One after another, the three L-15 Falcon trainers roared off the runway, their deafening engines shaking the air as they climbed. On the apron, a temporary comms station relayed every word between the aircraft and the ground in real time.
This first flight wasn’t about fancy maneuvers — the cadets simply followed the lead pilot’s inputs from the front seat, shadowing every movement. Even though the front cockpit had a fully functional control panel identical to the back seat’s, the instructor could override everything with a switch, letting the cadet take control when it was safe — and if they performed well enough, they might even be allowed to “get their hands warm” midair.
From takeoff onward, the instructor pilot in the back seat and Lieutenant Colonel Shen on the ground narrated eve
