Yes, if it is the first word, it should be the Tomcat. This idea is unchanged in Nathan’s mind. When the Tomcat spreads its wings and when the nose pierces the sonic cloud, this scene has always been the same. What makes Nathan most enamoured.
Now, black is sci-fi enough, but it is not sensitive enough, especially when Nathan wears a flying helmet, he feels more aggrieved.
With the increase in altitude and speed, the environment that the Blackbird faces becomes more severe. It can be said that it has even risen from the aviation field to the aerospace field, and the flight suits they wear are almost small space suits.
The whole clothes can be pressurized. If a cabin loses pressure, the pressure in the clothes can ensure that people's blood will not boil due to low air pressure. At the same time, the helmet is also fully enclosed.
After putting on the helmet, there was only an extremely narrow field of vision in front of him, so that Nathan had to be extremely careful before he could step on the gangway and enter the cockpit.
For Nathan, there is no need to do anything now. The detection equipment in front does not need to be controlled by Nathan, so he can be a passenger quietly.
Graham in the front cabin began to prepare for the flight. This flight will not take too long, and there is no need to refuel in the air, as long as the sky is turned around, he will come down.
"Lone Ranger, do you need a plastic bag?" Graham asked.
"No need." Nathan said glumly, this guy actually took this opportunity to sarcastic himself.
If you are flying for the first time, you may feel dizzy or even vomit when you reach the sky, but if you vomit in the cockpit, you will be in trouble.
There is an unwritten rule, whoever vomits, whoever cleans up, the ground crew will not care, even if you are a veteran general, so Graham asked Nathan, if necessary, to prepare in advance to save trouble in the sky.
I will get airsick? What a joke! Nathan rejected the suggestion.
"Okay, now, ready to start the engine."
At this time, the outside hangar door has been slowly opened. For Blackbird, it is no problem to start in the hangar. After that, it can slide out and aim at the runway to take off.
The power car on the ground drove to one side, and amid a rumbling sound, the engines on both sides were started one after the other.
Nathan took a breath. Well, this flight is about to begin. The last time I was a passenger, or when I just crossed over, I was forced to pilot the passenger plane as a fighter plane. This time, I hope there will be no accidents.
Nathan doesn't like the feeling of being a passenger. He prefers to fly by himself. He doesn't like being passive.
When the cockpit lid was closed, the field of vision in the rear cabin became even smaller, and Nathan kept turning his head to watch the scenery on both sides change.
Aligned to the runway, called the tower, and finally got the signal to take off.
Like other planes taking off, Graham opened the afterburner, and the engines on both sides exploded with a maximum thrust of 151 kilonewtons, propelling the more than 60-ton Blackbird reconnaissance plane, and began to accelerate on the runway.
Yes, although the engine is very powerful, its own weight is larger. On the ground, it can weigh up to 78 tons, which is almost equivalent to the C-130 transport aircraft.
However, under normal circumstances, in order to reduce engine loss and make takeoff easier, it rarely takes off under the maximum weight condition, most of which are half-loaded. After takeoff, find a tanker, fill up the air in the air, and then enter Supersonic state.
Now, the weight of 60 tons is not light anymore. The Blackbird is accelerating and accelerating on the runway. This feeling of pushing back is far from being compared with launching on an aircraft carrier. Nathan is even thinking about how to go back. To be sarcasm about the Blackbird, finally, the fuselage lightened, and the Blackbird had already left the runway.
At this time, as the speed increased, the backs on both sides of the fuselage also began to generate lift, and the black bird continued to climb upward.
"The rate of climb is not high." Nathan finally said from the back, making Graham in front of him so angry that he almost vomited blood. A reconnaissance plane, what rate of climb
Then, behind Nathan continued: "Fortunately, it has not been changed to a fighter jet. It is different from the MiG-25. By the way, is this the only place for the Blackbird's base?"
"This is confidential." Graham said.
"Well, it seems that in this place, during the Vietnam War, Blackbird provided us with a lot of information. Every time you actually crossed half of the earth, it was really hard!" Nathan continued.
Being a passenger is really boring. If you don’t talk a few more words, it will be suffocated. Nathan looks at the dark sky in front from the window on the narrow helmet. It is really boring.
Hearing Nathan's words, Graham sighed in his heart, and finally said something human.
During the Vietnam War, their base here was the busiest. Almost every two days, there was a long-distance flight mission. From here, they crossed half of the earth to conduct surveillance over Vietnam.
Fortunately, almost all of them cruise at 3 times the speed of sound. Otherwise, the flight time of more than ten hours would be unbearable.
Each flight is accompanied by several air refueling. They refuel, climb, cruise at supersonic speed, and then come down to refuel, repeating this process continuously.
It can only fly for one and a half hours each time and can fly a terrible distance of four thousand kilometers.
There are only more than 30 Blackbirds in total, but there are nearly 60 specialized aerial tankers that have been improved to serve Blackbirds.
Now, the damn Vietnam War is finally over. The task of one's own side is also greatly reduced, otherwise, how could you take passengers like Nathan around in the sky
"Attention, it's about to enter supersonic speed." Graham continued.
In the dark sky, you can’t see the magnificent supersonic speed, especially when Nathan is still in the back seat, but there is no vibration or feeling. The black bird just loosens suddenly, as if there is something blocking in front. As it disappeared, the black bird had left the sound behind.
After all, the Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft was designed with an aerodynamic layout optimized for supersonic speeds. Now, when the speed of sound exceeds the speed of sound, the Blackbird is more relaxed and accelerates while continuing to climb.
When the speed reached Mach 1.6, the intake cones on both sides, under the control of the computer, began to gradually retreat. The roar of the engine gradually weakened, and the flame of the tail nozzle gradually became darker.
Although the surroundings were all black, the sky above his head became brighter and brighter. Suddenly, Nathan looked very hard and saw an arc-shaped silhouette appearing in the distance. It was the edge of the earth!
The starry sky above the head is no longer bright and has lost the scattering of the atmosphere. Only when you look directly at the star can you see it glowing. This is almost an experience like entering space. (End of this chapter)