Time flew by and it was morning of the opening day. A large number of tourists flocked into Paine Airport, making it the most bustling airport ever.
When Paul was still alive, the most successful air show days he organized didn't even have a tenth or a twelfth of the number of visitors as they do today. He must be very pleased to see this!
Kolon, who was visiting the United States for the first time, worked with other employees to maintain order at the scene.
They came to the rescue; the combined staff of FHC's two departments numbered less than three digits, far from enough to handle the tens of thousands of customers.
But with these dozens of experienced tank museum staff, the situation is different; they could handle twice as many people.
But is this what America is all about?
Zhu Zi didn't think this place was paradise. Perhaps in the eyes of the Afica blacks, only the land of hair is holy land!
It was only when his godfather urged him to study that he learned that the ancestors of the Filipinos in the United States were prisoners captured by their tribe and sold to white people. As a result, as long as they could survive to North America, they would have an endless supply of fried chicken and watermelon.
Of course, there are still too many to pick.
More than two hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye. These people have turned their lives around, while the former winners have remained in Afica, hungry and poor, and can only reach the Land of Hair by saving up their own travel expenses.
Fortunately, the appearance of their godfather changed everything, and they could live a wealthy life by staying in Afica.
Kolon had this idea, and so did the rest of them. After helping out, they went back without any intention of staying behind the scenes.
After guiding everyone to sit down in the temporary areas set up on several outdoor helipads, Xia Yu and his group met up with the wealthy individuals who had come alone at Reno-Sted Airport in Nevada, thousands of kilometers away.
Half of them live on the East Coast, and once the fighter jets are officially delivered, they plan to fly straight back.
Even with full external fuel tanks, the ferry range of the F-4 and F-16 is less than 4,000 kilometers, making it somewhat difficult to traverse the United States, which is 4,500 kilometers apart.
But there are aerial refueling companies, and all the F-4E and F-16C/D aircraft purchased by Xia Yu are equipped with aerial refueling capabilities.
If you crowdfund one flight, each person will receive several hundred thousand yuan, but that's all you need.
As for whether they'll be tired, they're not the ones who will be tired.
David, the only one who bought an F-16C, lives in San Francisco and can wear it comfortably on the West Coast; there's no need for him to travel across the United States.
"You said you could provide AIM-9, AIM-120, AGM-65, GBU-12... these weapons."
"Only in Afica, definitely not in the United States."
While chatting with David, Xia Yu revealed this intentionally or unintentionally.
“I understand. With all this here, I’d even dare to go for a spin at the White House, but Major General Thompson would definitely kill me. It’s much better in Afica.”
Old Tang had never been David's battalion commander, and he wasn't even as wealthy as David, but what he did really ruined David's livelihood.
Forget about whether they can dominate like in the movies; Tacair's license was the first to be revoked, after all, it was their company that provided the guarantee.
Not to mention that when there are no flight plans, these fighter jets have to be parked and maintained at the airports of their company or other companies in the same industry, which is also a form of regulation.
"But my F-16C was finally shipped from across the Atlantic, it would be too much trouble to transport it back."
David frowned as he spoke, but he soon had an idea.
"Mr. Sherlock, do you have any other stock?"
If transporting one aircraft back and forth is too much trouble, then he can just buy another one. Anyway, it only costs a little over ten million, which is cheaper than an old Gulfstream.
David's confidence stemmed from his ever-expanding wealth in the stock market. He had no interest in luxury cars, only fighter jets, and two Viper fighters were no challenge for him.
The really expensive ones are the missiles. Air-to-air missiles and anti-ship missiles start at a million dollars. Only air-to-ground missiles are cheaper, costing a few hundred thousand dollars per missile, which is enough for a good amount of firing.
"Of course, our company is also an F-16 user. Why are you asking this?"
"I want to buy another one, right here in Afica!"
Still an F-16C
"right!"
David himself is a pilot, why would he need a two-seater plane to take his wife with him?
Oh, that was a complete disaster.
As a lone wolf, he only wants to play the whole game solo. He doesn't need living mudguards and counterweights, which, besides being noisy, also prevent him from performing many high-difficulty maneuvers.
"Can!"
Xia Yu agreed without saying much.
He closed another deal, and this rich guy was a well-known loudspeaker in the industry.
With the other party's promotion, just one person can open up the market and boost sales in Afica's private second-hand fighter jet market.
“That’s great. Here’s my business card. Have your people call this satellite phone number.”
