L-8 advanced trainer aircraft
Li Zhi had ten simulator attempts in total. The eight-degree-of-freedom simulator was very popular, so the number of attempts each person got had to be limited.
During his remaining eight simulated takeoffs and landings, Li Zhi didn't succeed every time. The causes of the crashes varied, but that was the point of having a simulator.
The eight simulations were soon over, and he stepped down from the simulator as everyone stared at him as though he were a god.
As Li Zhi walked over, the others even took an unconscious step back.
What kind of monster is he? Is he really human? Could he be an alien in disguise?
The main reason everyone thought and acted this way was that Li Zhi had improved far too quickly!
On his first simulation, he couldn't even take off, yet on his second, he had successfully taken off and landed. His performance afterward proved that he hadn't succeeded by luck-he had truly mastered it.
The academy gave every cadet ten simulator attempts on their first visit to take them down a peg. No instructor was assigned to teach them.
Yet, unexpectedly, Li Zhi had taught himself and managed to take off and land without anyone's instruction.
He had taught himself to fly a plane!
He's got to be kidding!
No matter what, from this day on, the legend of Li Zhi was bound to spread through the academy!
And so, while the other students in his year were still studying theory, Li Zhi began the simulator stage.
With everyone studying hard, time flew by, and their third academic year arrived. After more than two years of study, all the students had mastered the most basic knowledge of flight.
And with a freak like Li Zhi setting the example, the cadets had remained highly enthusiastic about their studies. Quite a few senior cadets had even been influenced by them.
Having mastered the basics, they were divided into classes at the start of their third academic year!
There were many types of combat aircraft. What ordinary people thought of as combat aircraft were actually only one category, called fighters!
Besides fighters, there were attack aircraft, early warning aircraft, attack helicopters, and so on.
In the third academic year, the cadets were sorted into more specialized groups according to their physical fitness and grasp of professional knowledge.
Li Zhi was naturally assigned to the fighter cadet class. His simulator training had all been geared toward making him a fighter pilot!
His three roommates were also assigned to the class, which had the most cadets.
The senior cadets who had witnessed Li Zhi "teach himself" had completed their graduation assessments the previous month. After graduating, they had been "divided up" among the various flight units.
Air force pilots had always been in short supply. Every year, the flight units nearly came to blows trying to secure one more slot!
Li Zhi's classmates had also started using simulators, but for the time being, he was the only one allowed on the eight-degree-of-freedom simulator. The others all used six-degree-of-freedom ones.
The eight-degree-of-freedom simulator was intended for graduating cadets in the first place, so naturally not everyone could use it.
After a year of simulator training, Li Zhi could now take off and land proficiently and was learning some basic maneuvers.
As it happened, the academy had changed its teaching methods over the past two years, abandoning much of its dogmatic instruction to keep the cadets' thinking from becoming rigid and encourage them to let their imaginations run free.
It was this change in teaching philosophy that led the academy to decide against placing too many restrictions on cadets during the simulator stage. Instead, they would let the cadets fly as they saw fit. It was only a simulation, after all.
The results were both good and bad. The academy didn't know whether it was moving too fast, but its rigid teaching methods were due for some changes.
The seasons passed. Days at school always seemed both long and short, and in the blink of an eye, Li Zhi and the other new cadets had become seniors in the graduating class!
The eight-degree-of-freedom simulator naturally became theirs to use exclusively, and they finally had the chance to get their hands on real aircraft.
The fifty-odd cadets in the fighter class were further divided into eight study groups, each taught by an experienced pilot.
The instructor leading Li Zhi's group, Liu Jin, was even a Golden Helmet recipient-a true ace!
The academy had arranged this deliberately. It had faced considerable pressure in persuading Liu Jin to come back.
Liu Jin was an ace pilot who had won a Golden Helmet and one of Dragon Country's earliest pilots. His students and their students could be found throughout Dragon Country's aviation community.
Liu Jin himself had chosen to leave active service because his physical fitness had begun to decline. After retiring, he had neither taken a civilian post nor transferred to another profession, but instead returned to his alma mater to train young people.
Given his physical condition, the school had assigned him only to teach theory.
The main reason the academy had risked asking him to return this time was Li Zhi. It hadn't come across a prospect this promising in years, so naturally it was doing everything it could to train him.
On the runway at the academy's airfield.
"I'll be your instructor for the next year. My name is Liu Jin. You can call me Instructor Liu. No need to waste time on introductions. You have a year to make me remember you!"
Instructor Liu's temperament had never changed. He was always brisk and decisive.
"Now we'll go straight up for a flight. Who's Li Zhi? Step forward!"
There were eight cadets in Li Zhi's group. It seemed Liu Jin had heard Li Zhi's name before coming.
"Reporting, Instructor! I'm Li Zhi!"
Li Zhi stepped forward and reported loudly.
"Good. You'll be the first to come up with me. Let me see what the genius those old fellows have been praising to the skies is made of!"
To persuade Liu Jin to come back, the school leaders had sung Li Zhi's praises extravagantly. They had piqued Liu Jin's interest, which was why he had agreed to return.
"Yes, sir!"
Li Zhi showed no fear. Although he didn't consider himself a genius, he wouldn't admit that he was much worse than anyone else, either.
The L-8 advanced trainer was currently the most widely used trainer aircraft in Dragon Country. Li Zhi and the others had long since committed its specifications to memory.
Fuselage length: 11.6 meters
Wingspan: 9.6 meters
Height: 4.2 meters
Empty weight: 2.6 tonnes
Maximum takeoff weight: 5.3 tonnes
Maximum range: 1,400 kilometers without external fuel tanks, up to 2,300 kilometers with them
Most importantly, as a new model designed for both export and domestic sales, it was an armed trainer!
Besides a 23-millimeter cannon, it could carry nearly a tonne of missiles or aerial bombs.
It was a trainer that could be used directly as a combat aircraft!