The de-icing truck operator looked uncomfortable: "Should I ask for instructions? If the higher-ups agree, I'll release him?"
At this time, Richard stepped forward and said bluntly: "No, just release some now. If there is any problem, I will be responsible."
Richard is a man with considerable say in the civil aviation field, especially as he is the actual leader of many European airlines and airport unions. The de-icing vehicle operator recognized Richard, so he kept looking at Richard's face.
Seeing Richard said so, the operator hesitated, but still nodded: "Okay!"
As he said that, he wanted to return to the operating table, but after taking two steps, he remembered something: "What do you mean by walking a little further? This thing doesn't taste good."
Xu Cang frowned, said nothing more, and took a few steps back.
The de-icing vehicle actually requires two people to operate, one of whom is the driver, who is responsible for driving, and the other is the operator who talks to Xu Cang.
Since many aircraft are at high altitudes, especially some heavy aircraft, spraying de-icing fluid often requires spraying the liquid on the entire surface of the fuselage, so at this time, a ladder is needed.
Yes, the de-icing truck is equipped with a ladder similar to a fire truck. The operator stands on this ladder to control the spraying of de-icing and anti-icing fluid.
However, there was no need to raise the ladder this time. So the operator climbed onto the ladder's console and moved it horizontally for a distance, pointing the nozzle at a drain, adjusting the flow rate, and looking at Xu Cang and Richard who had already walked away, before opening the valve.
In an instant, a small amount of mist-like liquid came out of the nozzle.
According to Xu Cang, the operator closed the valve less than two seconds after the anti-icing fluid came out.
Just as the operator said, this stuff has a strong smell, even from a distance it is choking. Xu Cang sniffed it, he did not frown because of the choking smell, but because this smell is the standard smell of SAE Type 4 anti-icing fluid.
The ingredients of anti-icing fluid are generally the same, but the ratios are different, which results in different smells. If there is a slight problem with the ratio or the ingredients are wrong, the smell will also change.
Xu Cang had a good memory. He could clearly identify the smell of SAE Type 4 anti-icing fluid, which was exactly the same as the smell of the liquid just released.
"No problem?" Xu Cang pursed his lips, then looked at the innocent-looking operator, wondering if he was too suspicious.
"No problem? That's all right?" Richard was startled, and suddenly thought of a possibility: "You...you can smell it?"
"Can't you smell it?" Xu Cang said this, walked forward, and stood not far from the drain outlet, staring intently at the anti-icing fluid flowing out.
There are tiny bubbles on the surface of the anti-icing fluid, which appears to be transparent at first glance, but if you look closely and see the sunlight reflecting off it, you can see that the anti-icing fluid is actually a light green in color.
"The color is fine too." Xu Cang rubbed his fingers unconsciously.
Of course, color and smell alone cannot prove that the anti-icing fluid is fine. However, if you want to investigate further, you will be busy. Xu Cang does not have the time or the leisure to do such things.
Looking up, Xu Cang looked at the de-icing vehicle's operating console. In addition to a dial that controlled the ladder's up and down movement and spraying, there were also two nozzles, and the previous anti-icing fluid came out of one of the nozzles.
Xu Cang pointed to another nozzle: "Is that the one that sprays de-icing fluid?"
"Yes." The operator nodded and pointed to the two nozzles: "This one is for spraying de-icing fluid, and this one is for spraying anti-icing fluid."
There are actually two types of de-icing and anti-icing fluids, namely de-icing fluid and anti-icing fluid. However, de-icing fluid only has a de-icing effect, and for Xu Cang, it is basically nothing to worry about. Munich is not in icing conditions now, and except for some frost caused by overnight stays on the plane, it is actually okay not to spray de-icing fluid. What is really important is the anti-icing fluid.
This was pretty much what he had expected. If that was the case, maybe he really was wrong.
Xu Cang didn't hesitate any more and nodded to the operator, "Excuse me, are we going to spray the de-icing fluid together?"
"It's okay, it's okay. I'm just afraid of being punished by the airport, otherwise I would have shown it to you a long time ago." The operator waved his hands and said, "Yes, there is a thin layer of frost on some of the wing surfaces above the fuselage of the aircraft. It's better to spray the de-icing fluid together."
