Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 227 The newly bought plane, the newly bought plane

Shenyang, a distant place.

The snow outside was slowly melting, but inside the workshop, the workers were working with great enthusiasm.

Manufacturing entirely new aircraft would waste a lot of time, so they modified the fighter jets they had on hand, replacing parts with new ones wherever modifications were needed!
For precision-machined parts like motor flaps, if you hand them over to a sister factory, the parts they produce themselves will most likely be substandard!
Two months passed in the blink of an eye. The outside had turned from white to green, and inside the factory, the last rivet of the new fighter jet was finally driven in.

"Comrades, I now announce that our J-2M fighter jet is complete!"

As Director Tang finished speaking, applause erupted one after another.

The production of this aircraft is of great significance, as it means that Shenyang Aviation Industry has also begun to earn foreign exchange!
The fuselage remains slender, but the added wing panels on both sides of the air intake, the added flaps on the wings, the reinforced pylons underneath, and the added serrations on the rear horizontal stabilizer all tell that this aircraft is different from the previous ones!
The extent of this aircraft's modification is no less than the improvement from the J-1 to the J-2! It's even greater; in fact, it could easily be called the J-3!
"Next, let's pull this aircraft out and prepare for the taxiing and maiden flight test!"

"Director Tang! General Manager Gu! People from Lao Ba's side have arrived!" Just then, someone ran in.

Old Buffett!

"Let's go greet them!"

When a dozen or so Pakistanis arrived at the tarmac and saw the J-8 fighter jet, they couldn't help but rush over!

"The plane is already modified?"

"Yes, it's fixed!" Old Gu said excitedly to the old men.

"General Haidar, look here. Above the air intake, we've added winglets. These are used to generate vortices, which greatly increases the lift of the rear wing, improving takeoff and landing performance and takeoff weight. Combined with the maneuvering flaps, it's enough to allow our aircraft to be fully loaded with ammunition..."

The person leading this team is General Jamal's assistant!

General Haidar looked intently at the aircraft: "What is its payload capacity?"

"The inner pylon weighs 800 kilograms and the outer pylon weighs 500 kilograms. Therefore, when needed, the outer pylon can also carry long-range missiles. It is paired with the Lightning-20 missile with a range of 120 kilometers."

The medium-range missile has already been named Lightning-10, so this long-range missile naturally needs to be more impressive, hence the name Lightning-20.

Upon hearing this, General Haidar's eyes widened: "So, it can carry four long-range missiles?"

He originally thought that four hardpoints wouldn't be enough, and even with the one on the belly of the fuselage, it would only be five. He thought he would need at least seven hardpoints, but he never expected that the carrying capacity would be so incredible.

The 800 kilograms on the inside also means that it can carry a large number of bombs when needed, making it a good choice as a bomber!
"Yes, but we generally don't recommend this configuration. Two Lightning-20 missiles are enough for the inner pylons, and composite pylons can be installed on the outer pylons, each carrying one medium-range missile and one short-range missile."

"Won't the wings vibrate with so many hanging on them?"

"Of course we've done the tremor test, there definitely won't be any tremor issues." Old Gu really wanted to say, "You're questioning our professionalism! You have no idea how much money we've spent on this!"

"Okay, so, can this plane fly?"

"According to the procedure, we must first conduct a gliding test."

"Oh, then... can we have our pilots come and test fly it?"

"This... is fine. Our J-8 and J-7 operate very similarly, and their internal instruments and equipment are almost identical, so you can adapt to them easily."

Similar to a Russian watch shop, the J-8 also has a large number of instruments inside, in the same positions, except for the addition of radar display and operation parts, but these are the same as those in the Super-7.

The Pakistani pilot, Imtiaz, who had come with him, quickly changed into his full flight gear, boarded the plane with brisk steps, closed the canopy, and started the engine.

With a roar, the fighter jets began to taxi to the runway.

