickly reached the minimum takeoff speed.
"Decision speed!"
The flight control system gave a prompt. The plane had reached its minimum takeoff speed, and the system was prompting the pilot to decide whether to continue. If he chose to abort, he had to reduce throttle and slow down.
Takeoff speeds also differed depending on whether the plane was fully loaded or empty. This was merely data built into the flight control system; whether the plane could actually take off was still up to the pilot to judge.
About two or three seconds after the flight control system's prompt, Li Zhi slowly pulled the control stick toward himself, and the plane's nose gradually rose with his movement.
With four hundred meters of runway remaining, the plane's main landing gear lifted off the ground. It had successfully taken off!
The crowd watching outside, however, fell utterly silent.
This can't be real, can it? It's just too unbelievable!
He took off successfully on his second simulation. Was this really his first time in a simulator?
Even the teachers were astonished. Since the academy had acquired its simulators, no one had ever managed to take off successfully on their second attempt.
Forget the second attempt. Trainees who managed one successful takeoff and landing in ten attempts all went on to become aces in their flight units!
We've found a treasure!
As for whether Li Zhi could land successfully, the teachers had little doubt. After all, he was the hero who had once successfully landed a large passenger plane!
"In ten seconds, proceed to the next task: landing!"
Li Zhi's only tasks were to take off and land, so not long after he successfully took off, he had to begin the landing procedure.
The spectators outside had no time to marvel before they grew nervous again. Landing a plane was even harder than taking off, and nearly half of all accidents occurred during landing.
For them, landing really was harder than taking off, but for Li Zhi, the opposite was true. He had experience landing!
Although civilian airliners differed considerably from air force fighters, the principles of landing were the same!
After reaching decision height, Li Zhi slowly reduced the throttle and adjusted the plane's flaps, bringing its speed down.
Before the landing gear touched the runway, he raised the nose again. By then, the lift the plane generated was no longer enough to support its own weight, and it slowly settled onto the runway with its nose raised.
As for the landing gear, it had never been retracted after takeoff, so there was naturally no need to lower it.
Li Zhi didn't deploy the drag chute or use any other means to help slow down. He relied solely on the plane's automatic braking system.
After rolling for more than five hundred meters, the plane came to a steady stop in the middle of the runway.
[Congratulations, you have completed the simulation!]
The bright red words appeared simultaneously on Li Zhi's flight control screen and the monitor outside.
I must be dreaming!
That was what every trainee outside was thinking. His landing had been even more textbook-perfect than his takeoff. If this wasn't a dream, how else could they explain it?