"De-icing fluid? That's fine too." Xu Cang nodded slightly and said, "Thank you for your help. Please spray enough for me."
The operator pointed to an airport ground staff standing in the distance and said, "Someone is watching. They will definitely spray you enough."
Xu Cang looked in the direction the operator pointed, and sure enough, he saw a man wearing a shiny vest in a corner of the apron. He should be a role similar to the apron supervisor.
"Yeah, thank you for the trouble." Xu Cang nodded, then left and walked towards the passenger elevator.
Richard immediately followed: "Is everything ok?"
"It should be fine." Xu Cang carried his bag and boarded the plane. This was not a regular flight. In addition to some necessary documents and special approval documents from EASA, he needed to bring headphones and a flashlight, so Xu Cang was too lazy to pull a suitcase over.
As Xu Cang guessed, EASA would not stop him at all. Their agency was also trapped in the manor, and their lives and deaths were unknown. They might be more anxious than Xu Cang.
As a result, within half an hour after Xu Cang submitted his application, EASA's approval came down. Now the airspace above the entire Alps up to 30,000 feet is a no-fly zone, with no aircraft, and EASA does not even need to make airspace adjustments, so the approval speed is naturally fast.
It was not just the flight approval. EASA also specifically asked Xu Cang if there was anything they needed their cooperation with.
However, this was Xu Cang's personal heroism, and EASA could not help at all. However, in order to make the best use of it, Xu Cang still made arrangements with EASA in advance. In order to prevent any unexpected situations, he asked EASA to communicate with Innsbruck, Turin, Milan and Zurich airports in advance and asked these airports to be ready to accept their alternate landing at any time.
The original plan was that if there were any problems during the flight and the landing was abandoned, the plane would return to Munich. However, man proposes, God disposes, and who knows what will happen in the complicated situation in the Alps. If he can't return to Munich, he can only improvise.
The airports that Xu Cang told EASA were the nearest airports along the route. Xu Cang had only one request: all nearby airports must be able to receive him if he wanted.
Moreover, compared with the Boeing 777 on British Airways Flight 531, the CS300 is much smaller in size and has lower requirements for airports. It can land at all the airports mentioned by Xu Cang without any problems.
In fact, it was not a question of whether the airport would accept the passengers or not. Rather, those airports were too close to the Alps and were affected by the snowstorm, so many of them were closed. Xu Cang wanted to ask EASA to ensure that there were people on duty at these airports within two hours after dawn. Even if the airports were closed, they had to ensure minimum protection.
In fact, Richard did contribute a lot to this matter.
The airport was closed but the staff were on duty, which is overtime. In Europe, overtime is a sensitive topic. Although CAAC has the final say in China, EASA's words are not so effective in European airports.
If this is not handled properly, EASA will have to deal with labor arbitration.
Finally, Richard personally communicated with the unions of those airports and the matter was finally settled. There was no other way, Richard was also on the plane, which was equivalent to the union boss being on it. For this reason alone, the unions of the airports still had to give the green light.
"There shouldn't be any problem in the first place." Richard followed behind Xu Cang and kept chattering, "These de-icing fluids were transferred from outside and must have been checked. How could there be any problem?"
The two of them sat in the cockpit, Xu Cang on the left and Richard on the right. While plugging in the headphones, Xu Cang looked outside through the windshield: "It's too quiet, a little abnormally quiet."
"Quiet?" Richard was startled, then he quickly understood what Xu Cang meant: "You mean those people didn't do anything?"
Prior to this, at Xu Cang's request, Richard privately arranged a secret security personnel for Xu Cang. However, the whole night was calm, without any trace of Tokyo, and there was no sign of the dangerous behavior Xu Cang had expected against him.
Richard plugged in his headphones. "Maybe you're just overthinking it. Just like the anti-icing fluid. The world may still be...better."
"So you mean I'm dark-minded?" Xu Cang teased, "Maybe I really have too much malice towards this world."
Xu Cang put his right hand on the CDU and hesitated for a moment. Richard saw Xu Cang's action and said with a smile: "You don't know how to fight?"
"It's more complicated than I expected. I spent more time dealing with other things. I just glanced over the manual. About the flight management computer... I remember..."