David was also very happy. Although his F-16C had not been downgraded, the amount of live ammunition that Tacair could be allocated was, frankly, not even enough to fill a tooth gap.
Not to mention, what's the point of firing a few rockets? You need to fire missiles and shoot down or destroy targets to be truly satisfying.
He knew unguided rockets were cheap, but if he wanted to use them, wouldn't it be better to just take out his beat-up A-6, load up with Zuni (127mm) and Tim (300mm) grenades?
You could change the pylon to mount Soviet-style rockets, but in short, his Viper is wasted on unguided rockets; only missiles and laser-guided bombs are suitable for it.
Previously, taxpayers paid for his shots, but he wasn't satisfied. This time, David paid out of his own pocket, taking down a small Maverick with each ground-to-ground shot and a large Maverick with each air-to-air shot. He didn't care about the cost at all.
Driving a supercar to pick up girls
We're way past that age, and the seats weren't comfortable either, so he chose the Viper.
"OK!"
After putting away the business card, Xia Yu changed into her anti-G uniform.
Compared to the three F-4Es delivered, two owners were newcomers, one F-16C owner was a veteran, and the two F-16D buyers were advanced players.
On a simulator, with hundreds of hours of flight time, it's not enough to land a fighter jet safely; it can certainly get the plane up and running again, and it knows how to activate the ejection seat.
With professional pilots available to intervene at any time, they can also experience a great deal of flying enjoyment in the air.
It is limited by its physical condition and has a relatively poor ability to withstand overload.
But 3 to 5 gigabytes is enough to have a lot of fun.
"Buzzing"
After confirming the aircraft's status one last time, the six crews moved onto the runway and took off one by one, speeding towards Seattle.
At the same time, at Paine Airport, a B-29, having completed its preparations and test flights, was towed out of the museum and officially made its debut before everyone.
"wow"
The tourists cheered instantly, including many of Japanese descent.
The atomic bomb stunned militarism and ended the war. Not long after, the five-star emperor brought them freedom and development.
How could they not love a defeated imperialist country that had become a developed nation?
In the eyes of these guys, this B-29 is as sacred as the Black Ships that blasted open their country's doors in the Middle Ages!
So without any hesitation, they snapped up most of the inaugural flight tickets for the Hybrid Fortress at exorbitant prices. And if they could shoot down a Zero and drop bombs during the Afica tour, they wouldn't hesitate either. *Buzz*
Xia Yu recruited a pilot from the FIFI ship, started the propellers, and the plane soared into the sky in front of thousands of people.
The camera captured this moment as the third airworthy B-29 returned to the skies, and this was just the beginning.
"boom"
The roar of jet fighters came from the horizon, and six small black dots formed two teams, arriving in an instant at speeds of over Mach 2.
The auxiliary fuel tank, which was abandoned halfway through the journey, still had more than half of its internal fuel remaining, enough for them to do all sorts of work.
As the flight altitude decreased, the speed was reduced, and the speaking devices on both wingtips emitted red, white, and blue smoke.
Previously, only air force and navy aerobatic teams performed like this.
Now that it's a private player, the audience's experience is completely different.
"Air Force, this is a private air force!"
An old redneck couldn't help but say proudly.
German flying clubs, huh? But the barrier to entry for jet fighters is still a bit high. While WWII electric fans could be used by civilians, modern jet fighters are really just toys for the rich.
If we're talking about private air forces, then PMC companies like Tacair are the real deal. They have more F-5 fighter jets than the Kennea Air Force. After modification, it wouldn't be surprising if one could take on five. One company could completely dominate most countries in the world.
The same goes for a certain PMC company and a certain museum in Afica; they just don't usually show off and are only focused on making money.
After the tycoons' makeshift air force caught up with the B-29, they pushed the speed to the brink of stall, and the formation flew over the heads of the spectators.
In the audience, a bald Boeing vice president watched the fleet of planes streak across the sky and applauded just like the tourists around him.
Thompson did a great job. This trip wasn't in vain, even though he sold General Dynamics, no, Lockheed Martin's F-16s.
Boeing primarily produces the F-15 and F-18; the Fighting Falcon is not one of their products. The only F-16-related project is the QF-16 unmanned target drone.
Of course, target drones can also be used in combat, especially after AI technology matures.
However, while the government has gradually lifted restrictions on the private operation of F-16s and F-18s, there has been no case of the F-15 being owned by a private or PMC company.
