50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 465 Rent a Black Hawk

"I have a pilot's license, so I don't need a base-trained pilot, which avoids some trouble, doesn't it?"

Major Page gave Sun Zhiwei's proposal a careful consideration.

Air travel is easy for him; as the head of the air force, he can simply create a flight training program on the spot.

The issue of Sun Zhiwei not being an active-duty soldier is easy to resolve; just give him a certificate for an unemployed worker, and you can even collect a document fee.

As for whether a civilian driver's license can be used to fly military aircraft, he doesn't care at all. If the plane breaks down, all the better; he can just report it as damaged and get more money.

He wasn't worried that Sun Zhiwei would escape with the plane; Major Haywood from Saipan had already told him about Sun Zhiwei's situation.

He was a real tycoon, incredibly wealthy. A Black Hawk was nothing to him; he might even complain that their planes were old.

Since there are no problems with the program, then naturally there are no problems at all.

"make a deal."

Subsequently, Sun Zhiwei wrote a check and received a flight certificate and a certificate for non-staff personnel.

That flight permit allowed him to fly freely at low altitudes within Borneo, and the permit granted him immunity from the M military.

This is quite expensive: 1 yuan for two certificates and 10 yuan per day for aircraft leasing, including aircraft wear and tear, refueling, etc.

He directly wrote a check for 81 to the major, of which 10 was a thank-you fee for the major.

He was certain that Barabak Base wouldn't get a single cent from the check; it would all end up in Major Page's own pocket.

Using military aircraft for private purposes is not uncommon at M military bases, and the base leaders usually turn a blind eye.

The fact that these elite citizens of Great America, West Point graduates, were willing to come to such a poor and remote place to be stationed shows how lenient the authorities are.

Otherwise, if someone quits, the higher-ups will have to find someone to replace them, which is also a troublesome matter.

Two hours later, Sun Zhiwei put on a standard M-army flight suit and boarded a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter at the airport.

Sitting in the cockpit of the Black Hawk, he noticed that the 7.62mm six-barreled Gatling "Mini Cannon" machine gun mounted on the belly of the aircraft had not been removed.

Through spatial observation, he discovered that the Gatling gun was fully loaded with ammunition. He didn't say much about it; if they weren't worried, why should he? At worst, they'd pay him when the shells ran out.

After powering on and performing a self-test, and familiarizing himself with the buttons, the control tower informed him 10 minutes later that he was ready to take off.

He pulled the control stick, causing the Black Hawk to slowly ascend. After hovering at a height of 50 meters for a while and roughly determining the direction, Sun Zhiwei piloted the Black Hawk straight towards the Pontianak Iron Mine.

Compared to other aircraft from the United States, the UH-60 Black Hawk is exceptionally well-made and durable, with bulletproof materials throughout and fuel tanks capable of withstanding machine gun fire.

If shock absorbers are installed, it can even take off and land without rough handling on flat ground.

Its structure is relatively simple, with few control buttons, flexible steering, two engines, and high speed.

It has to be said that the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter is really useful; no wonder China purchased 24 of them.

It is said that the Black Hawk helicopter will still be in service on the plateau 40 years from now, and many of the technologies on it are currently impossible for us to replicate.

It wasn't until more than 30 years later that our domestically produced third-generation fighter jet, the Z-20, gradually began to replace the Black Hawk.

Sun Zhiwei piloted the Black Hawk I westward, first crossing a short strait before spotting dense jungle. He flew at full speed over the jungle, unimpeded. M-military aircraft held a dominant position in Borneo; even if the local army spotted them, they dared not obstruct them.

With a maximum speed of 350 km/h, the Black Hawk was almost over the mining area two hours later.

Just then, he glanced at the ground and saw a group of people in the woods below.

The space opened up instantly and swept across the ground. He found that all these people were carrying weapons, and several others were carrying stretchers, indicating that there were wounded.

The area was not far from the mining area, and there was no way to know if the mining area could be detected in advance if armed personnel approached. At this point, there was no need to cause any unnecessary trouble, so he decided to go into the mining area first and then come back to check.

Before long, the Black Hawk arrived over the mining area. People on the ground panicked and scattered in all directions when they saw such a large helicopter in the sky.

Sun Zhiwei saw that others had entered the house and picked up weapons.

He ignored the actions of the people on the ground and began to land directly, soon landing the Black Hawk on the open ground in the middle of the wooden house.

When he stepped off the Black Hawk and took off his helmet, the atmosphere around him instantly relaxed. Many people in the mine knew him.

Soon, Huang Hongxuan and a few others rushed over, braving the still-strong winds from the rotor blades.

"Boss, you're here. You can fly planes? What kind of plane is this? That's amazing!"

"It's too noisy here, let's go inside and talk."

The two arrived at the large room in the middle and sat down on the rattan chairs. A little girl then poured them some cool tea.

After Huang Hongxuan's introduction, Sun Zhiwei quickly learned about the development of the mining area during this period.

Iron ore mining has stabilized, but due to the semi-mechanical and semi-manual mining method, production can no longer be increased.

After the iron ore is mined, it cannot be smelted locally. It is all transported directly to the port and sold to buyers. The maximum profit per month is only 100 million.

He hadn't had high hopes for the mining area, but Huang Hongxuan managed it better than he had imagined. Since that was the case, he was willing to give him some opportunities.

"If we want to develop, what paths do you think we can take?"

"Boss, there are three ways to develop and expand the mining area."

"First, acquire nearby mining areas. There are many other mining areas nearby. If we can buy them and manage them carefully, we can make a lot of profits."

"Secondly, by replacing mining machines with advanced ones, we can switch from semi-manual mining to fully mechanized mining, which can increase efficiency and output several times over."

"Third, build a small steel plant, and stop selling raw ore in the future and start buying steel ingots instead, which will be several times more profitable than raw ore."

Sun Zhiwei was surprised that Huang Hongxuan could come up with so many solutions to one problem, so he carefully considered the three approaches proposed by Huang Hongxuan and then raised his own question.

"I have a few questions for you. One is that if we replace the machinery with advanced ones, we will need miners who know how to operate the machinery. Are the current miners still usable?"

“You should be aware that most of these miners are locals and are the breadwinners of their families. Their income is considered relatively high in the area, and one person has to support a whole family.”

“If the use of new machinery in the mine leads to their unemployment, it will affect more than just a few people. Will there be any trouble then? Do you have any contingency plans to deal with it?”

He knew how difficult these local natives were to deal with. The previous mine manager was from a local tribe, and to eliminate the threat, he had to eradicate them completely.

(End of this chapter)