In Xu Cang's plan, twelve hours was enough for him to do a lot of things. However, it was obvious that his plan did not develop in the direction he had imagined. At least he spent too much time and energy thinking about the 180 employees, which prevented him from reviewing some key systems.
Although the FMC input method is similar, it still takes some time to get used to it if you have never tried it before. Of course, these are minor issues, and Richard can handle them.
"You don't have to remember. Let me do it." Richard input the CDU smoothly and looked quite skilled.
"Have you flown the CS300, or just the simulator?"
The CS300 is not only a very new model, but also extremely rare. There should be very few people who have the qualifications to fly this type of aircraft. Richard should be very busy with his work, so why would he go out of his way to obtain qualifications for this rare aircraft?
"If nothing unexpected happens, I am the pilot with the longest experience in this aircraft except for the test pilot. I have been flying this aircraft since it was put into commercial use." Richard said while typing on the CDU: "In civil aviation, if you want to lead others, you must first convince others with your technology. Otherwise, some people will think you are bureaucratic. Remember, if you want civil aviation, especially pilots, to obey, technology is the hard indicator of everything. You must be able to fly the aircraft models that others can fly, and you must also be able to fly the aircraft models that others cannot fly."
"I've reached the point where I need to look for a successor, but no one has been able to convince the public. Some things can be taught, but some cannot, such as technology."
At the end, Richard had just finished typing the last piece of data, and then looked at Xu Cang, his meaning was self-evident.
Xu Cang was fiddling with the switches on the panel: "I also don't know how to operate many aircraft models, such as... McDonnell Douglas... MD11?"
"McDonnell Douglas? Those rubbish planes won't work, it's no big deal." Richard curled his lips: "But it doesn't matter. I heard that the MD11 will be discontinued this year, so it won't work."
Xu Cang didn't want to continue this topic. He hadn't decided whether to take over the International Federation of Air Line Pilots Association. Talking too much about something he hadn't decided on would only make him feel confused.
Richard was a sensible man. He could tell that Xu Cang didn't want to pay attention to this topic, so he stopped there.
Xu Cang glanced at the panel and couldn't help but marvel at the modern design of Bombardier's cockpit.
Because the style of CS300 is more like Airbus, the cockpit is also as spacious as Airbus, without protruding P6 and P18 panels. The display screen in the cockpit is larger than that of 737. Since Xu Cang has seen 737MAX, the size and distribution of the display screen of CS300 aircraft are more like 737MAX.
Like the side stick control of Airbus, the CS300 aircraft also uses a side stick control, which is not difficult for Xu Cang, who is familiar with the A320 aircraft. Xu Cang personally does not like the side stick control method, and the reason is an unpleasant experience in the aviation school.
During the instrument rating stage at the aviation school, Xu Cangfei was not flying a Cessna with a steering wheel, but a DA20 with a center column.
The so-called center pole is actually not much different from the side pole. The only difference is the position. The center pole is between the driver's legs.
During the instrument rating course, the propeller of the DA20 he was flying broke. Due to the asymmetry of the blades, the aircraft vibrated and almost fell apart. Xu Cang had no choice but to shut down the engine.
Xu Cang was flying solo that time, and it was also his first time to encounter a special situation. For a flight student who had just obtained a private license, this experience was obviously too exciting.
Although Xu Cang landed safely in the end, he refused to use the DA20 aircraft. For this reason, Xu Cang did not like the control method of the joystick. If Xu Cang had not performed so well in the private pilot stage, the flight academy would not have agreed to change the model.
For this reason, Xu Cang chose to stay at Boeing even though he can now choose the aircraft model.
However, for most pilots, the human-machine interaction system of the CS300 is already quite perfect. As Xu Cang believes, the CS300 only needs an opportunity and needs to solve its fatal shortcomings, otherwise the CS300 will be strangled.
This was not a formal flight, so there was not much to prepare. In less than ten minutes, everything was ready, except for the sound of footsteps coming from outside the cockpit, which were the footsteps of the loaders carrying the supplies.
The CS300 has not been converted into a cargo plane, so the cabin cannot be opened, and supplies can only be carried into the cabin by manpower. However, large supplies have been loaded into the cargo hold via a conveyor belt, and only some small, relatively light supplies have been placed in the cabin.
