50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 460 Research
The emergence of Dongfeng Express was undoubtedly a major event that shocked the entire world.

For Chinese people around the world, this is an extremely exciting event, as it solidifies China's status as a major power.

Sun Zhiwei was also happy at home by himself, and even drank two glasses of wine to celebrate.

Compared to submarines that are constantly being watched when they go out, and compared to the Sixth Master who has to write his will before taking off, Dongfeng Express is a true protective umbrella.

It not only allows us to speak loudly, but also allows us to tell others not to speak loudly to us.

Because from then on, we also gained the ability to flip the table, although most of the time we couldn't use this power.

However, I may not need it, but I cannot be without it, and now we have it.

He gives us the opportunity to make a comeback in any predicament.

This also means that we don't have to take sides between the two superpowers and can stick to our independent development model.

One day in July, Sun Zhiwei unexpectedly received a commendation certificate from Lao Han.

It turns out that this was a domestic award given to those who made contributions after the successful launch of the Dongfeng Express.

Three years ago, Sun Zhiwei provided China with detailed intelligence on a mysterious missile from the United States, and subsequently sent back a disassembled UGM-96A Trident missile.

These two tasks made a significant contribution to the emergence of Dongfeng Express.

This project had been kept secret for a long time, so the reward hadn't arrived and he had almost forgotten about it. But now that Dongfeng has made its debut, the Republic will not forget its heroes.

There was a celebration party at home, but Sun Zhiwei's identity made it inappropriate for him to appear in public, so Lao Han had to distribute the prizes on his behalf.

According to Lao Han, the physical prizes have already been delivered to Tong Jiajia's home by Xu Yimin, but the only thing that was transported all the way here is a small notebook.

Although he only received a simple little red certificate, he was not in a hurry at all after knowing that his contributions had been recorded.

This award is not the end; once the major medals are officially established and implemented, all the necessary ones will be awarded. This applies to Qian Xuesen and other key contributors.

After receiving the certificate, Sun Zhiwei carefully stored it in a small iron box in his spatial storage, which contained all the honorary certificates and various documents he had received over the years.

He plans to keep it safe and pass it on to his grandson in the future.

In August, the purchasing delegation arrived. This time, Sun Zhiwei didn't need to accompany and protect them the whole time. They were a trade delegation, and they were here to bring money. Old M was too busy protecting them to even think about it.

Taking advantage of this free time, he decided to take the certification exams. There were two certificates he needed to take: a captain's certificate and a pilot's certificate.

To explain why he was so eager to take the certification exam, we have to mention his experience of going to the Pentagon to find information some time ago.

If it weren't for that small lake, he would have encountered countless more troubles if he wanted to safely obtain intelligence.

On this small planet, transportation options are limited to land, sea, and air.

On land, he has the space to dig tunnels, which is fast and easy to use, but he is at a loss when he encounters a place where he cannot dig tunnels.

Therefore, he thought of making up for this shortcoming and opening up both sea and air routes.

To enjoy the sea and air, a captain's license and a private pilot's license (PPL) are two unavoidable hurdles.

Putting everything else aside, getting a private pilot's license in Old M is really easy and cheap.

Because the United States has the best flying environment in the world, with numerous airports and various free government services, and the cost of flying is much lower than in other countries.

Moreover, taking the private pilot exam here is not as complicated as the recruitment process in China. After all, the exam here is for civilian aircraft pilots, not fighter jet pilots, so there are far fewer restrictions.

Wearing glasses allows you to fly a plane; having diabetes allows you to fly a plane by going to a few more places and completing a few more procedures; being blind in one eye and deaf in one ear also allows you to fly a plane by going to a few more places and completing a few more procedures.

Even colorblind people can fly, but they can't fly at night; he'd even heard that people with missing arms or legs could, though there were some limitations.

He didn't bother to find out the specific restrictions, since he didn't need them anyway.

In short, in the United States, it's quite friendly for ordinary people to become private pilots. As long as you have the money to enroll in classes and take exams, it doesn't cost a lot of money; you can get a license for around $1.

Of course, obtaining a private pilot's license is not without its limitations; you must meet certain basic requirements, currently there are three.

First, applicants must be at least 17 years old, with no maximum age limit.

Secondly, they must be fluent in English and able to communicate with airport control towers, air traffic control, and other pilots.

Third, you must have at least a Class 3 medical examination report from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration).

This medical examination includes tests on physical and mental capabilities, as well as whether the individual has used drugs.

All you need to do is fill out a form and then go to the medical examiner for some very routine tests: a urine test, a few vision tests, a limb check, etc.

After you pass the medical examination, the medical examiner will give you a student pilot certificate.

It's your student ID. With this, you can go to flight lessons.

Sun Zhiwei obtained his student pilot certificate from a designated medical institution and then enrolled in a flight school.

The learning process was smooth. He can fly, and piloting a civilian aircraft is much simpler than piloting a military aircraft, but the procedures still had to be completed.

The first step is to complete a series of theoretical courses, mainly including aviation regulations, meteorology, principles of flight, navigation, communication, emergency procedures, etc., a total of 9 courses, which is unavoidable everywhere.

These courses require one month of full-time study, while part-time study extends to two to three months.

After learning the theory, we started practicing, because to pass the FAA flight exam, we need to meet the following conditions:
1. A minimum of 20 hours of instructor accompaniment is required for the flight, with a total flight time of 40 hours.

Well, how should I put it? Actually, this condition is designed for those who are already pilots, to reduce their ineffective study time and allow them to get their licenses quickly.

For an ordinary person to become proficient in piloting an airplane in such a short period of time is simply a pipe dream. Takeoff, landing, and other technical maneuvers require time and practice.

Sun Zhiwei estimates that, on average, it would take an average person at least 70 hours of flight time to learn how to operate a small airplane proficiently.

2. Minimum eight hours of intercity flight.

This means flying from one airport to another (which must be more than 50 miles away) for a total flight time of 8 hours.

3. Minimum three hours of night flight (this requirement does not apply to colorblind pilots, but colorblind pilots will have their licenses specifically marked as not allowing night flights).

This one is quite difficult because streetlights and roads have a significant impact on pilots when flying at night, requiring a lot of time to practice and adapt.

4. At least three hours of simulated flight, simulating takeoff, landing, and emergency landing under various extreme weather conditions.

Once you've completed all of this, you'll be able to obtain your Private Pilot License (PPL).

(End of this chapter)