"Low-speed taxiing test, no problems!" Imtyaz maneuvered his fighter jet toward the runway: "Now proceeding with the medium-speed taxiing test!"

Release the brakes, and the fighter jet taxis on the runway. When the speed reaches about 200 km/h, it begins to decelerate, then turns around in the outer area of ​​the runway ahead, and realigns itself with the runway centerline.

"Now we will conduct the high-speed gliding test!"

Low-speed taxiing verifies whether the tricycle can move; medium-speed taxiing verifies whether each system is functioning properly; high-speed taxiing verifies the aircraft's lift characteristics!
If it's a brand new aircraft, the taxiing test will take a long time to complete, overcoming various problems. Even a simple deviation could waste months of time.

However, the J-8 was a mature aircraft after all, and once each aircraft had completed its taxiing run, it was considered a success.

With the leading-edge flaps lowered and the aircraft realigned with the runway, Imtyaz luxuriously engaged the afterburner. At the tail, the two F404 engines released orange-red flames. Releasing the brakes, the fighter jet launched itself like an arrow and quickly taxied off.

One hundred, two hundred, the front landing gear is up!
The crowd stood on the tarmac, staring wide-eyed in astonishment at the plane's posture.

What a short distance! Just two hundred meters, and the front landing gear was already up! Before, it would have taken at least three hundred meters!

The speed is still increasing, 250, 270...

"Slow down!" Old Gu shouted.

The J-8, a third-generation fighter jet, has very poor takeoff and landing characteristics. It needs to accelerate to over 300 km/h to take off, but now, it has taken off at just over 250 km/h.
How can this be?

The wingplates were rushing forward rapidly, creating vortices that hit the wings, reducing the pressure on the wings. The air below lifted the wings, greatly increasing the lift!
The leading-edge flaps deflect downwards, making the wing leading edge thicker and artificially creating better lift conditions.

At this moment, Imtyaz also felt the plane lighten, indicating that it had completely left the runway.
Now that we've broken free, let's keep climbing!
And so, the taxiing test turned into the maiden flight!
Below, everyone was stunned, unable to react at all, watching the plane climb to an altitude of about 100 meters, then turn over the airport, turn again, turn three times, and then land skillfully on the runway.

Boom!
Only when the wheels touched the ground did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

"Great! Our J-2M has completed its maiden flight! Quickly, send a telegram to the capital to report the good news, and also to Northwestern Polytechnical University. Their aircraft design is truly excellent!" Old Gu was beaming with excitement.

"Where's the photographer? Quick, call the photographer over! Such a momentous occasion, and we didn't even get a picture taken! Let's take a group photo right next to the plane to commemorate this moment! My friend from Pakistan, come on over!"

Click!

The precious photos were taken, showing the old men with faces full of excitement.

Thump thump thump... Someone came running over quickly: "Report! We just received news! An Indian MiG-25 has flown into Pakistani airspace, and... and even over the Pakistani capital!"

Rewind a few hours to a certain air force base in northern India.

Inside the small building, several staff officers were hunched over a map, holding rulers and making precise measurements. Every time they measured a point, they would shout it out loud, and then someone at the next table would record it, convert it into binary data, and then input it into the ground testing system for verification.

This process takes about two hours to generate the data required by the inertial navigation system. Then, the data from the ground testing system is inserted into the avionics bay equipment slot of the aircraft.

This job is very tedious and boring, but for the Indians, it is novel in every way. They have even abandoned their previous careless attitude and are working very seriously.

In the pilot preparation room, Samit Mukherjee was putting on his equipment with the help of his comrades.

First, there was a set of silk underwear, with full sleeves and trousers, very similar to the thermal underwear worn in the East.

After he finished putting on the underwear, his companion asked, "Summit, did you go to the bathroom?"

"I've been there."

“Okay, let’s put on the high-altitude compensation suit.” My companion began to carefully help me put it on. After zipping it up, it was tight enough. Next, they would tighten the straps on my chest, abdomen, back, legs, and arms.