At this time, all the seats in the cabin had been removed and the cabin was empty. Some of the loading personnel were responsible for carrying, while others were responsible for fixing. The division of labor was clear and the speed was quite fast.
"The loading had already started before you came here. The cargo hold has been loaded, and now only the passenger cabin is left. It looks like there is not much left." Richard said, "Xu Cang, although I believe you are not aimless, I really want to know how you plan to solve the problem of landing distance. I still can't imagine a safe landing on a 1,600-meter runway with snow thickness that seriously exceeds the standard. As your co-pilot, I think I should have a certain right to know."
Xu Cang placed his right hand on the thrust handle and pondered for a moment: "The wind at the Manor Airport is very strong, this is something we can use."
"I know the wind is strong over there, otherwise helicopters and small fixed-wing aircraft wouldn't be able to land. I even heard that the rescue team considered airdropping at first. However, the wind is too strong here, and it's impossible to accurately calculate the drop point. The manor airport is surrounded by cliffs, and if the drop point is not here, there is no way to pick it up. Moreover, the warm clothes worn by the people in the manor can't support them to go out for a long time, so there is no possibility of going out for a long time to search."
"The wind I'm talking about is not the chaotic airflow with uncertain direction, but the stable wind." As he said that, Xu Cang looked forward and gestured to the people standing in front of the nose of the plane, signaling them to disperse. After the people walked away, Xu Cang turned on the weather radar and adjusted the radar angle to positive five degrees.
The reason for adjusting the radar angle to positive five degrees is to eliminate the influence of terrain echo.
At this time, the nose of the plane was facing the Alps. The radar range was adjusted to the maximum range of 360 nautical miles, and soon a huge cyclone appeared on the navigation page.
"Look!" Xu Cang immediately created a point A in the navigation database according to the longitude and latitude in his memory. The coordinates of this point A are the coordinates of the manor airport.
At this moment, the Manor Airport is almost at the center of the cyclone, which is quite a coincidence.
"The runway of Manor Airport is 09/27, which runs east-west. According to the satellite cloud map, this cyclone is rotating clockwise, and its direction of movement is from south to north. According to the average moving speed before, in about half an hour, the inner circle of the cyclone below the southern part will cut into the main field of Manor Airport. At this time, approaching from Runway 09 will form a huge and relatively stable head wind. I have checked the relevant meteorological data. The wind speed of the inner circle of the cyclone should be around 300 kilometers per hour. After the terrain reduction, the actual wind speed at this field should be 200 kilometers per hour."
From the weather radar, the cyclone above the Alps is actually a concentric circle, and there is actually no echo at the center. What Xu Cang is actually waiting for is the time point when the inner circle cuts through this field.
In fact, once the inner circle of the cyclone cuts through this area, it will be headwind for a long time if you approach from No. 09. However, the wind speed becomes stronger and more chaotic as you get closer to the outer edge of the cyclone. Only in the inner circle area is the cyclone relatively stable and the wind speed is controllable.
It can only be said that the timing of the cyclone passing the airport was relatively good. If it was earlier, when it was still dark, without the help of light, Xu Cang would not be willing to do such a dangerous operation in the dark night. But if it was later, Xu Cang's condition would probably not be maintained. After all, Xu Cang had not closed his eyes for a long time. He was a human being and could not stand not sleeping for too long.
"Two hundred kilometers per hour headwind?" Richard was stunned: "What do you mean, it can't be?"
As soon as Xu Cang mentioned Dingfeng, he knew almost everything about Richard.
"Under the influence of stable strong headwinds, the aircraft can reach a critical state where the indicated speed is sufficient but the ground speed is infinitesimally small. In this case, the aircraft can approach normally, but the braking distance for final touchdown will be very small." Xu Cang explained: "However, this timing is difficult to grasp. We must ensure that we land when the inner circle cuts through the field. At that time, the field will almost only have positive headwinds. Later, as the cyclone moves northward, the airflow in the field will become increasingly unstable, and extremely strong crosswinds will appear. The aircraft can withstand the headwind, but it is easy to fail to withstand the crosswind. Therefore, we probably only have one chance."
Richard touched his chin, his face was very strange. What Xu Cang said was exactly what he expected, and this kind of thing was theoretically feasible.
