990: Chapter 975 Inconsistent Standards 990: Chapter 975 Inconsistent Standards Helicopters were too important in Gao Yang’s plans, so he could put everything else aside, but he had to take a look at the aircraft first.
The airport runway was lined with plenty of fighter jets; upon a glance, Gao Yang saw they were mostly MiG jets, but the most frequently taking off and landing was the MiG-27.
In the time since his arrival, there had already been four takeoffs and landings.
A large group bustled away from the runway, passing behind the rows of fighter jets parked on both sides of the runway.
After passing between two hangars, they came upon a vast helicopter apron.
Upon reaching the apron, in a corner near the airport control tower, Gilanor pointed to three helicopters and said, “Major, those are the aircraft prepared for you.”
Two Mi-24 Hind attack/transport helicopters and one Mi-8 Hip transport helicopter—Gao Yang already knew what they would get; the news didn’t surprise him.
Syria was almost entirely equipped with Russian-made weapons, and when it came to helicopters they could provide, the selection was indeed lackluster.
Besides those two types, Gao Yang didn’t expect Syria to offer any other helicopters.
From various angles, one could see the significance Syria placed on this cooperation.
Although the airport’s most senior officer didn’t show up, sending only a lieutenant to meet them, the vicinity of the three helicopters was swarming with people—doubtlessly the crew members and specially arranged ground staff.
Next to the two Mi-24 helicopters stood two pilots each, while three people stood beside the Mi-8 since its crew included three members—a pilot, co-pilot, and an onboard mechanic.
The fact that the Mi-8’s performance paled in comparison to the Black Hawk was one thing; the most annoying part was that its crew had to consist of three people.
The onboard mechanic was indispensable; you could even remove a pilot, but not the mechanic.
For Gao, while pilots were easy to find, onboard mechanics specialized for the Mi-8 were another story—that was truly difficult to come by.
Gao had been worried.
He wondered whether the pilots trained in the West, like those from Israel and Eileen, would be capable of flying Russian aircraft, given that the cockpit, control systems, instruments, etc., were all different from the planes they had previously flown.
Fortunately, though Israel didn’t operate Russian helicopters, their training included how to fly Russian aircraft.
After several wars, the Russian weapons captured by Israel were stored for equipping opposing forces or kept just in case.
As a result, Jacklan and the veteran pilots had actually practiced with these, and while they might not be very familiar, they wouldn’t be entirely alien either—after some adaptation, they would be able to fly them.
Of course, the best solution was to find pilots from Russia, for they were the most familiar with Russian aircraft.
Unfortunately, no good pilots had been found yet, and Gao couldn’t trust Syrian pilots given their poor track record and an average of only thirty flight hours a year.
Several people approached the aircraft.
Jacklan and Eileen, who operated transport planes, headed straight to the transport helicopter, while the four veteran pilots headed directly to the Mi-24s.
After arriving next to an Mi-24 helicopter, Gao stroked the twin-barreled 23mm cannon mounted on the nose of the craft and nodded, “Is this an Mi-24E model?”
Gilanor immediately responded, “Yes, sir, both are Mi-24E models.”
Both helicopters had short wings equipped with 57mm rocket pods, a pair of AT-6 Anti-tank missiles, and a pair of 80mm rocket pods, with a twin-barreled 23mm cannon on the nose—a formidable firepower.
Gao nodded in satisfaction, as Syria had brought out their best equipment from the bottom of the box.
It was then that Gao noticed several much smaller helicopters parked at a distance on the apron.
He pointed at the small aircraft and inquired, “Are those Gazelles?”
Gilanor instantly replied, “Yes, sir, SA-342L Gazelle helicopters.”
Gao thought for a moment and said, “I didn’t know you had Gazelles.
Could you provide us with one Gazelle for some modifications?
I want to mount a 12.7 mm machine gun on the rear seat space.
Is that possible?”
If Glolov was to join the assault operations, his skills would be wasted.
Gao didn’t want the Machine Gun Artist to sit in an Mi-24 and just spectate, nor did he want Glolov to ride in an Mi-8 with a machine gun as an assaulter.
What suited Glolov was a small and nimble helicopter, offering an excellent vantage point in the air for flexible and effective fire suppression.
Gao made a new request, and Gilanor immediately responded, “Sir, I will report your request to my superiors.”
Gao nodded, glanced at the pilots standing upright beside the helicopter, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately said, “Lieutenant, we have our own pilots.
As a unit, we will use our own pilots, but I need you to provide an onboard mechanic for the Mi-8.”
Gilanor said gravely, “If you can guarantee that your pilots are sufficiently capable, that will not be a problem, sir.”
Gao nodded with a smile and said, “You don’t have to worry about their capabilities; I have great confidence in them.
I appreciate your cooperation, lieutenant.
Can we let our pilots check the mechanical condition now?”
