Ford gestured with his hand, “Some of my buddies fly corporate charter and fractional, you know, after getting out of the Air Force. They’ve said that the cabin air helps them recover better from jet lag… better than when we flew together in the military jets. What’s that about?”
Lurch was standing between the cabin and the cockpit. “Yup, way different than the jets I flew and you fly now, Ford. These panoramic windows provide ample natural light, where perhaps sometimes in one of your bombers, you’re hidden behind the electronics. Mr. Abbott and the other execs we ferry at Corning only breathe 100 percent fresh air that is replenished every two minutes while airborne.”
“Huh. We don’t do that,” Ford said.
“Of course not!” Lurch said, spoken as someone who once wore the green military flight suit. “They design these jets for comfort and style. You’re all about mission first and dropping weapons. This cabin is pressurized to less than 3,300 feet at initial cruise altitude at flight level 410. Reduces the jet lag, as you can imagine. And quiet … like a baby’s room, too.”
Andrew motioned for everyone to take a look up front in the flight deck. A big, tall man, he easily fit in both the cockpit and Captain Chair on the left side of the aircraft. He was able to power up the aircraft avionics and show the multi-colored panels that displayed all the common flight instruments, such as the heading, attitude, and airspeed indicator. The HUD was very modern, displaying the flight data just like Ford’s F-18 from his Navy days. They even had a FLIR camera that displayed images onto the HUD, peering through most low visibility days and nights to see the runway clearly. The HUD system, called Enhanced Vision System and Symmetry Flight Deck changed the way Corning flew, and allowed the pilots to get down lower and safer, when attempting to land.
Ford thought of all the cockpits he’d been in, and nothing looked like this one. Many military aircraft had a combo of old original gauges with needles that were mechanical by design, with some glass screens. This jet was all computerized and modern, with an attractive digital cockpit that had all touch-glass screens. Even the active control side sticks worked a fly-by-wire system, and looked terrific to fly. “This is one hell of a bird. I wish I was flying one, instead of jumping out of it,” Ford said, as he looked at Mark and Robert.
“Maybe in retirement?” answered Lurch, referring to himself, a retired military pilot.
Ford felt the vibration in his pocket that a text was there, and looked to see who it was. He opened up the text app, and saw it was from Wu. Ford read it, then told everyone the news.
“Wu verified the news we heard last night from the Deputy. Has some new ideas for us, which we can discuss later. Just wanted to let you know,” Ford said, putting the smart phone back in his pocket.
“We actually need to get going, then,” Mark said, ending the tour. “Robert, I can see you are in great hands. Andrew, Lurch, thank you very much,” as he shook their hands in the cabin. “Mr. John Abbott, sir, thank you again. Please know Mr. Burns sends his best,”
“You’re very welcome. God speed and see you all again soon. Take good care of her. Safe jumping down in Oceana, too, Ford,” CEO John Abbott said, and patted the jet’s bulkhead with his hand.
“What do you mean, FIRE? A FIRE? Is that jet damaged? What happened?” Chen looked up from his desk. He was chewing on an unlit cigar, and his temper was growing. He pushed the seat away from the desk and stomped over to the Chief Engineer.
“What the hell is going on?” Chen asked, pointing in his chest. “WHAT HAPPENED? ARE WE DELAYED?”
Chen did not want to lose the aircraft, and he completely blew off asking about the health of the two human pilots that were flying her. His mind went directly to the Devil Dragon, the Sptratly Islands, to the political leadership, and the uniformed leadership, and the idea of possibly blaming him for a potential disaster was his worry. The pressure was mounting on him to perform, and he sure as heck was going to apply pressure on the team below him so he could get his way.
“General, here is Captain Lee’s report. Looks like a simple compressor stall took place on one of the push engines. Minimal damage. We are working on the airflow intakes now, and it should be turned around for tomorrow evening. Captain Lee wrote in his report that he could make up the missed tests due to the fire on the next flight,” the Engineer answered, hoping it would satisfy the unpredictable General.
“YOU BETTER BE RIGHT,” Chen boomed, looking at the paperwork for not more than two seconds before physically throwing it back at the Engineer. Papers flew in a variety of directions, and the Engineer picked them up quickly. “Get out of here. I want them up flying again as soon as possible.”
Chen looked up at a wall chart that displayed the current progress of the jet on a calendar timeline, and the proposed timeline for the future. Compared to other flight test programs, this one was aggressive, advanced, and difficult to execute in complete secrecy. Weapons testing was next, and that required detailed coordination with ordnance ranges, ground and air based radars, in addition to other Chinese jet fighter aircraft, as needed.
What complicated things was the constant moving of the operations office environment, such as computers, wall charts, and maintenance items used to track an aircraft program that had to be moved each time they set up shop. Moving ordinance and the men that worked those issues would complicate the potential success in the coming months. Sure, the General had an office back at Headquarters in Beijing, but he personally traveled with the Devil Dragon in what could be summed up as an appalling case of micromanagement.
Chen had dreamed about becoming a four-star General ever since his Colonel father took him to the Army offices and barracks a child. Colonel Chen the father even let young He Chen ride old armored tanks around as a kid, which led to Chen’s desire to serving the military. He Chen, as a young man, remembered the souring relations between China and the Soviet Union while his father explained the border clashes in 1969 to him. His father, working armor issues for the People's Liberation Army, facilitated new tank plans at one point that could match the Soviets, which eventually led to the development of the Type 69 Tank.
He Chen, even as a teenager, was mesmerized by the fact that by capturing, or stealing, another country’s technology and equipment, could give him an easy advantage. He learned that you could incorporate some of the stolen technologies into your own technologies, as his father did from capturing a Soviet T-62 tank. It was during the 1969 Sino-Soviet border conflict when the elder Chen and other Chinese forces were able to capture a Soviet T-62 tank. The stolen tank was inspected, and some of its gear and capabilities such as the Soviet Luna Infrared Searchlight System, were directly copied and installed into a new Chinese Type 69 Tank design. This lesson of illegally acquiring something that did not belong to him, stuck with the younger Chen. This young lesson of his eventually led up to acquiring the plans to build Devil Dragon.
Chen was mentored, groomed, and educated to be a four-star General, and was told by many senior leaders through his career he might be, or could be, the one. The lucky one, the blessed one, the chosen one, to lead the Chinese military into the future. It was just so unpredictable, though, to get to that senior level, that any slip up, or hint of a slip up, or even a perceived issue, could mean disaster for him. Thirty-four years of service would go down the drain because of a misperception in the Air Force, a leaked story in the news, leaked womanizing, or an actual event that happened on his watch. It was because of this drive, this determination, and the constant pursuit of rank and status, that this Devil Dragon project, engine fire or not, would never fail while he was in charge. Chen would find a way to be successful, or else.