"Oh, damn it, loosen it, I can't breathe!"

"Okay, then loosen it a little more."

"Damn it, I don't know how Gagarin managed to spend more than ten hours in space wearing that suit back then," Summit couldn't help but complain.

That's right, the high-altitude compensation suit he wore was the same one worn by Yuri Gagarin, the first human astronaut.

Amid the complaints, the latex airbag on the neck collar was removed and wrapped around the neck to lock the 2.5-kilogram helmet in place after boarding the plane.

Once you put on this suit, you can basically say goodbye to high-G maneuvers, otherwise you might even twist your neck.

Summit took two deep breaths and then began to put on his flight suit.

If you add underwear, he was wearing four layers. Luckily, he didn't need an anti-G suit, otherwise... in the sweltering summer, it would definitely be deadly.

However, not wearing it is not an option. The outer flight suit is to prevent the straps of the high-altitude compensation suit from getting caught on anything. If the engine switch is accidentally pulled off, it could be fatal.

I finished all of this slowly, and half an hour passed.

Summit carried his flight helmet to the base commander's office.

"Report: MiG-25 sortie preparation complete, please provide instructions!"

"Summit, you are the pride of our Indian Air Force. You were the first in the entire army to switch to flying the MiG-25, and also the first to switch to flying the MiG-21 and MiG-23. We are so proud of you..."

Listening to Commander Borges's rambling, Summit really wanted to interrupt him. He was really annoyed, so he should just say it already! Besides, why did he have to wait until he changed his clothes to say it? Was it for the sake of ceremony?
"Once you complete twenty reconnaissance missions, I will recommend you to the Tactical and Combat Development Organization..."

This organization is equivalent to the Top Gun of the Indian Air Force, and it is the place that all Indian pilots want to go to the most. Summit knows that this is just empty promises to him. Of course he wants to go. He doesn't need his help. He deserves it based on his own abilities!

"Okay, that's all for now. This MiG-25 is a brand new aircraft we just bought... Let's take off!"

"Yes!"

Summit walked out of the commander's office and felt himself starting to sweat. If it were summer... he didn't know how hot it would be.

After going outside, looking at the snow-capped mountains to the north, Summit felt much cooler.

The data board had been programmed and inserted into the aircraft's avionics bay. With the help of the ground power vehicle, the inertial navigation system was powered on, and Summit climbed into the cockpit.

The cockpit of the MiG-25 is slightly larger than that of its predecessors. This is not because the Russian engineers paid attention to ergonomics; it is simply because the airframe is larger.

The instruments in front are exactly the same as before; you don't need to memorize them to know where each instrument is.

Because of the inertial navigation system, the pilot's main task is to take the plane up and then land it; otherwise, he doesn't need to operate it at all.

The wait was long; fifteen minutes later, the canopy finally closed, and the roar of the engine came from the rear.

The two Tumansky R-15B engines each have an afterburning thrust of over ten tons, and the afterburner can be used continuously as long as it is not driven to the maximum afterburner!
Summit released the brakes, and a tremendous push came from behind.

During his training in the Soviet Union, Summit heard his instructors describe the MiG-25 as nothing more than two turbojet engines, a pilot, and some avionics!

The massive stainless steel fighter jet taxied on the runway, its huge rectangular air intake continuously drawing in large amounts of air to supply the monster at the tail. The front wheels and main landing gear lifted off the ground!

At the airport, many people cheered as they watched the huge fighter jets depart.

The MiG-25, the most outstanding beast of its time, can fly at Mach 3 at an altitude of 30,000 meters, and no weapon can pose a threat to it!

The nose of the aircraft pointed upwards, climbing steadily, and the airspeed indicator in front of it began to slowly increase.

