Poja Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 (edited) KIAS 2024 Welcome to the 2024 Krapek International Air Show, also known as KIAS 2024. Held at Krapek Air Base in Krapek, Liaria, this air show is the largest in the Konfederacija Poja, attracting approximately 175,000 spectators over its 3-day period. KIAS 2024 is always held on the second weekend in May and so this year, please join us from Friday, 10 May to Sunday 12, May for this auspicious extravaganza. When KIAS was first held in 1976, it was a small air show held on 8 May only. There was no international participation and the air show was themed as a celebration to the survival of the confederation in the wake of the Chernarussian Conflict (1968 - 1974). It remained small through the 1980s and only expanded to two days in 1993 so as to allow the Pojački company Zubareva-Bogolyubova Design Bureau to debut the ZuB-17 Ter'er to the wurld, the same year that it entered service with the Pojački National Air Force. International partners were invited every year thereafter and the air show remained at two days through the 1990s and into the 2000s featuring demonstrations by foreign flight demonstration squadrons in addition to the PNAF Grey Wolves, the official demonstration team of the Pojački National Military. Beginning in 2005, a third day was added to the air show as participation grew by leaps and bounds. In 2016, the air show surpassed 150,000 spectators for the first time and it has averaged around 175,000 a year since 2018. KIAS 2024 promises to be another spectacular year with the debut of the newest variant of the Ter'er, the ZuB-17VM3 or, as it known domestically, the L-17E. Equipped with thrust vectoring, a larger wing, and a more powerful engine, the ZuB-17VM3 promises to put on an amazing solo show, which will be performed by Major Dražen "Sparrow" Ivanović, among many other exciting displays. So please, come on down to Krapek Air Base for the show and get your tickets today, they sell like hotcakes! How It'll Work So, how's this going to work? Well it is simple, if your nation and Poja have normal, diplomatic relations and we don't have any tensions between us, assume you've been invited to participate whether with a demonstration or just bringing some static displays, that is up to you to decide. For everyone else, you probably have to enjoy it from the sidelines (bring ear protection it's going to be loud). Basically you can just post what you want - please include date and time so we can organize these all into a program of sorts - and I will link your post in order of happening so that someone can click them all in sequence and "watch the air show." Cool huh? The only caveat is that there are two reserved time slots. The first is for the Ter'er-E demo (14:00 on 11 May) and the PNAF Grey Wolves demo (15:00 on 12 May). Each time slot will be 1 hour because it just makes it easier for scheduling and it allows for start-up, taxi, take-off, demonstration, landing, and setup for the next demo. Let's keep it simple. Sunrise will be at around 04:08 each morning and sunset will be around 19:50 each day. The air show will begin at 10:00 and end at 18:00 except on Sunday, 12 May, which will end after the PNAF Grey Wolves complete their demo. So that gives a total of twenty-two slots available, of which I have reserved two for myself giving everyone a total of twenty available slots. Bring your official flight demonstration team, a solo demonstration team, a private solo, whatever you desire. There won't be a need to do arrival posts or any sort of "clearance" posts, assume everything has been worked out in the back end. We're just here for the show! Demonstrations Friday, 10 May 10:00: 11:00: 12:00: 13:00: 14:00: 15:00: 16:00: 17:00: Saturday, 11 May 10:00: 11:00: 12:00: 13:00: 14:00: Ter'er Demonstration Team 15:00: 16:00: 17:00: Sunday, 12 May 10:00: 11:00: 12:00: 13:00: 14:00: 15:00: PNAF Grey Wolves Spectator Posts • • • † • • • Edited July 31 by Poja (see edit history) 4 Link to comment
Poja Posted July 31 Author Share Posted July 31 • • • † • • • Saturday, 11 May 2024 | 13:30 hrs [UTC-3] Liaria, Krapek | Krapek Air Base Ratko Vujić was just eleven years old and for as many years as he could remember being alive, aircraft were his passion. He was a kid who knew, without doubt, that he wanted to be a pilot, and more specifically, a fighter pilot. All day at school he doodled jets in his notebooks and textbooks. At night, he voraciously read everything there was to read about them and played every video game that was out there from the most basic of flying games to the most complicated of study sims, constantly committing and recommitting checklists, procedures, key combinations, everything to memory. When he went to bed at night, jets dominated his dreams and so it went day-in and day-out for the eleven-year-old Ratko. Of course, all of this had been encouraged by not only the kid's parents but his grandparents as well, of whom his grandfather was the famous Aca Vujić. Aca wasn't necessarily a common, household name but throughout the