Gilanor promptly responded, “Of course, anytime.”
Gao snapped his fingers and addressed Eileen and Jacklan, along with the other pilots, “You know what to check, right?”
Jacklan laughed heartily and said, “Of course, of course, boss.
Hey, beautiful, shall we go in and check the instruments first?”
Meanwhile, the four old pilots from Israel huddled together, and the eldest among them pointed to a helicopter behind them and declared, “We’ll take number one.”
The pilot sitting across from him immediately said, “No!
We want number one!”
“We’re the best.”
“Pfft!”
“How do we compare, then?”
“Let’s compete in flying, have a fight, or, most peacefully, toss a coin.”
“Alright, toss a coin.
Do you have one?”
“No, then let’s see who has more flight hours.”
“I’ve flown five types of aircraft, for thirty-two years, more than five thousand two hundred flight hours!”
“Oh, not bad, kid, but I’ve flown all types of aircraft for thirty-five years, more than six thousand five hundred flight hours.”
Four old pilots huddled together, muttering for a while, and then one elder with graying hair, looking very pleased with himself, headed towards the newly painted number one helicopter, while another pair reluctantly made their way to the number two aircraft.
Gao Yang was astonished; he too had flown helicopters, just one civilian model, with twenty hours of accompanied flight experience and twenty hours of solo flight experience—forty hours in total, the bare minimum required for a flying license in America.
Checking an airplane isn’t like checking a car; you can’t just pop the hood.
It’s much more complicated.
Three pairs of people boarded their respective aircraft, entering the cockpit to check the instruments and then everyone, including Gao Yang, stepped back as the engines started, the rotors began spinning on the ground, and a brief engine test was performed.
After that, the pilots, not minding the hassle, exited the cockpit again to closely inspect every openable hatch and such with the ground crew’s assistance.
After the inspection, the Israeli pilot, who was not the eldest but had the most flight hours, approached Gao Yang with a frown and said, “The maintenance on my helicopter is shit!
I refuse to fly.
Did you hear that engine?
My eighty-plus-year-old mother is in better shape than this thing by a long shot!”
Everyone who could communicate with Gao Yang spoke English.
Upon hearing this, Gilanor became unhappy.
He immediately frowned and said, “Sir, if you’re too scared to fly, we’ve got plenty of pilots!”
“Too scared to fly?
Ha, that’s a joke!
I’m not a mechanic, and I don’t know the Mi-17 engine’s overhaul intervals.
But tell me, do you perform maintenance and care according to the Russian manual?
Do you?”
Gilanor frowned, but he did not reply.
Gao Yang inwardly cursed—he wasn’t worried about the conflict, but his concern had been confirmed; the maintenance level of the Syrian aircraft was indeed as terrible as he had heard, maybe even worse.
Before coming to Syria, Gao Yang had many discussions with Jihad, who assured him their aircraft were definitely fine.
Unfortunately, Jihad’s and Gao Yang’s standards of reliability weren’t aligned, and the most troubling part was that Gao Yang, inexperienced, thought they were on the same page regarding the aircraft’s reliability and safety.
Right then, Eileen and Jacklan also disembarked from the aircraft.
With life-and-death matters at stake, there was no room for ambiguity, and certainly no room to hold back for the sake of saving face.
Eileen frowned tightly and shook her head at Gao Yang, “Don’t even need to open it up to look, the maintenance is just horrible.”
Gao Yang sighed helplessly and then said to Gilanor, “Lieutenant, could you have your best ground crew and mechanics come over?”
Gilanor seemed like he wanted to say something but eventually replied with a mix of sorrow and anger, “They’re all here.”
Gao Yang understood Gilanor’s feelings—a sense of humiliation likely accompanied his skills being scrutinized and found lacking by foreigners.
As a military man, it was hardly easy to take.
But facts were facts.
Gilanor was a technical expert, and he should be aware of what the reality was.
And the reality was Gao Yang and the others weren’t wrong.
Gao Yang was feeling rather helpless when the old pilot said, “I’m not afraid of being shot down by missiles or anti-aircraft guns in the sky, but I cannot accept flying a faulty aircraft.
Being shot down is my fault, but I can’t stand it if a mechanical failure brings me down.
If you want me to fly these aircraft, then you must conduct the necessary inspections—thorough, meticulous, systematic—to ensure there are no issues.
So either give me an excellent mechanic responsible for my aircraft, or I’m out.”
Eileen looked troubled and said, “Sir, these planes really aren’t up to par.
Maybe you could fly them ten times or a hundred times without an incident, but it’s also possible that they could crash on the first flight.
It’s just not guaranteed.”
Gao Yang scratched his head and then, with a wave of his hand, said, “Alright, we still have time, not all personnel have arrived.
Give me three days, and I’ll find you an excellent mechanic to ensure your planes are safe.” (To be continued.
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