That's right, it's about increasing!
Ordinary fighter jets can only climb at a constant vacuum speed, so their airspeed gradually decreases as altitude increases. However, the MiG-25 can fly much faster!
The color of the sky is slowly changing, and the blue light is gradually disappearing.

Six and a half minutes later, the sky became clear!
The massive MiG-25 fighter jet climbed to an altitude of 20,000 meters. Excluding the takeoff time, the entire climb process was maintained at a climb rate of almost 100 meters per second. This data is impressive. Even for third-generation fighters, many of their abnormal climb rates are only obtained at sea level!

The fighter jets continued to climb, 23,000, 25,000!

At this moment, the plane had already flown to the border, and a pleasant aerial reconnaissance operation officially began!
At an air force base in Pakistan, as the alarm sounded, a Super-7 fighter jet engaged afterburner and quickly climbed. However, when it reached an altitude of 15,000 meters, it could only look on helplessly at the MiG-25 at an altitude of 26,000 meters.

Even with a power boost, it's impossible to reach that spot!

At this moment, the MiG-25 was like the king of the sky!
Once the altitude exceeds 1,000 meters, the air conditioning in the cockpit begins to work, cooling the cabin. However, as the speed increases, the cockpit of the MiG-25 becomes increasingly hot.

With the afterburner knob set to position 1, the MiG-25 flew smoothly at Mach 2.5. The cockpit windshield heated up gradually due to friction with the air, reaching a temperature of 150 degrees Celsius!
The temperature inside the cabin also rose, reaching... fifty degrees Celsius. But that's not bad; if you fly at Mach 3, the internal temperature can reach seventy degrees Celsius!

Sweat was still pouring out of my body, my silk underwear was already soaked through, and this high-altitude compensation suit was also slowly getting wet, sticking to my body and making me very uncomfortable, but... just hang in there, just hang in there for an hour!
Ahead lies the base of Pakistan's Super-7 fighter jets. The focus of this reconnaissance mission is to investigate that area!
Inside the cockpit, it gradually darkened, and Summit turned on the interior lights, creating the feeling of night flight.

An arc appeared in the distant sky, the shape of the Earth. In a little while, we will see the sun, moon, and stars appear together, much like what astronauts see.

Although he only flew to 25,000 meters before leveling off, as the flight continues and the fuel is gradually consumed, the plane will slowly climb. It has now risen to 26,000 meters, and when it returns, it will probably reach 27,000 or 28,000 meters.

What's ahead?
Summit didn't know either. He looked down and could only see the shiny ground, but he couldn't make out exactly where it was.

The rear, the base.

"Oh no!" a staff officer shouted.

"what happened?"

"The binary data we just entered is incorrect. After flying past the first base, it started to veer off course. The actual flight path... will deviate significantly, and it will even fly over the capital of Pakistan! Quick, call the MiG-25s back to base!"

"Once we're on a mission, we can only return after we've completed the flight," Base Commander Borges said calmly. "This is just our first flight. It's quite good that we were able to reach the capital of Pakistan. It's a good opportunity to showcase our advanced equipment!"

The pilots of the MiG-25 were lonely. They would call out once during takeoff, and then they would be alone for a long hour. After returning to base, they would call out once more, and then land.

Summit was getting bored when the ground exploded!

Although the flight altitude had exceeded 25,000 meters, the sound could still be heard. The fighter jet flying at Mach 2.5 pierced the air, and the sonic booms it generated reached the ground!
In the capital of Pakistan, countless people were in a state of panic, and countless others gritted their teeth in anger.

"Damn it, is there really nothing we can do about the MiG-25?" the leader roared.

"With the current weapons and equipment, there is indeed no way to handle this. However, we have already sent people to the East, where the J-8 fighters are fully capable of performing this kind of interception mission," Jamal replied.

"Then what are we waiting for? Get the J-8s back as soon as possible!"

　PS: Photos of the MiG-25 anti-G suit and the J-8 test flight suggest that Pakistan really did consider the J-8 back then.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)