circles of aviators, he was a legend. Aca flew in ground attack sorties Chernarus in his Fishbed, had been shot at by insurgents with assault rifles and even shoulder-fired missiles, and he was considered the most feared instructor in the PNAF in the years afterwards. He could fly both the Fishbed and the Fitter and had been a leading proponent of upgrading the latter to handle "smart weaponry" in the form of laser-guided bombs. He had a long and storied career that came to an abrupt end in 2000 when he was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disorder, forcing him into glasses and with that went his flying status. At the age of just fifty-four, he still had a good many years in him and the PNAF agreed, offering him a commanding role in the training school but flying a desk was worse than anything Aca could have imagined and so he retired. It would be another thirteen years before Ratko was born, the youngest of his nine grandchildren but something about Ratko connected the most with Aca. His other grandchildren loved their grandfather of course but not in the way Ratko did. Aca could tell stories until sunup and Ratko wouldn't dare fall asleep, even if he was barely awake to begin with, so enraptured was he with each and every word. Of course, it helped that Aca lived but a few kilometers from Krapek Air Base and so, whenever a chance arose, Ratko found a reason to be with his grandfather, watching from their yard as training jets soar overhead with new groups of pilots learned the art of flying. "One day that'll be me," Ratko persistently proclaimed to anyone within earshot. For his eleven years of life that was the closest he could get to an aircraft, looking up in the skies at the planes soaring overhead or sitting on the side of the road with his grandfather watching them take off but this year was different. For his birthday, Ratko was to be treated as a VIP at the largest air show in Poja, the Krapek International Air Show, or KIAS, a play on the aviation term "knots indicated airspeed." Drawing over 175,000 people over three days, it was one of the largest air shows in the wurld and KIAS 2024 promised to be especially memorable, not just for Ratko but for everyone. Getting an excuse to skip school on 10 May, he and his father traveled the 190 kilometers from their home to Krapek the evening before. Then, bright and early, all three were awake, three generations of Vujić's. Of course, Ratko's father hadn't followed his father into the air force but rather settled for a job in IT, which paid much better of course but - in Aca's words - "Carried less excitement than watching oil drip onto to the tarmac in a rainstorm." Despite this, Aca didn't look down upon his son's profession, they were just two very different people, one driven by adrenaline, the other abhorring it. Ratko had clearly inherited everything his father had not. The first day had been eventful and at 10:00, when the festivities began, Ratko, his father, and his grandfather were seated in the VIP area just off the runway watching demonstration after demonstration. Of course, for Aca, this was a homecoming. Showered with attention as a bit of a celebrity, he made sure to bestow just as much onto his family and especially made sure to make Ratko the center of attention. He was a proud grandfather. One day that'll be me, the younger Vujić thought to himself over and over again as he watched fighter jets, cargo planes, acrobatic teams, classic planes, and everything in between dazzle the crowd. In between the demonstrations, they walked through the static displays and the next morning they were back again. The second day carried with it something more significant, something major, the first ever demonstration of the ZuB-17VM3 Ter'er-E, the PNAF's newest aircraft. A major modification of the existing Ter'er, the L-13E Ter'er, as it was officially designated, was a radical redesign of the aircraft featuring a bigger wing, the newest avionics and ordnance, and most importantly, a new thrust-vectoring engine that would enable it to perform entirely new types of acrobatic maneuvers. The armchair generals of the internet had been losing their collective minds about the new L-13E and on this very day it would debut to the public, proving said generals right or embarrassing them in their insular communities where a litany of excuses were always ready to explain away anything. Shortly before 13:30, young Ratko, his father, and his grandfather all returned to their VIP seating area. It was center stage, so to speak, with the center of the runway dead ahead. The announcer's booth was only a few meters away and tents provided shade for the sun, comfortable seating, and its own food and beverage supplies. Of course, for the average person, those tickets were beyond expensive since they had to be bought in a package deal for all three days but for Aca, who pulled some strings, they were on the house. To sweeten the deal, those packages also came with "daily swag bags" full of free merchandise, some even useful like ear plugs, sun visors, and