After attending the classes for several days and practicing hands-on, Chen Fei was certain that he missed nothing about the "Big Mouth Monster" and proceeded to apply for certification.
After consideration, Teacher Salman made arrangements and officially notified him that the next afternoon, he would undergo the A-39B "Big Mouth Monster" maintenance technician certification.
The two teachers were authorized by the Blue Star International Aerospace Association and various manufacturers to administer over twenty types of certification assessments.
Although it was a private airport training course, both the training and certification qualifications were recognized by the industry and manufacturers, allowing assessments to be conveniently applied for at any time.
When it comes down to it, it was all about the money being in place; then naturally, everything was up for discussion.
Beyond that, the manufacturers of aircraft production were also very eager to see more maintenance technicians participate in the certifications to keep abreast of the current state of their products, as in aviation, no issue is too small; once a problem arises, it is definitely a big deal.
Yet the news of Chen Fei preparing for the certification exam did not spread far.
The hairs on Black kid Randy stood on end, and trying to sound calm, he shouted loudly, "Who's there?"
A young man's voice came from outside the door.
Randy had never heard this stranger's voice before and could not guess the identity of the person at the moment, naturally unwilling to open the door.
What if he opened it and got shot by the visitor—what then?
The private airport had a professional security team, which made it relatively safer.
But it's better to be safe than sorry.
The man outside hesitated before saying, "Uh! Lufus Martin!"
Randy thought it over but still couldn't remember having a friend with that name. He cautiously approached the door, tightly holding an atomic pen in his hand.
"I just want to ask, do you want revenge?"
The person outside chuckled lightly as if he guessed Randy's wariness and caution.
Randy's heart tightened, vaguely guessing something.
"Our common enemy, Chen Fei, we are friends on the same side, aren't we? Unless... you want to wimp out , is that it, Randy? If that's the case, then I'm leaving!"
As the voice trailed off, the footsteps outside gradually receded.
Randy's expression changed several times, he gritted his teeth, quickly disabled the safety, and flung the door open.
Surprisingly, he was suddenly confronted with a smiling Caucasian man standing right outside his door, who had never left.
Those footsteps from before… Shit! He'd been fooled!
Seeing the changes in Randy's expression, the young Caucasian man spread his arms out and said, "Hello, Randy, aren't you going to invite me in to sit down? I'm alone, unarmed, you don't need to be afraid."
Randy hesitated for a moment but eventually stepped aside to let him in.
The following afternoon, in hangar number 4 of the Eagle Nest private airport, the A-39B "Big Mouth Monster" turboprop attack aircraft maintenance technician certification was held right there.
In fact, the A-39B "Big Mouth Monster" turboprop attack aircraft is a specialty product of Snow Mountain State in the American Federation! The manufacturer, Nevada Mountain Aerospace Company, is located in the vicinity, about more than two hundred kilometers away from Eagle Nest private airport in a straight line.
The first hour was a written test, followed by two hours of practical operations for inspecting and troubleshooting, with the final half-hour being an interview.
On-site witnesses included not just the husband and wife team of teachers, Salman and Elisa, but also factory engineers and experienced third-party maintenance technicians supervising remotely from offsite, assessing theory, operation, and on-the-spot performance in three aspects, not letting a single detail slip, naturally ensuring the value of the certification.
Arriving fifteen minutes early to hangar number 4, Chen Fei was startled. There were two "Big Mouth Monsters" parked there, with two desks and chairs in front, two sets of tool stations nearby filled with items, and a tool cart.
It meant there were to be two candidates for the certification.
One was Chen Fei himself, and the other he did not know.
"Chen Fei, you're the first to arrive!"
A voice came from behind him.
"Randy, it's you! Are you here to take the certification too?"
Chen Fei saw the black kid who arrived at hangar 4 right after him and then turned to look at the two turboprop aircraft and two sets of tables and chairs.
After being beaten up, this guy had behaved for a while, but the rift between them still existed. Until now, his glances at Chen Fei were evasive, revealing a sense of guilt and unease.
It seems this is a classic case of 'once bitten, twice shy.' Poor kid.
Originally, he had mustered up the courage to greet first, but now, for some reason, he suddenly lost his nerve. The black kid Randy's mouth twitched, and his face was a portrait of embarrassment.
"Well then, I wish you luck in passing!"
Chen Fei waved his fist, after all, it was a gesture of encouragement as they were classmates.
At the sight of the fist, Randy inexplicably panicked, thinking Chen Fei was about to hit him, and his dark face turned pale, nearly resulting in him turning and fleeing on the spot.
Salman, the teacher already present, nodded at Chen Fei and then turned to smile at the black kid.
