Chapter 286: Flew Off Course, Even Struck a Bird!

"Wow!" exclamations rang out across the scene.

As the F-16 left the runway, it suddenly raised its nose, pointing straight to the sky, performing a high-angle-of-attack takeoff!

Professionals know that just after takeoff, the aircraft's speed is insufficient, lift on the wings is inadequate, and increasing the angle of attack further will cause it to drop directly.

Eastern Power's strongest Jian-6 has a thrust-to-weight ratio of only 0.98, while the F-16's can reach 1.2 during flight demonstrations, making even a vertical climb no problem!

Moreover, because there are leading-edge extensions on both sides of the nose that can generate vortices, the wings can maintain lift even at high angles of attack, so this maneuver can be performed easily.

Watching the aircraft climb rapidly, the Eastern Air Force leaders were stunned, never having seen such a maneuver, and they also knew that in air combat, if the opponent pulls up like that, our side cannot catch up!

With technological advancement, it's no longer an era where pilots can win just with courage! Our side also needs such advanced fighter jets!

In the eyes of countless people, a longing appeared.

James secretly chuckled, hum, while saying they don't want it, their bodies are honest—these three F-16s are just bait; if you want them later, you must agree to our Perry Plan, otherwise you'll have to spend a fortune in foreign exchange!

Amid the roar, the aircraft had completed its takeoff maneuver and climbed to an altitude of 500 meters, also flying out of everyone's sight.

An air force leader lowered his head to light a cigarette; according to prior experience, fighter jets usually make a turn in the air ahead and fly several kilometers out, which is common, giving him enough time to smoke half a cigarette.

Then… before the cigarette was even lit, he heard the aircraft's roar, and his face changed instantly.

"What's going on? Isn't the flight demonstration supposed to clear the airspace? Who else is flying?"

Flight demonstrations involve various high-maneuver actions; they are not steady, level flight, so if other aircraft are present in the airspace, a collision is easily possible.

Now… which hotheaded kid is doing this… wait a moment!

That sharp nose, that mouth-like fuselage air intake, those wings extending from both sides of the nose— isn't that the F-16 we just saw? This…

James wore a faint smile: "Gentlemen, when jet aircraft first appeared, maneuverability was poor, turning radius was ridiculously high, often several kilometers, but… that era is long past; our advanced third-generation aircraft have turn radii shortened to within one kilometer!"

The early F-14, which pursued high-altitude, high-speed performance, was even mocked as only capable of straight-line flight; but in later eras, the super-maneuverable flights at air shows could compress turn radii to under a hundred meters, and later, even a dagger-turn like a water droplet becomes possible.

Now, the leaders of the Eastern Air Force were shocked again.

Third-generation aircraft are a must; falling behind means getting beaten—this is an timeless truth!

Horizontal rolls, half-loop tumbles, powered turns, ascending rolls…

One after another, the maneuvers left the crowd dazzled.

"In the maneuver just performed, the load reached 8G, yet our pilots maintained normal operation—this is the brilliance of our aircraft design; did you notice the reclined angle of the seats in our bubble canopies?"

In James's lengthy introduction, Lin Lao felt a bit anxious, because if the aircraft didn't fly in that direction, our side wouldn't be able to tamper with it!

Fortunately, the next moment his eyes lit up—the F-16 fighter flew low toward the distant forest!

Inside the forest, everyone became excited.

"Quick, quick, it's coming right up!"

"Now counting down, three, two, one… release!"

Whoosh…

Several hundred sparrows took flight!

Inside the cockpit, Stokedale saw a dense flock suddenly flying in from the distance, and his heart leapt—what's going on?

Where did this flock of sparrows come from?

He instinctively pulled the stick, wanting to climb, but it was already too late; the next moment he heard a bang, and then the engine fire warning light on the instrument panel flashed on.

He hesitated not, drew his legs together, and pulled the ejection handle…

Bang! The canopy above flew up, and the next moment flames rose beneath his seat; the ejection seat carried him out of the cockpit.

In the regulations for U. S. pilots, there has never been a rule to protect the aircraft or ground personnel; whenever there is danger, parachuting to safety is the best option!

As for the rest… may God bless them, that's not something the pilots are responsible for blessing.

The grandstand.

"What's happening?"

"How did it eject all of a sudden?"

James was dumbfounded.

Just moments ago it was fine; I don't know why, but the fighter jet flew out of the performance airspace, then… the tail caught fire, and then the pilot ejected…

What on earth is going on?

We can't worry about that now!

"Mr. Lin, please immediately dispatch a rescue team to save our pilot, and if possible, retrieve our aircraft…"

"Hurry, fire trucks, ambulances, rush over!" Lao Lin issued the order.

Moments later, sirens sounded.

The Americans stared at each other, but at most they just watched the flames burning in the distant forest, crossed themselves on the chest; these people who came have no fire or rescue teams, so they won't undertake such tasks.

"Ah, it was still too hasty, not having familiarized ourselves with the airspace beforehand; just now, how did that fighter jet fly off course?" Lao Lin sighed again.

James's mood was somewhat bad; hearing Lao Lin's words, he didn't even think much: "Yeah, it flew off course; that area isn't the training airspace…"

Lao Lin felt moved, hehehe, you wouldn't know, but we nearby installed a special electromagnet; once energized, it alters the local magnetic field, causing the F-16's magnetic compass to give false headings!

Initially we didn't do this, because the pilots have high spatial awareness; we had to wait until the flight demonstration was nearly over, with prolonged ups and downs, before a misjudgment could occur—timing is crucial, and the operation of this electromagnet is controlled by Qin Miao!

Using an erroneous magnetic field to lure the opponent onto a wrong heading, then releasing birds to strike their aircraft… this whole procedure is carried out cleanly and decisively!

Now the aircraft has crashed in there, the flames are growing stronger; we don't know whether it's a pre-set fire pit or the aircraft itself burning.

Never mind, man proposes, heaven disposes!

Both feet on the ground, Stokedale breathed a sigh of relief; he hadn't been caught in a tree, and after ejection he just happened to leave that patch of forest; now, looking at the raging fire blazing in the woods, his feelings are mixed.

This… how did I crash? I actually flew off course? On the map, this area is clearly marked as having bird activity, myself…

Could my spatial sense be faulty?

In the distance, the sound of an ambulance rang out.