so on and so forth. Ratko was sporting some of that swag right now, a white T-shirt with a wire frame drawing of the Ter'er on the front along some basic specs in a stat bloc while, on the back, there was a replication of the Ter'er Demo Team patch. Sitting in their tent with an unhindered view of the flight line, Ratko strained to look across to the other side of the airfield where the Ter'er-E was undergoing preflight checks. "Can I have the binoculars?" He asked and his father handed them over wordlessly as he sipped on a cold beer. Bigger than Ratko's head and made of pure metal, he struggled to hold them and struggled even more to see through both lenses at the same time but he managed because if he did, he could get a glimpse of the aircraft being prepared. He succeeded and to his amazement, there it was, the L-13E Ter'er, the country's next generation of fighter aircraft. "I see it! I see it!" He proclaimed and handed the binoculars over to his grandfather, whose hand had come out to request them. Of course, Aca had a significantly easier time with them. "There it is," he said from behind the lenses, "looks like she'll be ready to go in a few minutes. Better have your earmuffs ready." Ratko reached into his drawstring bag and pulled them out, a pair of giant black earmuffs with red cushions. They featured noise cancellation and were guaranteed to reduce noise by at least 37 decibels. When he put them around his neck, their massive size slightly hindered his ability to turn his head. "Can I see?" Aca handed back the binoculars and Ratko looked back to the L-13E across the airfield. It was painted in the air force's classic livery, the one sported by the country's Fishbed and Fitter aircraft for decades, a light gray coloring with the country's flag in a thin stripe across the top of the tail. Only there was no flag here, dominating the tail was the face of a rat terrier dog in white, brown, and black, its jaws open ready to strike at any vermin that crossed its path. It was the perfect image for the aircraft, which had been named the Ter'er for good reason. The terrier had originally been bred to hunt vermin and the rat terrier was popular within the Konfederacija Poja so much so that it was instantly recognizable to almost anyone. The Ter'er itself was small, light, nimble, and designed "to hunt vermin," whether in the skies or on the ground. "Wow!" Ratko was in complete awe of what he was seeing. Unable to take his eyes off the aircraft, he nearly zoned out entirely, missing the fact that his grandfather was talking to him for several seconds. "I see the pilot!" He said as he watched a man in a flight suit, carrying a flight helmet appear and begin to go around the aircraft. "He's doing the walkaround." Aca closed his eyes, imagining the thousands of times he did that himself with his Fishbed. People lingered around, which included a camera crew filming everything. Behind the pilot came the crew chief, sealing up all of the access panels behind the pilot, the assistant crew chief coming behind him, double checking everything. Ratko narrated the entire thing. "He's climbing inside!" He said as the pilot, finally strapped into his harness, handed off his helmet, stood straight in front of his crew chief and assistant crew chief, rendered a salute, which was returned, and then "pounded fists." He climbed up the ladder and into the cockpit, strapping himself in while his crew chief handed up the helmet and then pulled away the ladder. This was part of the show only it wasn't for the crowd, it was for the filming. Everything was done with military precision. "Here we go!" The film crew was getting it all in 4K footage, which would eventually be broadcast all over the armed forces networks and social media putting together an excellent reel for the newest fighter plane, perhaps to help market the plane too. The crew chiefs took their stations around the aircraft, their own ear protection on while the pilot went through getting himself situated until finally, though Ratko couldn't see it, he flipped some switches, and the afterburning turbofan engine sprung to life, the spin up echoing across the airfield. "It's starting! It's starting!" Ratko was practically jumping out of his seat. "And here we go folks, introducing Major Raško 'Scarecrow' Jocić who will be flying the Ter'er Demo this afternoon," the narrator came over the loudspeakers. Ratko put a single, wireless headphone into his ear to hear the announcer as he watched the aircraft. The engine had spooled up to idle and the pilot was still going through checks. The crew chief and assistant crew chief continued to walk around the aircraft, though they stayed away from the tailpipe, checking and rechecking everything until the pilot went through the flight control surfaces check. Ratko watched as the aircraft's control surfaces moved through their entire ranges of motion. The pilot ran up the engine, sending a roaring over the airfield but the plane never budged thanks to the wheel chocks. Ratko watched as the crew chief gave a thumbs up and the pilot throttled