The principle of aircraft flight is the pressure difference caused by the airflow passing over the wing surface. The movement of this airflow is relative, no matter whether the aircraft moves, the airflow or both, as long as relative flow occurs, it is enough.
This is the principle used in wind tunnel tests on the ground.
As long as the headwind is strong enough, the aircraft can maintain a very low actual speed. In a sense, it is really similar to a wind tunnel.
"In theory... it seems feasible." Richard's mouth twitched: "But, this kind of thing is different in theory and in practice."
"Nothing is different." Xu Cang said calmly.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Richard was stunned.
Xu Cang said calmly: "I mean this is not something theoretical."
"Isn't it something theoretical ?" Richard reacted slightly, and then his eyes focused on Xu Cang: "Could it be..."
Xu Cang nodded naturally: "Yes, I tried it and survived."
…
Yi Feng and Xiao Lingyun stood together on the hillside outside the Erhai Spring and Summer Aviation Base. Facing the breeze, they looked at the airport runway not far away where planes were taking off and landing non-stop, and could not help but sigh with emotion.
"More than a year ago, this was a deserted civil airport, but now it's so busy." Yi Feng pointed to the new base of Spring Airlines: "Originally, that was supposed to be the base land reserved for us, but I didn't expect it to develop into this."
Xiao Lingyun squinted his eyes. The sun was shining brightly here, so he couldn't see things clearly.
Xiao Lingyun pointed to a construction site next to the new base and said, "I heard that they are going to build a simulator training center there?"
"Well, Xu Cang has already agreed with Muhua Airlines that he will borrow the license plate of Muhua Airlines' simulator training center. As for the simulator, there is no need to buy one. Previously, the scrapped 1566 could be converted into a good simulator. When the training center is built, the simulator modification will be almost done."
Xiao Lingyun smiled and said, "He really wants to get involved in everything."
"No." Yi Feng shook his head: "Now is a good time to plan for flight training. Flight trainees are already scarce, and as the number of pilots increases, training facilities will become tight. While the authorities have not tightened the regulations on simulators, Xu Cang's entry at this time will not cost much, and there is a lot of room for improvement."
Xiao Lingyun raised his eyebrows: "According to what you said, you will build another training center later?"
"Of course!" Yi Feng said, "This simulator center shares the license of Muhua Airlines. When our own simulator center license is issued, we should build a larger simulator training center in Jianchuan, and there may also be a related training base for flight attendants. This... can only be regarded as a test of the waters, to understand the operation in advance."
"Xu Cang intends to integrate the business. If you say so, the aviation sector is too large..."
"That's right. In the vision of the future Cang Qing Group, although the aviation sector is a pillar business, it does exceed other sectors by a lot, which is not a good thing. When Xu Cang comes back, the plan of Cang Qing Group needs to be revised." Yi Feng said, as if he thought of something: "By the way, are you still working in the insurance company in Shekou? Can you handle both ends?"
"What's too busy for you?" Xiao Lingyun said with a smile, "There are not many customers over there. Xu Cang is my biggest customer. I just need to send someone to keep an eye on him. You don't need to bother me at other times. Xu Cang's affairs are more interesting. If I lose money, it's not my own money, so I don't feel bad."
Yi Feng laughed: "If Xu Cang heard this, I wonder what he would think."
"What can he think? He's just talking. I'm making money now." Xiao Lingyun patted Yi Feng's shoulder: "In the near future, the company may have to give out red envelopes."
Yi Feng raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean, making a lot of money?"
"It's not a lot of money, just pocket money." Xiao Lingyun chuckled and said, "Before, Xu Cang asked me to keep an eye on Korean Air's stock. As a result, after Muhua Airlines announced that it would cut off its international business cooperation with Asiana Airlines, Korean Air's stock price continued to rise. The outside world was optimistic about Korean Air taking over Asiana Airlines. We made a lot of money from this wave. Now Korean Air has officially proposed to acquire Asiana Airlines, and Korean Air's stock price has reached its highest point. We can reap another wave of profits soon."
As he spoke, Xiao Lingyun nudged Yi Feng with his elbow and said, "Boss Yi, let's be safe with Korean Air. Don't let Korean Air swallow up Asiana Airlines in the end. If that happens, we won't even talk about red envelopes. I'm afraid we'll have to deduct our bonuses."
