"Dedicated to aviation, not for a while, but for a lifetime"
Not long ago, at the 13th China Air Show, "August 1st Medal" winner and "hero test pilot" Li Zhonghua was a guest at the first "Zhuhai Equipment Forum" organized by the Military Equipment Development Department, telling the story of flight test and the knowledge of popular science flight test.
Some people say that the test pilot is "the person closest to death in peacetime."
During his 34-year military career, Li Zhonghua, who had successfully dealt with several major air dangers for more than 20 times in distress, has forged an inseparable relationship with the blue sky.
In July 1983, Li Zhonghua graduated from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, just in time for the Air Force to select pilots from local universities. He signed up and passed the selection smoothly.
In 1989, the Air Force selected a test pilot from the double-bachelor pilots, and he was selected again, starting a life of test flight where risks and excitement coexist.
In order to systematically learn the professional knowledge of flight test, Li Zhonghua and his comrades went to the Russian National Test Pilot School three times in the 1990s.
Li Zhonghua only sleeps for five or six hours a day, just to speed up the progress of his studies, and finally took four months to complete the courses that can be completed by test pilots from other countries in one year, becoming one of the few test pilots in my country who have obtained the international test pilot level certificate. one.
Li Zhonghua said frankly that he was born at the right time to catch up with the rapid development of my country’s national defense aviation industry after the reform and opening up. He witnessed the gradual professionalization of the test pilot team, and participated in the whole process of the three-generation aircraft represented by the J-10 with other team members. Test flights for most important subjects.
On December 1, 2003, the last flight test subject before the J-10 was finalized, the low altitude and high speed test will be organized soon.
The so-called low-altitude and high-speed flight is to evaluate the structural strength and flutter characteristics of the aircraft under the condition of low altitude and aerodynamic load limit.
The test flight of this subject has the highest degree of difficulty and the greatest risk, because once the control is not good, the aircraft will disintegrate in the air.
In the test flight of this subject abroad, dozens of planes were dropped and dozens of pilots were sacrificed.
For Li Zhonghua, this is another journey to face the "God of Death".
He calmly picked up his flight gear, took a deep breath, and walked towards the J-10 accompanied by the crew.
At an altitude of 12,000 meters, Li Zhonghua piloted the plane and began to dive down. Li Zhonghua watched the instrument intently, sweat involuntarily coming out of his head.
Once the acceleration exceeds the critical point of the aircraft design, the aircraft is likely to disintegrate in the air, and there is no chance of escape.
But it must be accelerated to test the ultimate performance of the J-10.
Finally, the pointer of the J-10 speedometer pointed to a speed of 1,450 kilometers per hour, reaching the design speed.
When Li Zhonghua stopped his dive, the plane reached a speed of 1453 kilometers per hour, setting a record for the fastest flight of the J-10.
With this bravery and perseverance, during the J-10 test flight, Li Zhonghua set a number of domestic records such as the J-10's maximum flight table speed, maximum dynamic ceiling, maximum overload value, and maximum angle of attack, and set a hand in hand with his comrades." The miracle of the third-generation aircraft flying test zero crashes.
In 2017, Li Zhonghua retired honorably.
He rejected many invitations from companies and chose to carry out aviation science education and track the latest development of drones as a member of the Science Popularization Committee of the Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
"Dedicated to aviation is not for a while, but for a lifetime." Li Zhonghua said firmly.
(Reporter Zhang Wen)