Chapter 29: The Dragon’s Anchorage at Wing’s End

At noon, the sun filtered through sparse clouds, casting a golden mantle over the aerospace engineering building at Yu Yuan University, lending the modern structure a radiant glow. After touring the classrooms and laboratories, Old Jia felt a surge of awe for technology and a profound sense of anticipation for the future. In the afternoon, Dr. Yu Ying personally drove his beloved Volvo XC60 SUV, whisking Old Jia straight to the Jiangcheng Optics Valley Low-Altitude Economy Industrial Park. This was the location of Dr. Yu’s team’s drone final assembly hangar. Their tilt-rotor drone, officially registered with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), was named the "Chenlong A6000." Tomorrow, the very first prototype of the Chenlong A6000 would fly to Zhuao Jinwan Airport to participate in the static aircraft display at the 15th Orient Airshow.

Settled into the spacious, comfortable aviation-grade seat of the vehicle, Old Jia looked at the scenery passing by and asked, "Have all the transit flight procedures for the trip to Zhuao been finalized?"

"Everything is set," Dr. Yu replied. "We received tremendous assistance from the Laoshan side; otherwise, relying solely on our own influence, it wouldn't have gone so smoothly."

"How have the test flights been going?" Old Jia continued.

"Overall, things have been smooth. We identified several minor issues, all of which have been rectified. Since receiving the Type Certificate (TC) from the CAAC on July 1st this year, we have been working tirelessly. We applied for the special flight permit, secured the temporary registration certificate and the certificate of nationality, and completed both the airworthiness inspections and the verification test flights. We’ve been conducting transit test flights around Jiangcheng for some time now, visiting several regional airports in the province—such as Jiangcheng Hannan, Shennongjia, Xiangyang Liuji, and Enshi Xujiaping—and all flight data has been perfectly normal," Yu Ying recounted with intimate familiarity.

"Is Enshi Xujiaping the furthest one? That’s over an hour each way, isn't it?" Old Jia asked.

"Yes, it’s about 70 minutes each way. We didn't land; we turned around immediately and flew continuously for about two and a half hours. We maintained an economical cruising speed of 450 km/h, covering nearly 1,200 kilometers. This was our longest flight to date, and everything performed perfectly," Dr. Yu answered proudly.

"Oh, that’s excellent. The straight-line distance from Jiangcheng to Zhuao is also about 1,200 kilometers. If you fly for three hours or more in one go, will there be any issues with the aircraft or the personnel?" Old Jia remained slightly concerned.

"There shouldn't be! With a full fuel load and no cargo, using a single-engine cruise, it can fly 4,000 kilometers. As for the personnel, we can rotate shifts. After all, Boeing and Airbus airliners have two pilots, don't they? We control it from the ground, so we can employ a tag-team strategy," Yu Ying said nonchalantly. Old Jia nodded, satisfied.

Outside the window, the beautiful landscape of lakes and mountains receded rapidly. Old Jia’s heart was filled with anticipation and excitement. About half an hour later, beside a shimmering lake, Old Jia followed Dr. Yu into a spacious hangar.

The moment he stepped through the hangar doors, Old Jia was struck by the sight before him. A drone over two stories tall stood imposingly, its body jet-black and polished to a shine, its massive frame occupying nearly half the hangar. Its two wings hung downward like a raptor poised to strike, and the two dark engines emitted a palpable sense of power. The fuselage’s lines were sleek and muscular, the metallic luster gleaming under the lights—it looked less like a machine and more like a work of art, or perhaps a formidable combat mecha. Old Jia paced slowly around the drone, his steps cautious, as if afraid to disturb the slumbering giant.

As Dr. Yu prepared to explain the aircraft's various performance specifications in detail, Old Jia rattled them off from memory with ease: "Takeoff weight of 6 tons, maximum payload of 2 tons, maximum endurance of 7 hours, service ceiling of 7,000 meters, maximum range of 4,000 kilometers, cruising speed of 550 km/h, powered by two 1,100-horsepower Lycoming T53 turboshaft engines."