Yi Feng laughed and said, "Don't worry, it's safe. Just wait for Korean Air's stock price to plummet. However, there is one thing I must remind you of. Be more discreet and don't let the Korean financial authorities think that you are manipulating the stock market. It would be bad if you get into trouble."
To be honest, Xiao Lingyun's operation of killing two birds with one stone for Korean Air was a bit too sharp. If he was not careful, he might be targeted by the financial department and suspected of manipulating the stock market.
However, Xiao Lingyun didn't take it seriously: "Don't worry, it's just a small matter. It won't happen. By the way, how can you be sure that the Korean Civil Aviation Administration will issue a characterization of the Minzhuang air crash in the near future? Aren't you afraid that the Korean Airline gang will play some tricks in the middle? After all, Korea is a country... There are many precedents."
Yi Feng tilted his head and said, "The most common reason for people to help another person is that they will benefit from the help, which is called altruism, and also self-interest. However, if it is certain that it will not bring benefits to oneself, then unless there is a connection beyond interests, otherwise, the help will not exist. In this case, being clever and using tricks will only lead to self-destruction."
Xiao Lingyun was stunned for a moment: "It seems that President Yi has already found out about Korean Air's route?"
Yi Feng smiled contemptuously: "The president of Asiana Airlines is really an honest person. He provided a lot of valuable information."
…
In the airspace not far above Munich Airport, a CS300 loaded with supplies was flying towards the Alps. In the cockpit, Richard was operating the plane, while Xu Cang closed his eyes and rested.
At this time, the plane was still some distance away from the cyclone area, but it could already feel obvious turbulence. However, this level of turbulence was still within Richard's control. When the plane was close enough to the cyclone area, the control of the plane would be returned to Xu Cang.
"B1437, there is a weather balloon at 25,000 feet at your two o'clock direction. Please stay tuned and maintain your course and altitude." The voice of the Munich area control came over the radio.
"Got it!" Richard replied.
B1437 is not the flight number, but the aircraft number of this aircraft. Since this is not a commercial flight, there is no flight number, and the call sign is replaced by the aircraft number.
"B1437, expected to enter the no-fly zone in eleven minutes. After entering the no-fly zone, you can make your own decisions on altitude and heading, and you don't need to actively inform us."
In fact, once you enter the no-fly zone, you are almost in the cyclone zone. At that time, the airflow will be extremely unstable, and it will be difficult for the aircraft to strictly maintain its course and altitude. The control knew this in advance and made it clear to Richard and Xu Cang.
"Roger that, B1437."
"B1437, if possible, please avoid the points 11 degrees 35 minutes east longitude, 47 degrees 27 minutes north latitude and 8 degrees 32 minutes east longitude, 47 degrees 22 minutes north latitude under special circumstances."
Richard entered the two points according to the controller's instructions, and the points formed just coincided with Innsbruck and Zurich Airport. At this point, Richard understood the controller's meaning.
The so-called special circumstances probably only refer to situations where the plane is about to crash. This means that if they are to die, they would rather die somewhere else and not crash into Innsbruck or Zurich.
These two airports are relatively closer, while Turin and Milan are a little further away, so it is highly unlikely that the plane will crash into those two places.
Richard smiled bitterly. The controller was really considerate. He even figured out the places they needed to avoid in case of a crash. Although this was not without reason, it still sounded a bit harsh.
Richard, who had a relatively good temper, coughed twice and said, "I understand."
The controller probably knew he had gone too far: "I'm sorry, you know this is not my intention."
Richard did not respond to this, but quickly pressed the speak button to indicate that he understood. Then, he tried to turn on the autopilot again, but still to no avail.
That’s right, the autopilot can no longer be connected in this area, which shows how turbulent the airflow is. You know, it’s still ten minutes away from the real turbulence area!
However, even so, Richard still handled it with ease. He wanted to connect to the automatic driving just to be lazy, and it didn't matter whether he could connect to it or not.
It must be said that Richard's skills were quite impressive. With such a big bump, an ordinary pilot would have been a bit flustered, but Richard was able to do it easily. He even had the energy to glance at Xu Cang a few times, and it seemed that he had something to say.
