Chapter 15: Returning To Nanyuan Aviation, Various Preparations
Fang Wen got off the airplane and strode toward the instructors.
Times have changed; in the instructors’ eyes, Fang Wen was no longer the impression from a year ago.
Deep blue flight cap, gray leather jacket, loose straight-leg pants, blue-and-white stylish leather shoes—this flight uniform perfectly embodied that people rely on clothes and Buddha relies on gold ornaments.
In terms of temperament, he had also changed greatly; a year ago Fang Wen might have had some greenness of a novice, but now he was full of confidence and steadiness.
After shaking hands with the instructors, Fang Wen started communicating with them.
“Where is Instructor Liu?”
“He has already gone to the Aviation Bureau. Next month we will also change posts; this place will be closed, and you are the last batch to fly at the airport.”
“Our class has already graduated, right?”
“Yeah, we graduated at the end of last year. They can’t compare to you; most have returned to their hometowns.”
“I was also lucky. Thanks to the instructors’ care, I have today.”
At this point, Fang Wen turned back to look at his partners and beckoned them over.
Howard, Yue Jinping, Shopkeeper Liu, and Sun Debiao each carried things over.
Fang Wen introduced: “They are the crew members for this flight. By the way, these things were brought from Shanghai—a little token of appreciation.”
With that, he took the gifts wrapped in cloth bags from his partners’ hands and gave them one by one to the instructors.
This etiquette made the instructors very happy, and their relationship became much more harmonious.
Immediately after, Fang Wen quietly discussed with them the expenses for renting the airport and purchasing fuel, to be paid by Shopkeeper Liu.
Money makes things easy. The instructors took Fang Wen to the nearby warehouse and dormitory to check; there were temporary living quarters and fuel stored there.
After giving Fang Wen a bunch of keys, the instructors all left. Throughout the process, they never asked about the purpose of this flight mission.
The school people had all left. Except for Howard who was still inspecting the airplane, the others entered the temporary residence and discussed the next plan.
“Shopkeeper Liu, Sun Debiao, how will you contact the northeast side? When I do the test flight, I need them to light torches on the ground as markers to confirm.”
Shopkeeper Liu replied: “The northeast is very chaotic now, but crossing the border is still possible. A few days ago our people have already left the border; they should have arrived in Shenyang by now.”
Sun Debiao added: “I’ll go to Beiping City shortly. There are people there who can pass messages to contact the Shenyang side.”
Fang Wen was surprised in his heart; those tycoons actually had a way to achieve this step.
He didn’t press Sun Debiao about whom he was going to find in Beiping City, but instead looked at Yue Jinping.
“Take out the map; let’s study the flight path from Beiping to Shenyang.”
Yue Jinping took out the map prepared for this action from the leather briefcase.
This was a military map, with detailed markings of mountains, rivers, highways, railroads, and other China geographic conditions.
If something happened, Yue Jinping, responsible for keeping the map, would have to destroy it immediately to prevent it from falling into Japanese hands.
The reason for using such a secret military map was for navigation during long-distance flight.
In the Republic of China era, air flight navigation technology was relatively primitive compared to modern times; pilots needed to rely on a series of tools and skills to determine the path to the accurate destination.
Just like what Fang Wen and Yue Jinping were doing now.
The two of them used tools like straightedges and compasses to draw on the map, then wrote calculations on blank paper.
What terrain would be encountered flying from Beiping to Shenyang, and what weather might be met.
Also, preset in-flight compass use for heading determination, so there would be no heading errors during the test flight.
This required a lot of preparation work, especially for night flight without ground as reference object; it must be ensured no mistakes.
Yue Jinping, as the crew navigator, was preparing very seriously.
Fang Wen, however, left the residence and headed to the Rhein NYP-2 on the runway.
There, Howard was lying under the airplane busy working.
Fang Wen squatted down, lay on his side on the ground, and looked underneath.
“Is there a problem with the landing gear?”
“You judged right again. The screws on the right wheel are a bit loose, causing the fuselage to possibly tilt slightly to the right. I’m really impressed with you, Fang Wen; you can even feel such subtle changes.”
“Yeah. I might be born to do this. Need help?”
“Of course, how can I handle this airplane alone?”
Fang Wen smiled, took off his jacket, and crawled in.
The two worked together, using two jacks to slightly lift one side of the fuselage, then replaced the stripped screws.
After a busy effort, they finally fixed the minor issue on the Rhein NYP-2.
At this time, Yue Jinping’s call came from the temporary residence: “Dinner’s ready. Sun Debiao brought dinner; are you done?”
“Done. Coming right now.”
Fang Wen and Howard came out from under the airplane.
Their hands and bodies were covered in engine oil; they took a small oil can for water from the airplane and washed repeatedly with soap before getting clean.
Putting on jackets, Fang Wen and Howard walked back to the temporary residence.
In the room, a table of dishes was set, and the others were all waiting for Fang Wen.
He sat down, and only then did everyone sit together.
This was recognition of Fang Wen’s leadership position.
Fang Wen sat calmly, took a spring pancake, added roast duck, Beijing sauce shredded pork, shredded scallions, shredded potatoes, rolled it up, and took a bite.
Only then did the others start eating.
After dinner, it was time to talk business.
Fang Wen asked: “Sun Debiao, what did you find out?”
Sun Debiao, who had been out all afternoon, returned, bringing not only food but also an important piece of news.
“I’ve already contacted them. Shenyang City is full of Japanese everywhere now; almost all shops on the streets are closed. Luckily the Japanese are using the original Police Department to maintain order, so our people had a chance to enter the city. They are now contacting the various leaders in the northeast; the specific landing point isn’t set yet, need to wait.”
For a group of locals who even had status and position in the area, they surprisingly hadn’t arranged even something as small as the landing point.
Fang Wen recalled the quarrel he overheard that day; these people, each with their own forces, had temporarily united because of the Japanese.
Probably, some problem had arisen on the Shenyang side now.
To ensure the action went smoothly, Fang Wen looked at Sun Debiao.
“Some things I need to make clear: once the airplane doesn’t spot the landing point marker, it won’t risk landing. Also, after landing, it will only stay that night and must take off before dawn. Moreover, supplies over 1 ton will prevent normal takeoff; don’t expect to sneak extras in.”
Pausing, Fang Wen softened his tone and added: “I’m saying this for all our good; if it can’t be done and the airplane has an accident, it’s us who will die.”
This made everyone into a small group. Shopkeeper Liu and Sun Debiao were greatly moved; the two exchanged a tacit glance.
Sun Debiao nodded: “I’ll go to the city again tomorrow and make sure they get things done properly; everything has to follow our rules.”