"Randy, thank you for your help. Otherwise, moving those tools and parts would have been a killer!"
Chen Fei looked back at Randy with confusion.
Had this guy actually arrived early?
Randy forced a smile, his feet heavy as if filled with lead, he moved step by step into the examination area.
"OK, everyone is in place. A big thank you to Engineer Leo Tomid from Nevada Mountain Aerospace Company, Engineer Jay Illard, repair experts Xiao Xi and Mr. Quan, and Mr. Ivantius Mortel Loriand for participating in this certification exam. There are two students ready for certification; you still have some time, please choose which side you'd like to use as your examination spot."
Elisa, the female teacher, once again confirmed the list of participants of the certification exam and then immediately came in front of the main camera facing the two examination spots.
"I want the left side!"
Randy quickly claimed one side of the examination spot, pulled out a chair and sat down impatiently, then heaved a long sigh of relief.
The seven sets of cameras on-site were divided, with two sets on teachers Salman and Elisa, respectively.
The first paper test mainly included multiple choice and true/false questions, with a few on theoretical models. The testers, Chen Fei and Randy, worked quickly and didn't wait for the one-hour mark to turn in their papers, turning them in respectively at the 35th and 42nd minute.
The papers were graded by the AI system and proctors inside and outside the examination area, with results produced in five minutes.
Chen Fei scored 100, earning an A grade, while Randy scored 94, also earning an A grade. The full score was 100, with an A being the top grade and the passing threshold at 85 points, typically receiving a B or even a C grade.
The score on the paper did not absolutely correlate to the subjective evaluation. Full marks with a C grade were not unheard of. If the demeanor of the participants was not proper during the exam, they could very well end up with a C, which meant failing and they would have to reapply for a retake after three months.
After a twenty-minute rest, the second part of the examination began.
The examination was about repairing two A-39B "Big Mouth Monster" light turboprop attack aircraft that had been prepared with unknown faults in advance. The number, type, and severity of the faults were unknown, leaving Chen Fei and Randy to inspect and diagnose everything by themselves.
The lack of feedback from pilots made the actual difficulty even higher than in real situations.
The tablet computer used for answering questions came with the "Sky Eye Cloud Inspection" aviation repair software, which was also one of Nevada Mountain Aerospace Company's certified repair programs. Chen Fei directly opened the interface for the more complex "Siege Lion Mode," whipped out a specialized data cable, hit the maintenance port with the palm of his hand, and plugged it in proficiently.
System: Ding! A-39B "Big Mouth Monster" light turboprop attack aircraft detected. Metal material 1970.43 kilograms. Absorption: Yes/No |?
The "Absorption" function of the Dog System served an extra purpose: weighing!
Aircraft are extremely sensitive to weight, and Chen Fei knew by heart where every pound and ounce were distributed on the "Big Mouth Monster" in its completely unloaded state.
This weight figure right here told him that this "Big Mouth Monster" was missing a few parts.
Just as expected, under the "Siege Lion Mode" of "Sky Eye Cloud Inspection," it detected a multitude of issues, altogether over 300 items. Since many were interrelated functionalities, there weren't that many missing or faulty parts, but it did give Chen Fei a clear direction for his repairs.
With the repair list in hand, clearly marking his first diagnostic guesses at fault origins, Chen Fei, not new to dismantling the "Big Mouth Monster," grabbed his tools and got to work with practiced ease.
The two teachers present on-site and other remote proctors watched Chen Fei and the black kid Randy's operations through shifting camera views.
His actions were fierce as a tiger while he dissected the aircraft, almost tearing it apart, and quickly found the faulty part to begin the replacement.
The aviation repair software "Sky Eye Cloud Inspection" targeted the faulty area, and then it was a matter of simply replacing what was broken. If the replaced faulty part was still under warranty, it could be sent back to the original manufacturer for a new one.
By the 15th minute, Chen Fei smoothly replaced the first faulty part, and "Siege Lion Mode" triggered another round of inspection, reducing the fault notifications by around thirty.
At the 29th minute, he identified the second faulty part, his precision analogous to a surgical procedure pinpointing the source of a problem.
He fetched a new part from the shelf and began unwrapping it, when suddenly, he hesitated, weighing it in his hand.
System: Ding! TC-M5402D magnetic pump detected. Metal material 3.15 kilograms. Absorption: Yes/No |?
The parts recorded in the "Physical Evolution Database" are generally identifiable with precision.
But this weight seemed a bit off.
He opened the "Physical Evolution Database," searching the "parts" category, and quickly found the previously absorbed TC-M5402D magnetic pump. This part's suffix indicated an improved version, with D being the fourth edition, and listed the metal material's weight as 3.16 kilograms.
A discrepancy of ten grams?!