Chapter 73 I am indeed the strongest!
In the simulated cabin, Jin Fuli and the others who were originally planning to leave fell into a dead silence. Even Jin Fuli, who had been sitting, stood up and stood behind Xu Cang, quietly watching Xu Cang's operation.
Xu Cang's operation was not complicated. He maintained the green dot speed as before. After all, the green dot speed in the manual was not the ground speed, but the true air speed. He did not need to correct his speed according to the wind.
But this does not mean that headwind has no effect on the aircraft. The speed remains unchanged, but the resulting descent rate is greater than that in no wind conditions.
Normally, the descent rate should be around 1,500 to 1,600 feet per minute, but under the influence of headwind, the descent rate increased to more than 1,800 feet.
Although the difference in the descent rate is not very large, it is fatal at this moment. Even as the altitude decreases, the descent rate will gradually return to the correct value.
In fact, if it is a real flight, in a low-altitude environment, the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft will increase due to the increase in air density, and the aircraft's descent rate should theoretically also decrease, but the simulator cannot simulate this either, so it is naturally not taken into consideration.
Be it Jin Fuli, the level seven co-pilot, or the remaining two low-level Airbus trainees, they had no idea about the descent trajectory under the changing wind speed, and could only rely on a rough feeling to judge whether the plane could fly to the destination.
Intuitively, it seemed that the plane could not fly to the airport under the headwind. But as the altitude decreased, Jin Fuli and the Airbus trainees began to have a feeling that the plane could not really fly to the airport.
The plane's loss of altitude didn't seem to be as fast as they felt. However, even if they felt that way, the plane's altitude was still quite dangerous, but they were not as resolute as before.
But in their subconscious, they still didn't believe that Xu Cang could do this mental calculation, and they were more inclined to believe that Xu Cang had completely guessed it.
At an altitude of about 2,000 feet, the student in the right seat should have informed the cabin that they were about to land. But everyone was concentrating on watching Xu Cang, so why would they bother notifying the cabin?
Two thousand feet was already a very low altitude, and the whole view of the Jianchuan Airport runway could be seen clearly from the simulator. However, according to the instrument, the plane was still 4.8 nautical miles away from the runway, which meant that the plane was only 80 feet higher than the optimal glide path.
What does eighty feet mean? It's just over twenty meters. If your hand shakes a little, this little height margin will be gone. But the problem is, even if you choose a smooth configuration landing, the landing gear must be lowered. Once the landing gear is lowered, the eighty feet of altitude is not enough to consume.
"What are you going to do?" Jin Fuli put one hand on the back of Xu Cang's chair, staring at the altimeter and DME display intently, and constantly calculating the altitude ratio in his mind.
In fact, even now Jin Fuli was still not optimistic about Xu Cang. He said that in theory there was still 80 feet of margin, and at an altitude of 2,000 feet, the headwind had basically disappeared, but in the end this was only theoretical, and if the speed changed by one or two knots, the 80 feet altitude would not be maintained.
The more Jin Fuli calculated, the more difficult it seemed, so he asked, "Are you ready to lower the flaps?"
Flaps can provide lift and drag at the same time, but they will provide an additional upward moment to the aircraft at the beginning of their release, which is a helpless life-saving measure. Previously, Xu Cang had used this method to save the life of Feiyu 6321 when both engines were flameout.
Jin Fuli's idea was also very simple. When the altitude was not enough, he would use the flaps to push the plane forward. If he was lucky, he should be able to land on the runway, and the probability was not low. Because Xu Cang maintained the speed perfectly, he was almost always on the best glide trajectory without moving at all.
"The flaps cannot be released. I cannot control the state of the aircraft after the flaps are released." Xu Cang certainly knew that releasing the flaps at a critical moment could allow the aircraft to land on the runway, but the problem was that now the aircraft not only had to land on the runway, but also had to land precisely at the end of the runway, on the zebra crossing sign at the runway entrance.
Due to the high approach speed, according to the landing distance table, the Jianchuan runway length was just enough, which was very dangerous. If the plane landed in the normal touchdown area, it would lose some runway length, which would not be enough to stop the plane.
The release of flaps will lift the aircraft in a short period of time. This is not a sophisticated operation, but there is no quantitative standard for how strong the lifting force is and how strong the energy is. Xu Cang cannot control this.
Moreover, the flaps must be released at the last moment, because once the flaps are released, the initial lifting moment disappears and the drag generated is even greater. The pilot must touch down before the greater drag arrives.
There is a problem with putting the flap release at the last moment. Xu Cang does not have extra time to correct the aircraft's status. If there is no time to correct the aircraft's status, the initial lifting torque generated by the flaps is likely to cause the aircraft to float too long and fail to touch down at the runway entrance area.
The release of the flaps will produce unpredictable changes in state. For an aircraft without power and without correction opportunity, such uncontrollable changes will have a huge negative impact on precision operations. Xu Cang will not allow such things to happen.
Jin Fuli understood Xu Cang's idea, but understanding is one thing and doing it is another: "If the flaps are not lowered, the landing gear must be lowered, right? What ?"