The high selling price and operating costs are the main reasons. Businessmen are profit-driven, and nobody wants to pay a high price to have a powerful patron serve them.
The cost of having more "hearts" than the F-16 is that the hourly operating cost also skyrockets to two and a half times. Xia Yu might have the opportunity to collect a couple of these bomb trucks, but he would definitely not put them into operation.
There's nothing we can do about it; it swallows up all the profit margins. Only princes and people from developed countries can afford it; no wealthy person dares to touch this thing.
Fortunately, as a heavy machine, the Ultimate Ghost also has a very strong payload capacity in its technical specifications. It's just a pity that it had to make way for the Tomcat.
If Xia Yu hadn't intervened, it would have remained an unfinished and abandoned case.
"Buzz"
On the final lap of the flight, the fleet began to land in an orderly manner. Xia Yu followed behind Thompson, taxiing to the designated apron for a static display, allowing tourists to get up close to these behemoths.
He was immediately surrounded by reporters as soon as he got off the plane.
Xia Yu could only accept the interview in his capacity as the curator of the FHC Museum. Of course, the main purpose was to promote the museum. The two had a division of labor; selling fighter jets in the North American market was Thompson's job.
There were not only reporters at Lao Tang's place, but also several buyers queuing up.
David and his group set an example for them: the old ghost brought them the strongest Xila ghosts, and the old F-16s were not old F-16A/Bs, but all F-16C/D Block 30 batches.
It's a bit outdated for national users, but for companies and individual users, this is the strongest Fighting Falcon they can buy.
With such a great opportunity, we naturally have to have a fight.
There were even some with rather unique tastes who wanted to get an F-18 Hornet from Thompson.
Old Tang himself hasn't even bought one yet, so naturally he doesn't have any to sell. However, if Tacair has too many F-18s in a batch and can't handle them all, he can join a group buy with Jihuo Defense.
Xia Yu didn't want the old magnesium navy's Hornet earlier, mainly because Tomcat was more important.
But now that we have the F-14, collecting and reselling a few F-18s is a worthwhile business opportunity.
"Boom boom"
Before he could finish dealing with the reporters, faint explosion sounds came from afar.
The FHC Museum's armored division has officially opened for business. After watching the air show, it's the perfect time to fire a couple of shots to calm down.
This included the Boeing vice president, who had never been to Afica or visited those two museums before; this was his first time experiencing this service.
Honestly, it's definitely more fun than playing with guns, and the price of the shells is acceptable to him.
However, if Xia Yu knew that he had entered the venue for the experience, she would definitely not charge him a penny and would directly say that it would all be on his behalf.
However, the two did not meet until the afternoon at the Boeing aircraft final assembly workshop.
"Oh dear, Mr. Jason should have told me beforehand. I'll let it go this time, but next time you come to Afica, I'll definitely give you a good time."
Xia Yu said with an expression that said, "I apologize for the poor hospitality."
"Jason, when you get there, don't try to save Sherlock any money. That guy's got plenty of cash on him."
Thompson chimed in.
"I'll definitely go if I have the chance, but your business selling used fighter jets is doing very well."
Jason scratched his smooth forehead and asked about something he was more interested in.
"Yes, we've ordered two more F-16s, two MiG-23s, and three more F-4s. This time we've really opened up the market."
There are quite a few people who like the MiG-23, mostly because they like its retractable wings.
Private fighter jets, as long as they look cool, that's all that matters.
Combat ability is unnecessary; looks are the most important thing.
"The F-4Es you're selling are terrifyingly powerful; I think you're selling them too cheaply."
Jason talked about the old ghost from Xila. Before the QF-16, he was in charge of the QF-4 unmanned target drone project, so he knew the old ghost very well. Later, he was in charge of the F-18 Super Hornet project.
Old Tang had done a lot of research before getting to know this person; there was no one more suitable than him to ensure the maintenance and upkeep of the F-18s and the sale of the F-4s.
"I disagree with the claim that Xila Ghost is the strongest ghost. Avionics can be upgraded, but the platform is also very important. I think the Ultimate Ghost is the strongest ghost."
Taking this opportunity, Xia Yu steered the conversation toward the aborted F-4S.
"You're not wrong. The platform is indeed stronger than the Ultimate Phantom with its variable-sweep wings. It's a pity that even the prototype is nowhere to be found, let alone mass production."
Jason echoed this sentiment with similar regret.
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