50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 648 Picking up a Russian pilot

Now that the island has been built, and the tourists are all brought in from Saipan, it would have been impossible without the permission of the Saipan City Hall.

The reason they cooperated so well was because Sun Zhiwei had given them enough benefits in the early stages, and the two sides had a pleasant working relationship.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be so generous, since tourists spend more money on the local area for every extra day they stay.

In fact, many of the employees on Anatahan Island have close ties with the powerful families on Saipan.

The benefits here are much better than in Saipan, and it's a newly built tourist island with much better facilities.

The saying goes, "Don't let the good stuff go to outsiders," so when Sun Zhiwei was recruiting, the relatives and friends of the powerful and wealthy all wanted to come and work for him.

Therefore, many of his employees came through connections, which brought a lot of convenience to Sun Zhiwei's island.

At the very least, there are absolutely no obstacles to going to Saipan to attract tourists.

While reviewing employee records, he noticed that one of the employees was actually the nephew of the Saipan Tourism Bureau Director.

Sun Zhiwei was pleased with the outcome.

He turned Anatahan Island into a tourist island, not to earn a pittance of tourism revenue; that was just a cover.

On the north side of Anatahan Island, away from the pier and towards the cliffs and reefs, he had already set his sights on a spot.

The area has thick rock formations, complex hydrology, and cliffs near the sea.

The terrain in that area is too dangerous for ordinary tourists, so it has not been included in the development scope.

He planned to build a lighthouse on the cliff top there, and then hollow out the cliff to build a hidden naval supply base.

Just like the temporary submarine base he established when he smuggled that Los Angeles-class submarine from the West Coast and passed through the waters off Cape Verde.

The facilities will be more complete, and people will be stationed there long-term.

There's no rush. Our current submarines have limited capabilities, and there are no plans to enter the Western Pacific at the moment. We just need to get them built within a few years.

Speaking of the Russian captain Ivan Petrov, it was quite an accident that we were able to invite him.

Although pilots are a technical branch of the military, in a country as large as Russia, they are trained in large numbers, with thousands of new pilots graduating every year.

In recent years, Russia's economic situation has been deteriorating, which has led to a reduction in the number of available fighter jets and a gradual reduction in flight plans.

Many pilots even face unemployment right after graduation because there aren't enough planes to fly and not enough flight budgets.

Don't think this is impossible. Just like the Russian Su-24 fighter-bomber, which just entered service, the starting price for one hour of flight is $5.

If a Su-24 completes a full flight, the $20 will be wasted. After the flight, it will need to undergo maintenance, which will cost tens of thousands of dollars more.

When the economy is bad, budgets are reduced, but the losses at each level of funding remain the same, leaving the flight crew with very little money.

If the flight team's budget is insufficient, then they can only reduce the recruitment of new pilots, which is why no one wants new pilots.

At the same time, they will reduce the number of sorties, the flight time of each sortie, and even the frequency of maintenance for the fighter jets.

In short, we should save money wherever possible, which will allow us to use the extra funds to improve the living conditions of our existing personnel. In particular, some older pilots, due to declining physical strength and depleted potential, are no longer valued, and their compensation levels are decreasing year by year.

In order to save costs, some bases will allow these veteran pilots to retire early and make a living on their own.

Ivan Petrov was one of those pilots who was forced into retirement.

Because Reagan recently changed his hostile attitude towards Russia, and Russia relaxed its vigilance against the West, he was able to leave the North and go to the United States to make a living.

As a result, when he went to LaGuardia Airport for a job interview, he was unexpectedly discovered by Sun Zhiwei and was hired as the captain of that Gulfstream III.

In fact, Ivan is only 41 years old, much younger than Sun Zhiwei. Considering the physical condition of Slavs, he is in his prime.

Moreover, even by the standards of a fighter pilot, he could still fly for several more years.

I heard that he used to fly fighter jets, bombers and transport planes, and has a lot of flying experience. Sun Zhiwei felt that he had found a treasure.

Pilots are a special branch of the military, especially fighter pilots, who have very high physical requirements. Supersonic overload puts a great strain on the body.

一般来说，歼击机、强击机的最高飞行年龄为45-48岁；轰炸机飞行员能飞到48-50岁；直升机47-52岁；运输机55-57岁。

Civilian pilots, on the other hand, have much more lenient retirement policies. The retirement age for single-seat pilots is limited to 60, while the retirement age for multi-seat pilots can be extended to 65.

Generally, pilots over the age of 45 are required to submit a physical fitness test certificate every year, and those over the age of 60 are usually required to retire.

Interestingly, regardless of the type of aircraft they fly, the maximum age for female pilots is 47-50 years old.

Sun Zhiwei thought this might be due to menopause. He'd heard that women going through menopause are prone to mood swings, and when they're unhappy, they habitually smash things.

Come to think of it, it's like you're happily sitting on an airplane, flying along.

Suddenly, the captain in the cockpit thought of something unpleasant, smashed the cockpit instruments, and dragged you to meet God with her—that would be incredibly sad.

On the morning of the 2nd, Sun Zhiwei arrived at Anatahan Airport and met with all the crew members of Gulfstream 3.

Then, something terrifying happened to all the crew members: this generous and wealthy Mr. James actually wanted to learn how to fly the Gulfstream III from the Russian captain.

They wanted to stop Sun Zhiwei from jeopardizing his health, which was worth billions, and told him that they could handle the flying themselves and that the boss didn't need to do it personally.

It wasn't until Sun Zhiwei produced his pilot's license, issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FFA) and valid until retirement at age 60, that things changed.

After the two captains confirmed the authenticity of Sun Zhiwei's pilot's license, they could no longer stop him from studying.

Perhaps due to his long hours of flying, Ivan is a bit different from the average Russian.

He also enjoys drinking, but he doesn't have a drinking problem or a habit of drinking antifreeze, which is quite unusual for a Russian.

Sun Zhiwei suspects that his early retirement was partly due to his reluctance to join the group.

However, this is a good thing for Sun Zhiwei's aircraft safety.

Seeing that he couldn't refuse Sun Zhiwei's enthusiasm for learning, Ivan could only treat Sun Zhiwei with the same spirit he had when he was training rookie pilots in the flight team.

(End of this chapter)