back to idle. "Scarecrow and the entire Ter'er Demonstration Team welcome you to K-I-A-S 2024. This afternoon, we're proud to debut, for the first time ever to the public, the brand-new L-13E Ter'er multirole, four-and-a-half-generation fighter, the PNAF's newest, baddest, and most capable jet fighter. A radical redesign of our existing fighter, the L-13E offers thrust-vectoring, Mach 2 performance, and enough agility to dogfight its way out of the hairiest of situations." The narrator was the team's superintendent, Vodnik I Klase Boban Gavrilović. The entire team consisted of nine men, including Scarecrow, who was their commander, a position normally held by a kapetan but with the L-13E being such a brand-new aircraft, the responsibility fell to a major for this particular air show season. "We've got a great show for you this afternoon showcasing the capabilities of the L-13E so get yourselves a great spot and we'll be back to you in just a few minutes." Ratko watched from afar, waiting patiently on the edge of his seat until finally the moment came. What was maybe four minutes felt like four hours. The bright, yellow wheel chocks were yanked away and the two crew chiefs took up a position to the right of the aircraft, standing side by side just beyond its nose. One gave a hand signal and the L-13E's engine spun up just enough that it began to roll. Ratko's view was blocked but both would render a salute to the pilot and then crouch down as the L-13E turned left and towards the runway, blasting them with its jetwash. "It's rolling!" Ratko screamed. "Earmuffs Ratko," his father said and Ratko put down the massive binoculars in his lap and maneuvered the earmuffs onto his head. Like the binoculars, they were giant on him, practically the entire sides of his head. He turned on the noise cancellation and picked up the binoculars with one hand while he tried to adjust the earmuffs with the other, struggling with both. Aca leaned over and lent a much-needed hand of assistance. The L-13E was taxiing now towards the runway, off to the left, Ratko watching the entire time. "I hope you're ready kid," Aca said standing up to see better. Looking towards the flight line as the nimble fighter, nothing like the Fishbed he'd flown, moved its way towards the runway, his thoughts going back to his time in the service. In his final flying years, he'd gone toe-to-toe with the original L-13As in the skies over Poja, forcing the young pilots to work for their kills but the Ter'er was nothing like the Fishbed and the 1950s-designed aircraft was outmatched in every, single category except maximum speed not that it mattered because the Ter'er could out accelerate the Fishbed and thus shoot it down before it managed to get away. "Best plane I ever flew against," Aca said. Ratko watched as the L-13E turned and finally lined itself up on the runway, coming to a stop. "And now, from the left, Scarecrow and the Ter'er Demonstration Squadron!" The narrator yelled into the microphone as, from out of nowhere, heavy metal thrash music began to play. Guitars screamed and someone bashed on the drums to a song intro that had everyone's heart pumping that much harder. The L-13E sat on the end of the runway, waiting for its cue, the pilot ready and waiting. The intro music suddenly fell silent and for a moment it seemed like all the buildup had been for nothing when suddenly, with a crash of a cymbal, the music came on like an assault, and with that, the pilot flung the throttle to its maximum afterburner setting and the L-13E lurched forward and began to race down the runway, the roar slowly drowning out the music. "Watch as the Ter'er demonstrates a max performance climb," the narrator said as the aircraft, after having traveled barely three soccer fields lifted off the ground, the wheels coming up in one smooth motion. "Watch this!" Aca shouted as the plane hung just a few meters off of the runway, its afterburner roaring, gaining speed at a rapid pace. The plane passed show center, which was where Ratko and company were seated and everyone's heads snapped to the right. The fighter picked up more and more speed until, without warning, the pilot yanked back hard on the stick. Vapor trails formed on the wings as it passed through eight times the force of gravity or 8gs and into a 45° climb. Ratko struggled to keep up with it from his seat and quickly shot off it, jumped forward, and was outside of the tent, watching the plane climb into the skies, unaware that it passed through 3,000 meters of altitude in just twenty seconds. The roar of the jet still echoed over the airfield as the afterburner continued to accelerate the aircraft until finally, with a sharp and rapid flip of the stick, the aircraft rolled inverted and began to come over the top of its climb. "The Ter'er can climb at speeds of 220 meters per second, passing through 3,000 meters in just twenty seconds, still accelerating as it climbs. Now get ready for a high-speed pass from the right!" The L-13E flipped over and began to come back down on the runway's centerline. The afterburner