After a while, as the plane gradually approached the cyclone area, the airflow became wilder. Richard also restrained his frivolous heart a little, and became more serious, but the look of wanting to say something but not saying it did not disappear.
"If you want to say it, just say it. Don't be so nagging." Xu Cang said this suddenly with his eyes closed.
Richard did not expect Xu Cang to know he was looking at him, and was startled by the shout, and the plane immediately lost its stability. However, Richard was very skilled in his hands, and it took him half a minute to stabilize the plane again.
"Xu Cang, I just thought of something." Richard said a little hesitantly.
Xu Cang folded his arms, still closing his eyes: "Speak!"
"You mean the wind speed in the inner part of the cyclone is lower and more stable. What about the outer part?" Richard swallowed his saliva and asked, "How high can the wind speed be there?"
Xu Cang slowly opened his eyes and looked at the navigation page. Before taking off, they had drawn two lines on the waypoint page to mark the boundaries of the no-fly zone. At this moment, the plane was not far from the no-fly zone, about a dozen nautical miles away.
Beyond the no-fly zone is the airspace affected by the cyclone.
"You mean the wind speed here?" Xu Cang pointed to the outer spiral arm of the weather radar cyclone image on the navigation page: "Are you talking about here?"
Richard nodded: "Yeah."
"It's estimated to be able to reach 500 kilometers per hour. I'm not sure. We'll know after we get in."
"Five hundred kilometers per hour." Richard took a deep breath and said, "What I mean is that if we want to enter the inner circle or get closer to the field, we need to pass through the outer circle first."
Xu Cang looked at Richard: "That's what I mean."
Richard licked his lips: "Is it possible that we..."
"Can't get through?" Xu Cang directly took over the second half of Richard's sentence.
It was not just Richard. Xu Cang had also mentioned this issue when he was talking to Bi Lin. Bi Lin was concerned about Xu Cang's ability to cross the strong wind belt outside, and Richard had the same concern at this moment.
At this time, the plane was approaching the border of the no-fly zone. Xu Cang instinctively grasped the side stick with his left hand: "Report first, we will cross the restricted area border soon."
Richard pursed his lips and said nothing more about crossing the outer edge of the cyclone. Instead, he looked at Xu Cang, who had already grasped the side stick with his left hand: "You control it?"
Xu Cang hummed: "Take over the control!"
Just like Airbus, if both sides are controlled at the same time, the input will be offset and superimposed, which is quite dangerous. Therefore, after seeing Xu Cang holding the side stick, Richard first transferred the control to Xu Cang.
"Hand over the controls." Richard nodded and pressed the radio button: "B..."
But at the moment when the first letter was spoken, Xu Cang's left hand just tightened the side stick, and the plane was flipped to the left without any warning. The magnitude of the flip was so great that the plane directly issued a bank warning.
Almost in an instant, the plane's bank angle increased to over forty degrees.
Xu Cang tensed up. The sudden airflow was too strong. He reacted immediately and tried to reduce the slope of the plane. However, Richard suddenly found that the nose of the plane began to tilt to the right strangely.
"This..." Richard had never seen such a strange sight in all his years of flying. Without any human input, the plane rolled to the left spontaneously, and then the nose yawed to the right. What kind of strange posture was this?
However, as the nose of the plane tilted to the right, Richard suddenly discovered that the sideslip indicator of the plane was becoming more and more obvious, which indicated that the sideslip of the plane was increasing.
"Xu Cang, sideslip, sideslip, the plane is going to flip over!" Richard shouted suddenly.
The steep slope increased the sideslip, and this obviously abnormal posture continued to deteriorate. If it continued like this, the plane would flip over.
Xu Cang's face was extremely solemn at the moment. He had just pressed the right plate and found that the plane was not working at all, which meant that he could not correct the left bank of the plane. But with Richard's reminder, Xu Cang also found that the plane was entering an incomprehensible state in an incomprehensible manner.
"Damn it!" Although Xu Cang didn't know whether it was due to the plane or the environment, intuitively, it was more likely caused by the external airflow.
They have approached or have reached the outskirts of the cyclone area. However, even in the outer area it is so terrifying. Flying forward would be tantamount to seeking death.
However, the aircraft's attitude change is secondary.
