CHAPTER 432: CHAPTER 430 TEST FLIGHT

Seven days passed quickly, and the long-unused runway of the military airport was brightly lit.

The ground crew carefully inspected the runway, needing to conduct a pre-takeoff check to ensure there were no foreign objects affecting the plane’s takeoff and landing.

In the distance, the airport’s control tower was also brightly lit, activated and welcoming a large group of people gathered here to watch the upcoming trial flight.

"Runway One inspection complete, no foreign objects, no icing, ready for takeoff conditions." The message of completion quickly came from the runway.

"Runway confirmed, test aircraft please take off from Runway One." The control tower’s system received the message and instructed the aircraft, which had already been moved out of the hangar and was ready to take off, via intercom.

"Test aircraft received, taxiing onto the runway." Soon, a response came from the test aircraft.

From the control tower window, one could clearly see a plane slowly gliding from the hangar to the end of the runway, adjusting its position for takeoff.

"Can it really get off the ground?" A leader who came to observe the test flight asked the person next to them, seemingly worried.

"Don’t worry, Leader, although Academician Chen is young, the projects he’s responsible for have never had any problems." The staff member next to the leader hurriedly reassured, despite having blind faith in Chen Xin, but at this moment it was clearly impossible to be pessimistic.

After all, who knows if the leader is really worried or just casually asking?

However, there were indeed certain risks associated with this trial flight. It’s impressive that Chen Xin completed the aircraft’s modification plan and specific modifications in such a short time, but now having to proceed with the trial flight is somewhat concerning.

In seven days, although Chen Xin successfully completed the modification plan on time and completed the modifications on this experimental aircraft, pushing it onto the runway for a trial flight, the time was really too short.

Under normal circumstances, not to mention rigorous technical verification, the aircraft itself would require a series of strict checks and acceptance tests to ensure there are no errors before a trial flight can take place.

But now, from the time Chen Xin took over the task to the aircraft being pushed onto the runway, only seven short days have passed.

Although a team was organized to conduct technical verification and various checks after Chen Xin completed the modifications, theoretically, there should be no problems, but who can guarantee that once the aircraft takes to the air, issues won’t arise?

You have to understand that even aircraft that have undergone technical verification and various checks still encounter all sorts of problems during trial flights. After all, who knows what situations an aircraft will face once it actually flies up into the sky? A slight mistake could lead to disastrous consequences.

This is why test pilots are always the most elite pilots and why aircraft trial flights remain one of the world’s most dangerous jobs.

If possible, the leaders certainly wouldn’t want to risk valuable pilots, would allow technical staff to conduct more detailed technical verification and checks, and wouldn’t demand results from Chen Xin in just seven days.

However, there was truly no time left; there was no margin for delay.

In the seven days of Chen Xin’s aircraft modifications, the volcanic ash from the Toba Volcano had already drifted to Qiong Province and Guangdong Province, and although the earthquake didn’t trigger a tsunami due to the ice layers on the sea, a large number of ice layers cracked, and even some broken ice was pushed onto the coastline, still creating a sense of crisis.

Moreover, during these seven days, a 3.5-magnitude earthquake occurred in the Southwest Region. Although it wasn’t strong, it made everyone tense.

This earthquake might just be a normal geological activity since the Southwest Region is itself a seismic hotspot.

But what if? What if the eruption of the Toba Volcano affected the seismic zone of the Southwest Region, activating it?

No one dared bet on that possibility.

What the nation could do now was to promptly make preparations, carry out all preemptive measures, and avoid being caught off guard and overwhelmed in the face of potential future disasters.

"Where is Comrade Chen Xin? Isn’t he watching the trial flight?" The leader scanned the surroundings but didn’t see Chen Xin’s figure in the tower.

Staff quickly responded: "Academician Chen is over at the hangar, saying he’s doing the final checks before the aircraft takes off."

"I see." The leader nodded, not saying anything further.

By this time, the aircraft on the runway had completed all pre-flight checks and was ready for takeoff.

"Tower, this is the test aircraft, requesting takeoff." The pilot’s voice sounded a bit nervous but still firmly requested permission to take off.

The tower commander looked at the leader, saw him nod, and then said to the pilot, "Test aircraft, this is the tower, you are cleared for takeoff."

After saying this, the commander hesitated for a moment before unprecedentedly saying, "Safe journey."

Hearing this, the pilot paused for a moment, then quickly responded, "Thank you for the blessings, I’m taking off."

As the pilot’s words fell, everyone in the tower watched the plane, which had been stationary at the end of the runway, start moving forward and accelerating.

At this moment, everyone’s hearts in the tower tightened as they nervously watched this first fixed-wing aircraft take off after the meteor struck the Blue Planet.

As the plane accelerated faster and approached the end of the runway, the nose finally lifted, and the whole aircraft roared off the runway, soaring into the night sky.

Seeing the successful takeoff, everyone in the tower cheered and even applauded.

Although it looked like just a regular night flight takeoff, it symbolized that humanity had once again left its footprint in the sky.

However, taking off didn’t mean there were no problems. Conditions on the ground were far better than in the sky; most of the particles and dust had largely descended over the past year, but dust and particulate matter still lingered in the air.

Especially above the stratosphere, where the relatively stable air flow resulted in a large amount of fine dust and particles remaining suspended for extended periods without settling.

This caused the aircraft engines to inevitably intake large amounts of dust and particles upon entering the stratosphere, potentially wearing down the precision components inside the engines.

Although Chen Xin had installed air filters on the aircraft’s intake ducts, the actual effectiveness could only be determined by actually flying into the sky for a test flight.