was off and the engine slapped back to idle but it was gaining speed rapidly only now it was much quieter, the noise going behind the jet and not towards the crowd. The conditions were perfect for an airshow, the sky bright with blue sunlight, the clouds puffy and white, intermittently broken beginning at 3,600 meters, covering less than half of the sky at any giving point in time. The brilliant, blue of the sky made the aircraft's coloring pop as it came over the top and leveled out just 150 meters off the deck. Screaming at over 500 knots, the L-13E buzzed right down the runway and young Ratko twisted his head from right to left as the roar passed and the fighter went into a climb, afterburner lit again. "Watch as the Ter'er climbs, performs a 180-degree turn in the vertical and comes back down the runway with only a minimum turn radius, from the left!" The L-13E went into a steep climb that was nearly vertical and the pilot cut off the afterburner, the engine still roaring over the open airfield. Slowing down, it climbed at least 2,000 meters up, Ratko watching the whole time, his eyes glued to the plane, before it suddenly rotated around its centerline axis, nose going from upwards to downwards, the rudder input alone causing it to turn from a climb into a dive. "From the left, watch as the Ter'er executes a four-point, precision pass rolling 90-degrees at each turn and holding with perfect precision." The narrator continued as the aircraft went into its fourth maneuver of the show. Coming in straight and level, though slower than its previous pass, the pilot rolled the aircraft onto its side, looking away from the crowd, holding it there, before rolling it upside down, holding it perfectly in position, before a roll to the opposite side, and then finally back to right side up as it screamed down the 3,500-meter-long runway. "Wow!" Ratko screamed as he jumped up and down, watching the aircraft power away, its afterburner lit as it gained speed and climbed away, turning behind the airfield to reposition itself for the next maneuver. "Now, from the left, watch as the Ter'er demonstrates the power and capabilities of thrust-vectoring, climbing in the vertical and performing the falling leaf maneuver at low speed in complete and total control. From the left!" The aircraft had repositioned and came now from the left over the center of the runway before going into another steep vertical climb. The roar washed over the crowd as the aircraft climbed upwards, the pilot holding it in the vertical before pulling back on the stick and flipping it over onto its back and then level again in what could only be described as a somersault before letting the aircraft dance back and forth, the nose pointing right and then fully turned around the left and then back the way it had come to the right, the horizontal stabilizers dancing to keep the aircraft level as it fell towards the ground, the pilot in complete and total control. The pilot made one final turn and hit the afterburner, letting the plane accelerate back towards the way it had come. The music continued in the background but only subtly because the roar of the jet engine drowned it out but Ratko didn't notice, he wasn't paying attention to the music anyway, no one was. They were all focused on the plane. It disappeared from view as the pilot reset, coming back around and at just 150 meters, the aircraft was moving visibly slower. "The Ter'er might be a master of high-speed, high-agility but it's also a master of low-speed flight. Watch as the Ter'er demonstrates a low-speed pass of just 110 knots from the left." Ratko watched as the aircraft passed across the runway, right on its centerline, its nose attitude high, the horizontal stabilizers continuing to dance keeping the aircraft level as it passed overhead at just 110 knots. It was slow, really slow but the plane maintained complete control as it walked down the length of the runway. "Too slow for combat but watch now as the immense thrust of the Ter'er allows it to safely transition from a low-speed pass to a high-speed climb out to the right!" The afterburner was lit again and the roar fell over the crowd as the L-13E's nose dropped and airspeed poured on thanks to a favorable thrust-to-weight ratio exceeding 1:1, especially now that the plane had burned a bit of fuel during the first maneuvers. Once leveled off, the L-13E went into a climb and powered away to the right, still gaining airspeed as it climbed up to about 1,000 meters before flying away as the pilot repositioned itself for the next maneuver. "From the right, watch as the Ter'er demonstrates the precision of its flight control systems with a knife edge pass, from the right!" From the right, the L-13E screamed past the crowd on its side, the aircraft's topside fully on display for the crowd. Using solely rudder, the L-13E maintained level flight down the entire length of the runway before the pilot turned back to level. The aircraft didn't go far and came back around slowing down in the process. "Few aircraft have the supermaneuvrability capabilities