"Then postpone the release of the landing gear as long as possible." Xu Cang subconsciously licked his cracked lips. It can be seen that at this stage, even Xu Cang felt pressured.
Compared to the obvious lifting torque generated by flap release, the release of landing gear will also produce a similar effect, but it lasts for a shorter time and the effect is worse. However, this is exactly what Xu Cang needs.
This kind of lifting effect is acceptable, but it must not be too strong, otherwise it will be difficult to control. So the question now is when to lower the landing gear?
You know, flaps can generate both drag and lift, but landing gear can only generate drag. This is why some pilots release the landing gear early to slow down or increase the descent rate.
Therefore, compared with flaps, the release time of the landing gear needs to be delayed, otherwise the unpowered aircraft cannot withstand the strong resistance generated by the landing gear. But the problem is that the release time of the landing gear cannot be too late. Because the release of the landing gear takes time, if the timing is not accurate, the landing gear is not fully released when the aircraft touches the ground , which is a fatal problem.
Jin Fuli could understand Xu Cang's meaning, but the timing of releasing the landing gear was too difficult to grasp. However, Jin Fuli did not question Xu Cang this time. He stood quietly behind Xu Cang, waiting and watching.
Five hundred feet high!
Xu Cang straightened his upper body, and this change of sitting posture was an obvious manifestation of psychological anxiety. However, Xu Cang was still quite forbearing, with no obvious expression on his face, and said calmly: "Lower the landing gear and listen to my command, and be quick!"
The student on the right seat was a typical example of the ignorant and fearless. This kind of extremely high-precision operation was far beyond his ability, so he simply stopped thinking about it and just followed Xu Cang's instructions.
"Okay!" The student sitting on the right quickly responded.
The altitude was 200 feet, which was below the decision altitude for blind landing, and the landing was beginning to shift to the visual stage. From the background, the front half of Jianchuan Runway 05 was clearly displayed in front of Xu Cang.
As the landing approached, even people like Jin Fuli swallowed unconsciously and became extremely nervous.
One of the problems caused by Xu Cang not releasing the flaps is that the speed is too high, which in turn causes a very high descent rate. Moreover, in order to be able to fly to this airport, Xu Cang needs to maintain this high descent rate to a very low altitude. How to turn the aircraft from an obvious nose-down attitude to a grounding attitude when landing also depends on Xu Cang's skills.
If the pilot's skills are not good enough and the front landing gear touches the ground first, the plane will undoubtedly be destroyed and everyone on board will die.
Just as the plane passed the 200-foot mark, the tense atmosphere in the simulated cabin was suddenly broken. Xu Cang suddenly shouted, "Release the wheels!"
The student in the right seat, who had been waiting for a long time, heard the order and lowered the landing gear almost as a conditioned reflex. As the simulator simulated the sound of the landing gear being released, the plane really began to lift slightly.
From 200 feet to touchdown, at the current rate of descent, it would only take seven or eight seconds. However, the landing gear also takes time to release, so it depends on whether the two times can be matched.
At an altitude of fifty feet, according to the normal descent trajectory, the plane has already entered the airspace above the runway, but at this moment the plane is still a short distance away from the runway.
The slight upward moment generated by the initial release of the landing gear was indeed felt, and it slightly suppressed the sinking of the aircraft. However, as the landing gear was gradually released, this weak upward moment disappeared in an instant, and it only existed for less than two or three seconds, and the sinking of the aircraft began to gradually return to the previous level. Moreover, when the landing gear was fully released, the sinking would continue to increase, and it was estimated that it could reach 2,000 feet per minute. Xu Cang obviously would not allow such a thing to happen.
At this moment, Jin Fuli saw that the plane had not yet reached the runway, and he couldn't help but feel a little panicked. He couldn't help but say, "It's impossible to fly, let's lower the flaps!"
"No, that's not right! This will definitely not fly." The Level 7 co-pilot almost judged Xu Cang's fate with an extremely certain tone. From a visual point of view, no matter from which angle, it is now a dead end!
However, Xu Cang just said calmly: "Watch!"
The plane's descent rate was indeed very high, but the speed was also very fast! Jin Fuli and his men usually approached at a speed that was more than 50 knots slower than this, so it was easy to make a misjudgment based on visual observation.
The altitude was indeed very dangerous, but at high speed, the plane would approach the runway faster, which was something Jin Fuli could not feel or could not feel it accurately.
However, it is not true that Jin Fuli or the Level 7 co-pilot were wrong. Because Xu Cang could calculate that the plane was still a little short of the target and could not reach the runway. But this was fundamentally different from the perception of Jin Fuli and others. Those people were guessing and uncertain, but Xu Cang calculated and was certain.
Almost at the moment when Xu Cang's voice fell, the last white PAPI light turned red, and all the PAPI lights turned red, which meant that the aircraft's altitude was now significantly lower than the normal glide trajectory.
From a visual perspective alone, Jin Fuli even had the illusion that he was on the same level as the runway, which shows how low the plane was.
