Navigation is not easy, a group of flying men and their old friends

When traveling in the lonely old forest, there is a pot of cuckoo to accompany them, and life dilutes the loneliness; when the flames are showing off their power and the disaster is ruthless, they charge into battle without fear, and their life is fierce and passionate. In this story, there are "Fat Oranges" and these "migratory bird" crews.

1

The Mi-26 helicopter is a twin-engine multi-purpose heavy transport helicopter. It is the heaviest and largest helicopter still in service in the world today. It is the Mil Moscow Designed and developed by the Helicopter Factory (formerly Mili Experimental Design Bureau), it was code-named "Halo". In China, it has its own name of "Air Giant", and China Feilong General Aviation Co., Ltd., everyone likes to call it "Orange Fatty".

2

The first time Fatty Orange came into public view was during the Wenchuan earthquake 9 years ago. Disaster relief materials are transferred in and out.

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"As long as they see this orange helicopter, the local Tibetans will pay respect. They think this helicopter is a rescue force," Hu Hao recalled.

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At that time, it evacuated more than 100 disaster victims in one flight and became famous. It gained the reputation of "the giant in the sky" and became the focus for a time.

5

Then it showed its prowess again at the Tangjiashan Barrier Lake. When the Mi-26 crew successfully completed the earthquake relief flight mission and flew back to Guanghan Airport, Mianyang City The leaders of the Water Conservancy Bureau came to greet them overnight and gave them a banner with eight big characters "Eagle in the Sky, Disaster Relief Hero" glittering in gold.

6

He shook hands with all the crew members one by one and said, "On behalf of the 1.3 million citizens of Mianyang City, I thank you." When he said these words, tears flashed in his eyes. Under the bright lights of the airport, they complemented the golden characters on the pennant.

7

Since the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, the aerial giant Mi-26 helicopter that showed its prowess at the disaster relief scene has gradually faded out of people's sight over time.

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Most of the time they travel through the forest areas in northern and southern China, performing forest fire prevention work in different seasons. The crew spends an average of more than 350 days working outside the year. Sometimes we also Call them "migratory bird" crews, and knowledge about them has gone from little to little.

9

This year, a huge forest fire broke out in the Bilar River Forest Farm in Inner Mongolia. The Mi-26 opened an air channel, and a large amount of manpower and material resources were continuously poured into the center of the fire. zone. While fighting the forest fire in Daxinganling, Inner Mongolia, Mi-26 helicopters successively transported more than 3,000 troops to the fire scene.

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The B-7802 aircraft flew continuously for 11 hours and 8 sorties on May 1, transporting more than 800 fire fighters, setting a record for the longest continuous flight time in a single day , and the largest number of airborne firefighters, two records in history.

11

How many people are needed to operate Fatty Orange? There are at least 16 people in the Mi-26 crew. In addition to the captain, co-pilot and maintenance crew, there are also navigators, air mechanics, bucket operators and translators.

12

"Let's all do the work together," translator Bai Chen said while putting on gloves and others to lift the largest bucket in the country off the plane. Over time, everyone on the crew has become a generalist, and the improvement in overall quality has ensured the "availability" of the aircraft again and again.

13

Since China Feilong began operating Mi-26 helicopters in 2007, the crews of the three Mi-26 helicopters are mainly Chinese and Russian mixed crews. Russian experts Mainly responsible for aircraft technical support and fault maintenance.

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After 10 years of running-in and communication, the Chinese crew members gradually changed from learning from Russian experts to cooperating with Russian experts. As they mature, they have accumulated a lot of valuable experience in heavy-duty helicopter flight and maintenance.

15

The crew members of the Mi-26 can be regarded as a "mudslide" in the pilot world. Every time after entering the fire scene, they did not wash their heads, brush their teeth, and never took off their shoes when sleeping. The crew was very satisfied to have a Northeast-style Datong bunk to sleep in at the landing point of the fire scene. Several quilts that seemed to have not been cleaned for a short period of time and an old well outside the hospital have become the "home" of the crew. They wash their faces with freshly drawn well water every day. The coolness is refreshing, and they can take a few sips at will. After dinner, we set off to fly again.

16

After returning at noon and evening, everyone basically does not take off their clothes. Anyway, they have to get up after a few hours, so save energy and rest more. But I can tolerate all these. The most terrible thing is that there is no signal or WIFI in the residence. Everyone's mobile phones have turned into "bricks", and all the information on the mobile phones cannot be sent out or returned. It was like going back to "before liberation". "It doesn't matter if there is no signal or WIFI, we will just sleep when we get back," the crew said to themselves.

17

Whenever Ju Pang goes south or north, it becomes the crew’s home, ranging from pots and pans to household appliances and battery cars. Or a small pine tree brought out from the depths of the mountains. Everything you can think of is here.

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Some people like flowers. A pot of rhododendron is placed near the cabin door to bloom. No matter how many things there are, they must be placed neatly in the cabin. "Don't leave your things in a haphazard manner!" the maintenance worker said.

19

“We don’t travel too much, only twice a year, and once for half a year,” the crew member said with a smile. It's true that love grows over time. They have been stationed in the mountains for a long time. Over time, they have developed a close relationship with each other. Whoever is sick, who is in a bad mood, and whoever has something at home, everyone will help as much as they can. In this inaccessible place, In the forest farm, they can only hug together for warmth, and their friends are the family members they choose.

20

"Sometimes we also miss our wives and children, but this forest ranger mission is a seamless contract. We can only go back unless there are extremely special circumstances. Most of the time we work in the north and south. , our family members can come visit us during the holidays, and the company will reimburse them for their travel expenses, which is very good." Cai Peining, the crew leader, said, "We are okay, but the most difficult thing is the young people who are in trouble or have no purpose." . He glanced at Bai Chen, the translator who was communicating with the Russian side.

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Safety is a blessing. This is something that the crew must say in their hearts every day when they open their eyes. In fact, in Fatty Orange’s daily work, maintenance work takes up a lot of of time and energy.

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It may seem like a tedious task, but it guarantees that Fatty Orange can take off at any time. Over time, everyone has developed obsessive-compulsive disorder. Whenever they see a plane parked there, they will walk over to see if the canvas cover is properly closed and the various protective covers are not securely fastened. It is in this repeated examination that peace continues.

23

A piece of news on the Internet "China-Russia Joint Research Heavy Helicopter Officially Launched" made the crew excited, "If we can fly our own country's heavy-duty helicopter, That’s great.” There was a hint of expectation in Cai Peining's eyes.

24

There are only 4 Mi-26s in the country, and the Feilong family's "Orange Fatty" has 3. They are distributed in forest farms across the country to protect forests and put out fires. Usually it is difficult for them to meet each other, but when the country suddenly encounters a disaster, Fatty Orange and his group of veterans will go to the disaster area for rescue and relief without hesitation, with the road under their feet and the sky above them.