Suddenly, Richard's eyes fell on the altimeter, and he discovered that the plane's altitude was rapidly dropping, with a descent rate of more than six thousand feet per minute.
"Oh no! The plane is falling rapidly!" Richard shouted immediately: "Altitude, altitude!"
Xu Cang was concentrating all his energy on correcting the aircraft at the moment. He was not paying much attention to the altimeter, but was concentrating on the attitude indicator. Hearing Richard's reminder, he almost reflexively wanted to pull the stick, but he suddenly realized a problem. According to the aircraft's attitude display, the aircraft could not be falling.
So what did Richard mean?
Xu Cang's mind froze for a moment, and before he could react, he heard Richard shouting anxiously, "Xu Cang, speed, speed!"
Xu Cang's eyes narrowed slightly, and when his gaze finally shifted from the attitude indicator to the airspeed indicator, his face suddenly tensed.
In a situation that he could not understand, the speed value on the airspeed indicator was decreasing rapidly like diving, and was about to reach the red and black belt of stall.
The bank of the plane could not be corrected, the nose strangely tilted to the right, the sideslip continued to increase, and the altitude and speed decreased uncontrollably. All of this continued to impact Xu Cang's brain.
"What on earth is going on?"
…
At this moment, compared to the extremely critical situation in the air, Munich Airport is relatively stable, with a quite calm atmosphere.
In an unnoticed corner of the apron, a fat middle-aged man handed a cigarette to the staff member opposite him who was wearing orange work clothes and a reflective vest.
There is a Munich Airport icon on the back of the work clothes, so he must be an airport staff.
The staff member hesitated for a moment, but still took the cigarette. However, he did not smoke it, but just kept holding it.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man smiled and said, "No?"
The staff nodded: "Not very often."
"Not used to it?"
"No." The staff member scratched his head: "The salary is too low, it's better not to get into this habit."
"Are you worried that you don't have enough money for cigarettes? Hahaha!" The middle-aged man laughed heartily, and took out a bank card from his pocket and threw it to the staff: "The money is all in it, the password is six ones."
The staff member hurriedly took the bank card, carefully put it in his shirt pocket, and hurriedly thanked the middle-aged man.
Compared with the staff's habit of not smoking, the middle-aged people are puffing away, looking very happy.
After taking another deep breath, the middle-aged man suddenly asked, "Is everything going well?"
The staff nodded rapidly: "Absolutely no problem, and no one will find out."
"Are you so sure?" The middle-aged man raised his eyebrows and asked with interest.
"I put some anti-icing fluid in the back privately. If you check it afterwards, the amount of anti-icing fluid and de-icing fluid will be roughly equal. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it."
"Hehehe, good, good, very good." The middle-aged man patted the staff member on the shoulder and said, "You are very smart, not bad. Do you want to take this money and resign?"
"No!" The staff member shook his head. "If I resign now, it will be too obvious. I don't have to resign. I can still be the same as before. They won't be able to find any evidence against me."
The middle-aged man's eyes lit up: "You are so brave, you didn't even try to run, are you sure you are fine?"
The staff member nodded heavily: "Definitely no problem."
"Okay!" The middle-aged man was quite satisfied: "It doesn't matter. You can leave or stay as you like. It's just a matter of meeting and trading between you and me..."
"Got it, got it! It never happened."
"Well, not bad!" The middle-aged man stamped out his cigarette butt: "Okay, let's go!"
The staff member carefully grasped the pocket where the bank card was kept and was about to leave. But before he took two steps, the middle-aged man's voice suddenly came from behind him: "Has he ever suspected anything?"
The staff member paused and turned around: "He asked me to release some anti-icing fluid. I guess he wanted to confirm whether the anti-icing fluid is SAE Type 4."
The middle-aged man was startled for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Who would be so stupid as to work directly on the anti-icing fluid? Isn't the remaining anti-icing fluid the most direct evidence? They say he is very smart, and it seems that he is not bad. Well, it's okay, you can go."
The middle-aged man waved his hand, signaling the staff that they could leave.
The staff member bowed to the middle-aged man, then turned around, revealing a very honest and simple face.
If Xu Cang were here, he would definitely be able to tell who this person is.
It was the same operator of the de-icing truck!