As the radio altimeter reported, at a radio altitude of 20 feet, the front landing gear had just been lowered and locked, and the two main landing gears had not yet been lowered and locked. At this time, the aircraft's descent rate was still 1,500 feet.
According to the normal landing sinking, the descent rate should be reduced to about 500 feet per minute. At a descent rate of 1,500 feet, the difference between the plane and crashing is not that big.
The two Airbus trainees who were watching from behind were terrified. At the radio altitude of twenty feet, the two main landing gears had not yet been lowered and locked, and the plane was sinking incredibly fast. Could it land?
At this moment, Jin Fuli really admired Xu Cang's patience. It was already twenty feet high, and he still didn't level it?
However, at the moment when Jin Fuli had this thought, Xu Cang finally got rid of the green dot speed. He suddenly pulled the pole with an extremely fast movement.
Normally, you definitely can't do this when leveling off, but at this moment, the plane has to instantly change from a downward pitch of about -1 degree to a normal touchdown attitude of about 4 degrees. You can't pull the stick slowly because the altitude of the plane doesn't allow you to do so.
Xu Cang's shot almost leveled the plane. Considering the high speed of the plane, this kind of leveling only resulted in a loss of speed, producing an effect similar to leveling by one meter.
Originally it looked like the plane would not be able to land on the runway, but in this way, the plane actually slid into the air above the runway in a state similar to floating.
However, this state cannot last too long. Leveling off will cause the aircraft speed to decay rapidly, and without the cooperation of the auxiliary lift device, in a low-speed environment, the aircraft speed has not yet dropped to the stick shaker speed, and the level flight cannot be maintained.
After flying level for less than two seconds, the plane began to sink again. At the moment when the plane sank, the two main landing gears were lowered and locked, and the plane just entered the air above the runway and landed on the zebra crossing sign at the runway entrance without a single millimeter difference. Even the people in the simulated cabin did not feel a clear sense of touchdown, and it was estimated that the ground load would be less than 1.2G.
The moment the plane touched the ground, because both engines had stalled, reverse thrust could not be used, so it was brought to a rough stop using manual braking. After it stopped, the parking brake was set, and without saying a word, he took off his headphones and leaned quietly in his seat.
"It's already landed?" The Airbus's level 7 co-pilot was still a little slow to react. Just now, at an altitude of 50 feet, he could clearly feel that the plane had no hope of landing. Who would have thought that Xu Cang would actually do a standard one-meter flat landing just when he reached the runway, forcing the dead plane to survive, which was simply the finishing touch.
Not to mention that the Level 7 co-pilot felt that this landing was a bit dreamy, even a veteran like Jin Fuli felt was incredible. Finding a ray of hope in a desperate situation, the performance presented was so easy that it seemed unreal.
Moreover, this was not the scariest thing. At an altitude of about 20,000 feet, they all felt that the plane would definitely not be able to fly to the airport due to the headwind. However, Xu Cang calculated in his mind that the plane could fly to the airport through the uniform change of the wind speed in the simulator itself.
As it turned out, despite the tiny error, the plane almost landed at the airport. That tiny error was completely negligible in front of Xu Cang's performance.
"Can people really calculate all these things?" Even though the facts were before his eyes, Jin Fuli was still unwilling to accept the nonsense that Xu Cangxin calculated the descent trajectory of the plane. If it were him, he might not be able to figure it out even if he was given a computer.
Before landing, Xu Cang relied on the high speed of the plane to achieve a one-meter flattening, which was a flash of inspiration and ingenious. As for the two main landing gears that were completely lowered almost immediately before landing, Jin Fuli was already somewhat numb.
For some reason, he suddenly felt a chill. Perhaps Xu Cang was just extremely lucky, but the greater possibility was that he could really control everything.
It is beyond human power, but this statement does not seem to apply to Xu Cang.
Looking at Xu Cang who was leaning back in the chair with his eyes closed, Jin Fuli suddenly began to tremble slightly after a brief moment of fear.
Perfect! It was simply the perfect candidate! The ability and talent that Xu Cang had shown at this time had far exceeded his previous expectations, reaching an almost unbelievable level.
He will have no regrets in his life if he can have such a disciple.
However, Xu Cang, who was breathing softly at this moment, slowly released the left side stick. He hadn't been so excited for a long time. Even though he became the chief engineer of the bureau in the future, the long stable life made Xu Cang feel bored.
Just now, Xu Cang completed a project that Jin Fuli and everyone else thought was impossible, which also aroused Xu Cang's dormant pride from the bottom of his heart.
A genius is never humble. If he is, it only means that he is not a genius!
Xu Cang hasn't had a competitive spirit for a long time. To him, everything about flying is always as simple as eating and drinking. Who would feel excited about eating and drinking?
But this miraculous operation just now really made Xu Cang find the fun of flying.
He slowly stood up, lowered his head silently, and raised the corners of his mouth slightly. Even though he was calm and steady, he couldn't help but feel heroic at this moment, as if he had returned to the feeling of his first solo flight in the aviation school. Suddenly, Xu Cang said in a voice that only he could hear: "I am indeed the strongest!"
