The Chengdu J-10 was just like a small boat in huge waves, going up and down. The single-engine AL31-F turbofan engine had a thrust close to the theoretical value of 130 kN with the afterburner. It was obvious that the fuel gauge was declining. But even with this power output, the J-10 seemed to be stuck in mud and having difficulty descending. It seemed the sky was not following people’s wishes. The plane was thrown as soon as it lowered its altitude, and even the angle could not be adjusted freely, being stuck in the turbulence.
The alarms in the cockpit rang non-stop. Lin Mo kept manually turning on and off various switches for adjustment. The violent shaking might have a great impact on the body of ordinary pilots, but it did not affect Lin Mo. His demon-like physical qualities completely ignored this level of bumps.
But in the violent, turbulent fluctuations, the vibrations the J-10 airframe could withstand were almost reaching the limit. The cracking, ear-piercing sound of metal friction reminded Lin Mo that the aircraft had suffered slight structural damage. If this continued, it likely would become severe enough to cause it to disintegrate in the air.
No one could predict what would happen in the next second. The high-altitude turbulence covered an extremely large area, extending beyond one hundred kilometers. Although its thickness was around two hundred to fifteen hundred meters, even a short one thousand meters took three to four seconds to get out of under normal circumstances. But now, wanting to get out was a challenge for Lin Mo’s J-10. At this moment, the word ‘struggle’ was enough to describe the J-10’s current situation. It was as though it was stuck in a quagmire.
This situation was often encountered in the other world, but most air-riding beasts had high flexibility and could deal with turbulence like a fish in the water. But jet fighters could only move forward stupidly, only having high maneuverability but not high flexibility. Relying on engine propulsion and wing changes, it was impossible to turn or rise and fall freely on the spot, just like being stuck in glue.
The tower, Chicken Nest, did not expect the J-10 to be able to return smoothly. They only hoped that it would not crash in a densely populated area. If that were to happen, the civilian casualties would put great pressure on the Air Force. The people in the tower were so anxious that they were pinching the microphones.
People in the city below the J-10 could almost hear the loud roars of the jet fighter in the sky, as if they were in their ears, and many people looked up at the sky.
The feedback of the control stick was getting weaker and weaker, and Lin Mo could hardly feel any response from the aircraft. The J-10 was still trapped in the turbulence, but Lin Mo did not think of giving up at all and was continuing to try hard. His tone could not help but become faster. “Gold Coin calling Chicken Nest. Plane will lose control at any moment!”
Although Lin Mo wanted to shout ‘For the sake of New China, fire a missile at me’ and show off before the crash, he believed that if he really shouted this, there might really be missiles coming.
Initiating an ejection was certainly a very simple matter, but letting the plane hit a residential area was like dropping an aerial bomb and would cause significant casualties. A soldier accidentally injuring innocent people, no matter whether it was in the other world and this world, was something that Lin Mo could never allow himself to do. He did not want to do anything seriously detrimental to the image of riders. From the moment he flew in the sky, Lin Mo had such a consciousness.
The aircraft rolled rapidly in the turbulence, and the altitude suddenly dropped. Although Lin Mo was out of the turbulence zone and fell more than five thousand meters after fifteen seconds, his face became even worse. The control stick had failed, and the aircraft stalled! Unexpectedly, he did not report the situation to Chicken Nest.
“Recover! Recover! Your lift coefficient is already less than 1! Recover immediately!” The voice of the person in charge of Chicken Nest grew louder. It seemed that he had detected the state of the aircraft through satellites and radar. The large data changes gradually solidified the atmosphere in the tower.
“Won’t work. Severe flow separation! The plane has already lost its ability to move!” Lin Mo hurriedly replied. He still did not give up on the control stick and carried out various operations and debugging. The aircraft’s altitude was reducing rapidly, giving the pilot a sense of weightlessness. If the J-10 could not recover from the stall as soon as possible, it would spin straight down and cause a big fireball on the ground.
Beep Beep Beep! The harsh alarm sound filled the entire cockpit. The pointers on the operating instrument panel were swaying wildly, and the altimeter was rapidly decreasing. The plane was about to leave the urban-rural junction, but the state of the plane was making Lin Mo feel at a loss. His hands were extremely busy, and after only ten seconds of effort, large sweat beads formed on his forehead.