to perform one of the most awe-inspiring airshow maneuvers. Performed publicly first by Volscian test pilot Vilho Kuitunen in 1989, watch as the Ter'er becomes the first Pojački aircraft to perform the coveted cobra maneuver. From the left!" The armchair generals would have lost their shit at that exact moment. In fact, those watching the live stream collectively did. Since the announcement of thrust-vectoring in the L-13E, there had been countless arguments and debates on whether or not the plane could perform the cobra maneuver. Until now, it had only been performed by a handful of aircraft, the Fulcrum, the Flanker, and the Draken. It was rumored that the Fishbed could perform it and specialized versions of some prototype aircraft as well as the Raptor but the Raptor could do whatever it liked. That the L-13E could do it now would settle every single argument for all of eternity. From the left, the L-13E slowly approached, its airspeed roughly 275 knots. As it came towards the center of the crowd, the pilot initiated the maneuver, yanking back on the stick, bringing the aircraft through 90° vertical and continuing another 30° so that his nose was pointed away from the direction of flight. The engine roared and the plane snapped back to level flight, gaining some altitude but not much, flying to the edge of its stall limits during the maneuver before leveling back out to gain airspeed. "Remarkable isn't it! You just witnessed the first cobra maneuver performed by the Ter'er publicly and now watch as the Ter'er performs a power loop!" The pilot, powering out of the cobra and into level flight on afterburner brought the aircraft up into a vertical climb. He eased off on the throttle, cutting the afterburner and the L-13E began to lose speed until it simply fell backwards over itself, performing a loop not unlike it had done in the falling leaf only this time, the pilot didn't rock the plane around on its rudder but rather powered on the afterburner again and accelerated the aircraft away to the right, having gained about 1,000 meters more of altitude. As speed came back on, the aircraft flew away to the right for another reposition as Ratko craned his neck to see. "Now watch as the Ter'er comes in from the right, performs a 270-degree turn with just its rudders and thrust vectoring, in flat, and level flight. From the right!" Coming back in, the aircraft came towards the center of the runway and the pilot kicked the rudder around and yanked hard on the stick as the aircraft skidded to the right, came around, and was now facing the crowd in a rapid, flat maneuver, flying over the crowd's heads and out behind the airfield. Ratko strained to see it fly away into the sun and was forced to look away as the aircraft turned to the left. "The Ter'er can pull 9gs," the narrator came back after a few seconds, "an incredible load on the pilot as his head will weight nine times the amount it does during the maneuver. With thrust-vectoring watch as the Ter'er performs a minimum radius turn at corner speed and powers through, continuing to accelerate during the turn, from the right!" The L-13E screamed back into view moving at a bit over 400 knots coming down the centerline of the runway before the pilot yanked the aircraft hard over to the right, showing its belly to the crowd, before pulling back on the stick. Vapor clouds formed around the wings and fuselage as it flew away from the crowd, the roar of the engine as it did beyond deafening. Ratko felt the rumble in his chest and in his lungs, a feeling he'd never experienced before. The aircraft continued its turn, aided by the thrust-vectoring engine. The turn was rapid, it was tight, and it was pulled at just over 9gs, 9.5g to be exact based on the HUD's readout. The aircraft pulled through the turn, not losing any speed until it finally made the full, 360° turn and flew onwards to the left. The pilot killed the afterburner and let the plane fly out to reposition for the next maneuver. Picking up speed and altitude, the aircraft came back around. "Post-stall maneuvering is possible thanks to thrust-vectoring. Watch now as the Ter'er performs a Kulbit, making a minimum-radius, vertical loop. From the left!" The L-13E pulled into a vertical loop but the pilot pulled back hard on the stick. Vapor clouds formed again as it flipped over itself, the thrust-vectoring nozzle keeping it from stalling as it bled speed through the maneuver. The loop was tight ,very tight, tighter than anything Aca had seen before and he was beyond amazed himself. Then the L-13E pulled up into a steep, vertical climb, the pilot rolling the aircraft five times as he did before flipping over and leveling off, flying away from the crowd for what would soon be the climax of the airshow. It grew quiet as the plane flew several kilometers away to set itself up for the next piece of the program. "The Ter'er is a high-speed, high-performance jet fighter capable of air-to-air and air-to-ground combat! Thanks to its design and flight control systems, the aircraft is capable of performing low-level flight