Although Old Jia knew the performance data by heart, standing before this behemoth still stirred an indescribable impulse within him. When something legendary finally manifests before your eyes, there is always a sense of surrealism, as if bridging two different worlds.

On a rolling ladder beside the aircraft, Old Jia spotted Long Wuyang, who was busy with several classmates inspecting something on the wing. Seeing Old Jia, Long Wuyang greeted him happily, "Uncle, you're here!"

"Indeed, I had to come see this precious treasure of yours. I’ve heard so much about it, but now I’m finally seeing it in the flesh—this guy is just too cool," Old Jia exclaimed, before reminding Long Wuyang to be careful. "Hey, hey, watch yourself, don't fall."

"It's fine, this isn't even that high," Long Wuyang leaped to the ground, took off his work gloves, and shook Old Jia’s hand firmly.

After graduating, Old Jia had worked as a technician in a machinery factory. Seeing the gloves and the electromechanical tools, a familiar feeling welled up within him. He walked over to the workbench, where various electric assembly tools were neatly arranged. Each tool was labeled with parameters and model numbers. Old Jia nodded with satisfaction, turning to Dr. Yu and Long Wuyang. "You’ve set this place up quite well; it actually looks like a proper final assembly workshop."

"What do you mean 'looks like'? This was designed and organized strictly according to ISO 9001 standards, and every process step requires inspection and registration by the CAAC. Otherwise, this aircraft wouldn't have earned its TC, and it wouldn't be allowed to fly," Dr. Yu said solemnly.

"That’s exactly how it should be. If something flying overhead falls, what then? You aircraft builders have to be even more rigorous than car manufacturers," Old Jia said with equal gravity. "There isn't room for even the slightest bit of carelessness in the manufacturing process!"

"These gentlemen here are veteran experts we hired from the AVIC 605 Research Institute," Long Wuyang said, pointing to several older men with graying hair. "They helped assemble the AG600 and have rich experience in aircraft assembly; they know every detail of assembly processes and technology inside and out."

"Isn't that poaching talent from our Jingchu City?" Old Jia joked, while warmly shaking the hands of the veteran technicians. "Thank you all so much for coming to Jiangcheng Optics Valley to provide technical services for this aircraft. Having you here makes me feel much more at ease; otherwise, looking at this group of 'wet-behind-the-ears' youngsters building a plane, I’d be truly worried. You really need to be here to hold the fort."

One of the men, Master Wang, smiled at Old Jia. "Oh, we’re just here to provide guidance. These kids are truly hardworking and capable. Their theoretical foundation is solid, they understand things as soon as you explain them, and crucially, they have sharp minds. They use computer-aided design to guide the assembly process, and these electric tools—honestly, we’ve never even used such technology and tools ourselves."

"Auxiliary tools and designs are necessary, but in the end, you still need human oversight for every detail and every process step. You have to rely on human inspection," Old Jia said. "After all, this is the first prototype; there are bound to be many unforeseen problems that can only be solved by human intuition. There are no shortcuts in this regard."

"Mr. Jia, have you worked in aircraft manufacturing or maintenance? How are you so knowledgeable?" Master Wang asked in surprise.

Old Jia lowered his head sheepishly. "Oh, I don't have that skill; I can't build planes. But when I was interning at the Second Automotive Works in Shiyan, I worked on the assembly line for Dongfeng military trucks. In the early 90s, it was quite an accomplishment for China to be able to build its own cars well. But whether it’s cars or planes, the synergy between automation technology and manual operation is the key to improving efficiency and precision."

"Well said!" Dr. Yu led a round of applause. He looked around at the many students who had gathered and said with passion, "We are all in the field of unmanned equipment. In modern engineering, automated systems use preset programs and algorithms to perform repetitive, high-precision tasks, while human effort plays an irreplaceable role in complex judgment, innovative design, and emergency response. The combination of the two allows engineering projects to advance more efficiently while ensuring flexibility and adaptability in the face of non-standardized issues. Through human-machine collaboration, we achieve complementary advantages, improve quality and safety, and push engineering technology to higher levels."

Applause erupted once more, mingling with the scent of aviation kerosene in the hangar—the smell of technology, and the cheers of dreams realized.