There was no way to recover. The control stick had totally lost any response. In any case, it was impossible to get rid of the stalled state, which was almost the most terrible accident encountered by jet fighters.
“Eject! Eject immediately! This is an order! Execute immediately!” Hoarse shouts came from the headset.
The altimeter, one of the few instruments still working normally, was counting down the numbers.
Four thousand meters!
Three thousand meters!
Two thousand meters!
Lin Mo did not respond. The buildings below were still dense, which was the result of the increase in urban population and the start of outward expansion. A plane weighing more than ten tons crashing into a residential area was not as simple as merely one casualty. The casualties caused by the crash represented a heavy blow to families and their relatives, and the consequences were unimaginable.
One thousand meters!
“Lin Mo, did you hear that?! Ordering you to abandon the aircraft and eject immediately!” The voice of the person in charge of the tower was very loud and almost clearly audible in the cockpit. After ejecting, the ideal altitude to open the parachute was at four thousand meters, but Lin Mo had obviously already passed that.
The people on the ground had already noticed that something was wrong, and several people looked up in the sky. A jet fighter was roaring and spiraling toward the ground. This flying appearance obviously made people feel that something was not normal. Many people on the ground began to run in panic. The people in houses and cars were all shouting and ran outside.
As long there was altitude, he could not give up! This was Lin Mo’s principle as a Dragon Knight.
Eight hundred meters!
Five hundred meters!
Lin Mo ignored the repeated calls from Chicken Nest and turned off the microphone and headset instead. Lin Mo twisted the control stick strongly, determined to adjust the wings and rudder, constantly adjusting the engine output.
At the altitude of four hundred meters, Lin Mo’s pocket moved suddenly, and a ball of metal in the shape of an egg rolled out. In an instant, it expanded rapidly. Like an amoeba, it melted into the cockpit wall the moment it touched it. In the cockpit wall, it looked like thousands of little bugs had appeared and were swelling one by one, quickly extending to every corner of the plane.
“Gold Coin, don’t!” Lin Mo shouted out anxiously. Gold Coin had jumped out of his pocket when he was distracted and started eroding the entire Chengdu J-10 at an alarming rate.
This was trouble. Given its appetite, the J-10 would soon be in its stomach. How would he explain it to the base? The base international price of a Chengdu J-10 was close to 180 million yuan. Even if Lin Mo sold himself, he would not be able to pay it.
Almost at the same time, the falling speed of the Chengdu J-10 suddenly slowed down, but its flight form was still quite strange. The flight form was completely incompatible with the propulsion required to propel this more-than-ten-ton fighter. It had clearly exceeded design standards for staying in the air.
“Finally pulled it back!” Lin Mo let go of the control stick and ignored the aircraft that was still descending. He exhaled heavily, wiped his sweat, and moved his hands extremely fast on the console, quickly adjusting the equipment of the jet fighter.
There was a ‘black box’ installed on the plane. Lin Mo did not dare say much, and Gold Coin kept quiet all this while. After he broke out in cold sweat, Lin Mo’s heart settled down.
Just now, Lin Mo had concentrated fully on pulling the plane out of its stalled state and had completely forgotten about the dangers of the fighter stalling and falling and the serious consequences of a crash. Even if he could eject at such a low altitude, he would have had to take a discount on his survival rate. Under this impact, even with the Dragon Knight’s outstanding physical qualities, he would have probably not ended up any better than ordinary people.
Today was probably the most unforgettable day that the village chief of Dajiao Village, Chief Cao, ever had. He had just bought a pack of red plum cigarettes from the brigade headquarters and was preparing to go home for lunch when he heard a thunderous roar from the sky. Why was there thunder on such a sunny day?! Just as Chief Cao was puzzled, he heard the commotion in the village. “The plane is falling! Run quickly!” Almost the entire village erupted into chaos, and the people at home were rushing to get out.
Chief Cao looked up in the sky. His expression instantly froze, and his mouth was opened wide enough for his fist to be stuffed inside. “What the hell!”