Farming Life Starting in Africa

He didn't remember all the buttons on the plane. After all, there were dozens of switches and knobs of different shapes on the panel. Some were labeled "ALT", some were labeled "COM", and there were a few whose abbreviations he didn't even know the exact correspondences of.

But he knew the location and function of all the key control buttons needed for takeoff, landing, and flight.

He has also gained some experience in starting the engine, adjusting the flaps, switching radio frequencies, and coordinating the throttle and air-fuel mixture.

He also gained a basic understanding of the problems that need to be addressed when an airplane is flying in the sky.

He has mastered the corrective angle for crosswind landings, the lever control during turbulent airflow, and the trimming of the coordinator indicator during turns.

Lone Wolf patiently explained each maneuver as he demonstrated them. While Rosen followed behind, his movements were slightly slower than Lone Wolf's, but he could feel himself moving in the right direction.

Looking at this student who was making rapid progress, Lone Wolf showed a rare, barely noticeable hint of surprise.

He has mentored many novices, including retired air force ground crew and tourists who came purely out of curiosity, but few have reached this level on the very first day of contact.

Rosen's technique wasn't perfect, but he learned very quickly, so quickly that Lone Wolf needed to readjust his teaching pace.

Rosen attributed this to men's interests; as long as it's something they're interested in, their learning talent will naturally be activated.

Just as he was able to replicate a German main battle tank using only scrapped tanks and repair blueprints, there are some things you don't need to ask yourself "Can I do it?", you only need to ask yourself "Have I tried it?"

After the plane landed, Rosen watched as Lone Wolf in the pilot's seat slowly brought it to a stop in the hangar. The propellers hummed softly as it decelerated. Rosen unbuckled his seatbelt. "Can I try flying it myself tomorrow?"

Lone Wolf pushed the accelerator back to idle, glanced at the pointers on the instrument panel that were returning to zero, and remained silent for a few seconds before replying, "You should familiarize yourself with it for another day and read the owner's manual."

He pulled out the well-worn instruction manual and handed it to him. "If you can maintain your current condition the day after tomorrow, I'll consider letting you fly on your own once."

Lone Wolf's teaching process wasn't strictly based on standards anyway; it was a task entrusted to him by Guan Yuming, and he only needed to ensure that Rosen learned it.

As for the procedures and documents, Rosen was willing to pay for them himself, and he was happy to save himself the trouble.

He was confident in his ability to control the situation while in the driver's seat, and he was able to take over control before anything went wrong should Rosen make a mistake.

Aircraft like the Cessna 172 have a relatively high margin of error; even if a novice pushes the stick all the way down, he has enough time to correct it.

Rosen took the manual, looked up at the other aircraft parked side by side in the hangar, and asked, "Can I try out the other planes?"

Lone Wolf was silent for a moment, then said, "Once you're familiar with the console, you can try it if you want. But that will cost extra."

"No problem!" Rosen suddenly asked, "Do you know where there's an aircraft graveyard?"

Lone Wolf was about to clip a repair order to the record board when he heard this and was surprised. "What do you need that place for?"

Rosen said matter-of-factly, "Just buy some airplane parts and assemble it yourself for fun."

As for buying, he'll only buy a little bit; it will probably become his playground, just like Harry's parking lot.

"There's one around here. But I have to warn you, you can't just fly a plane you assemble yourself. No matter how sturdy it looks, it can't legally fly without an airworthiness certificate, even if you think it's been tuned to be better than it was when it left the factory."

Rosen pressed on, "Then what kind of plane can fly?"

"Aircraft with airworthiness certificates, like the mass-produced aircraft here, can be bought and flown immediately. You don't need to worry about the procedures yourself; you just need to do the annual inspections on time."

"Is there anything else?"

Rosen wasn't very interested in those mass-produced aircraft. He had seen their prices online before and had also touched the fuselage panels of the leased aircraft in the hangar. Those things weren't exciting to fly, but the maintenance costs were quite high.

Lone Wolf thought for a moment, "There's another type, called Experimental Self-Made Aircraft, abbreviated as EAB. You assemble it yourself, design it yourself, and as long as it meets the basic weight and speed limits, it can fly after passing the test flight. There are no additional approval thresholds."

Rosen's eyes lit up: "How do we do this?"

Designed, assembled, and test-flown by himself—isn't that exactly what he did in Africa? Just on a different platform. Who knew the US would have such a loophole, allowing him such freedom!

Lone Wolf's stiff face twitched. Rosen seemed to see the first smile on this old man's face. "I can teach you how to take care of an airplane step by step, but it will take time and a lot of money."

Rosen blinked. What man could refuse to assemble an airplane himself?

Didn't you see? A noodle machine manufacturer has become an aircraft supplier.

In the following days, Lone Wolf changed the original teaching schedule.

He reduced the repetitive practice of regular takeoffs and landings, taking Rosen for a few laps in the morning to maintain his feel for the aircraft, and then driving his old pickup truck to the nearby aircraft graveyard in the afternoon to look for aircraft that could be modified.

The site was on the edge of a wasteland enclosed by barbed wire. The grass on the ground was knee-high, and the parked areas were filled with retired passenger planes of various types from major airlines, as well as some old, scrapped civilian aircraft.

All of these aircraft are sealed and covered with special sun protection film, and exposed metal parts are sprayed with anti-corrosion oil.

In the far corner, Rosen surprisingly spotted an old-fashioned Cold War-era bomber. There was also an F-14 Tomcat and three C-130 transport planes.

Rosen pointed to the military aircraft and asked curiously, "Can the ones over there be too?"

Lone Wolf shook his head. "Those planes are being used as spare parts for active aircraft; they've basically all been dismantled."

Hearing this answer, Rosen was a little disappointed. He was thinking of getting a C-130 to play with; driving such a big guy would definitely make him look good!

After several days of searching, Rosen finally settled on a Cessna 208 amphibious aircraft. Although it wasn't as big as Barney's Albatross, he had the license to fly it.

Once the aircraft is assembled, Lone Wolf can sign it off, and he can fly it. But the threshold for Albatross is much higher, after all, it used to be a military aircraft.

Barney was able to drive because he had trained in the military and obtained his license when he was young. However, it was illegal for him to drive an albatross on Christmas Day.