down to tree top height, or lower if there's nothing in the way! Watch now as the Ter'er demonstrates a simulated attack on an enemy ground target, approaching at high-speed and low-altitude! From show center, your Ter'er Demonstration Team!" The show narrator yelled just as the aircraft came into view barely above the treetops at just 80 meters of altitude, coming in from several kilometers away. There was no sound to hear, from this aspect the aircraft was silent. Ratko imagined the pilot was the lead of a four-ship formation attacking an enemy airfield with enemy fighters lining the tarmac. The aircraft jinked around, as if invading enemy anti-aircraft gunfire and in Ratko's mind the whole scene played out, the plane was carrying cluster bombs and air-to-air missiles, it was flying low, 600 knots. It came at an off angle from the target, no afterburner yet, dodging enemy fire before the pilot lit his afterburner as he committed to the attack. He changed heading by a few degrees and went into an 8g turn, vapor trails forming on the wings as the pilot yanked the jetfighter through the turn and into a steep climb. Klaxons sounded at the airbase, not just in Ratko's vision but in real life too. The L-13E pitched over onto its back and settled into the dive at an altitude of 2,000 meters, low enough to be shot at by everything and anything in the ground. The plane would have been dropping chaff and flares to ward off enemy missiles and distort targeting radars. The pilot turned the aircraft over as it was upside down, coming to the attack heading. He'd approached the airfield on a diagonal but now he was coming right for the center of it in a dive, afterburner off, heading towards the ground before finally executing a sharp turn at just 750 meters, turning away from the crowd and back towards the direction he came, g-forces pouring on as the aircraft's afterburner lit and bathed the crowd with that incredible noise that vibrated in everyone's lungs. He would have dropped his bombs at 750 meters and as the L-13E came around the turn, someone hit the pyro and a massive wall of fire erupted near the runway, so powerful that everyone in the crowd felt the heat as massive fountains of flame shot up towards the sky. The flames distracted everyone, everyone but Ratko who stayed fixed to the L-13E as it leveled off and continued to jink, fending off invisible anti-aircraft fire again as it came off target. Then the plane disappeared from view. Everyone was clapping and cheering, having just witnessed something tremendous and amazing, a precision strike on a ground target executed by the pilot. "I lost it," Ratko said aloud as he strained to see into the sun, the aircraft gone from view. The narrator stayed quiet and Ratko looked around, straining his eyes against the sun, expecting the L-13E to have completed the turn and to come from the left when something flashed out of the corner of his eyes. He snapped his head around, barely with enough time to see the L-13E fast approaching the crowd just 150 meters over the ground, moving so fast and without a sound that it caught the entire crowd by surprise, blasting overhead at 600 knots, the roar of its engine shaking the ground. This was a sneak pass, designed for its wow factor. The aircraft buzzed out to the center of the airfield and Ratko, who'd unconsciously ducked to the ground, straightened himself up and watched as the aircraft performed a series of barrel rolls as it flew away from the crowd. "We gotcha!" The narrator said, laughing into the microphone as the crowd cheered and clapped. "Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, guests, pilots, onlookers, everyone, from the bottom of our hearts at the Ter'er Demonstration Team, thank you for your attendance and your attention today! Thank you for your support and on behalf of Scarecrow, myself, and everyone else, have a great day and we hope to see you again next year!" The music cued back up as the L-13E turned around and came in for a landing, traveling down the length of the runway, not using its braking chute. The plane came around at the end of the runway while the next demonstration was getting set up to go off at the top of the next hour. Scarecrow pulled the aircraft around and off the runway, coming back the way he came only he was doing it right in front of the crowd, waving as he taxied past them slowly. He stopped the plane at show center, right in front of the VIPs, which meant the plane was right in front of a speechless Ratko who had become paralyzed with awe. "Wave Ratko, wave!" Aca yelled as he waved to the pilot. People cheered, whopped, hollered, clapped, but Ratko just stood there awestruck into paralysis. Scarecrow looked right at him and gave him a wave, gave him the sign of the horns gesture, and Ratko, his eyes unblinking, his mouth agape, mustered a wave back. Aca laughed, his father laughed, Scarecrow put on a little throttle, and the plane was gone, the roar of its turbofan engine in its wake. • • • † • • • 4 Link to comment
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