"When we can fly an airplane made in our own country, then this life will be worth it."
"Sooner or later, one day, flying past our Tiananmen Square, there will be thousands of planes we built ourselves."
On October 1, 1949, at the founding ceremony, Qin Tian, as the captain of the flight squadron, drove a plane that had failed due to the long service life of the engine, and risked his life to complete the parade task. At night, sitting opposite the flight commander-in-chief, Deputy Commander Yan, the captain who was still not afraid of danger when the plane broke down, imagined a better future.
Recently, the aviation industry-themed TV series "Chasing Dreams and Blue Sky", jointly produced by CCTV, Shaanxi Cultural Industry Investment Holding (Group) Co., Ltd., Shanghai Shangshi Film Co., Ltd., with Zhang Qiang and Ah Ying as the chief screenwriter, Li Yunliang directed by Zhang Bo, Li Naiwen, Huang Man, Xu Xiaosa, etc., was broadcast on CCTV, and the network platforms iQiyi, Tencent Video, and Youku Video were broadcast simultaneously.
At the special node of the August 1st Founding Day, the audience can't help but sigh when they follow the protagonist qin tian in the play to look back at the arduous but brilliant years of the aviation people.
From having nothing to leading the way of a big country, "Chasing Dreams and Blue Sky" fully demonstrates the spirit of aviation people who "weigh heavy weapons of big countries and cast them with their lives", which can be regarded as a "drama history" that writes history on the industry and portrays the big era with small people.
History of aviation
"Chasing Dreams and Blue Skies" is a rare TV series focusing on the theme of national heavy industry, and it is also the only TV series with the official support of the Industrial Culture Development Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, and the Propaganda and Culture Center of the Political Work Department of the Air Force.
The story is based on the four aviation families of Qin Tian (Zhang Bo), Zhao Deliang (Li Naiwen), Zhang Changjiang (Wang Ziquan), and Zheng Youfu (Li Haozhen), through the stories of three generations of aviation people, a panoramic view of the process of China's aviation industry from scratch, from small to large, from weak to strong in the 70 years since the founding of New China.
If you want to take a good picture of the development process of the aviation industry, the industry core drives the development of the story is the key. Judging from the plot that has been broadcast, "Chasing Dreams and Blue Skies" is well versed in this way.
At the beginning of the story, many problems faced by aviation people come to the fore. On the occasion of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, improving the fuel capacity of aircraft is the primary problem facing China's aviation. At that time, China's aviation industry was not only facing a serious shortage of resources and manpower, but also because of the contract signed between China and the Soviet Union, everything had to be guided by Soviet experts.
For this reason, Qin Tian and Zhao Deliang's plan for the development of auxiliary fuel tanks could only be carried out in secret. They used the white iron sheet provided by the villagers as raw materials, and at night they used flashlights to study relevant materials in the aircraft production workshop, drunk Soviet experts to buy repair time for themselves, and asked the old repairmen to help install.
In the development of the slightly joyful auxiliary fuel tank, the difficult situation of aviation personnel in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China was fully demonstrated. This is the main contradiction point of the early plot of "Chasing Dreams and Blue Skies", and it is also a true reproduction of historical events.
The creation of "Chasing Dreams and Blue Skies" lasted for 4 years, carried out 17 collections, organized 6 expert seminars, interviewed more than 50 representative figures, consulted nearly 100 biographies of characters, and experienced many difficulties before it finally took shape.
As a result, the story is also woven into many unknown events in the history of aviation. For example, at the beginning of the story, due to the shortage of aircraft, the historical scene of the premier of the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China letting the plane fly twice has been restored from a new perspective. In the reproduction of the important nodes in the development of China's aviation industry, the dramatic conflict and story charm of this drama are gradually brewing, and the audience is suddenly pulled back to that period of glory.
Chronological group portrait spectrum
Although "Chasing Dreams and Blue Skies" shoots the development process of China's aviation industry, the foothold is a well-crafted group of characters.
The focus of the play is the four families and three generations of aviation people represented by Qin Tian, whose professional fields represent the main departments and types of work of the aviation industry.
Qin Tian was a doer honed on the battlefield.
He participated in the founding ceremony flight parade, and was also a combat hero who lost his comrade-in-arms and friend in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and was heroically wounded. He personally experienced the difficult situation of Chinese aviation, so when the war was over, he could not return to the blue sky, he looked for a new direction, switched to aircraft development, and accepted the organization's arrangement to study in the Soviet Union.
Despite his unruly nature, he vowed to dedicate his life to the ideal Chinese aviation industry. At the beginning of the series, Qin Tian in his later years watched the test flight of the domestic large transport aircraft Hang-20, and the old spirit surged into his heart, and the audience seemed to be able to see the years he had burned for China Airlines.
Compared with Qin Tian, Zhao Deliang in the early days could be regarded as an idealist.
He graduated from a well-known university, with a solid theoretical foundation but lack of practice. At first, he and Xu Meng were assigned to the maintenance workshop under Zheng Youfu, and when they watched Master Zheng not rely on any scientific equipment and only rely on feelings to repair the aircraft, he disapproved everywhere.
In order to prove his ability, he sneaked into the workshop in the middle of the night and tried to prove himself by repairing the plane, but it turned out to be self-defeating and ended up in confinement.
But he's not a papier-mâché tiger either. The success of the development plan of the auxiliary fuel tank is inseparable from this high-quality student with solid theoretical knowledge. In the play, it not only portrays the vivid and lovely face of the "science and engineering man" who is thirsty for knowledge, but also shows his patriotic spirit of dedicating knowledge and youth to promote China's aviation cause.
In addition to these two aeronautical engineers, in "Chasing Dreams and Blue Skies", there are also old workers represented by Zheng Youfu and leading cadres represented by Zhang Changjiang.
The former is a real and experienced old repairman, and it is also about the set of methods of practicing true knowledge. His mouth was hard and soft, and as soon as he appeared, he blocked Zhao Deliang's mouth full of "rudder and compass" with a sentence of "Believe it or not I smashed your compass". In fact, he was silently watching this high-achieving apprentice behind his back.
The latter had been in the same unit as Qin Tian, and they flew and fought together, and were life-and-death partners who could give their backs to each other. Although he was not a participant in the sub-fuel tank development program, he was an excellent "sentry". After changing careers, he entered the 417 Factory, specializing in the management of aircraft manufacturing and research.
As an indispensable part of the "aviation boy band", in the latest plot, test pilot Li Zizhi (Feng Bai) also finally appeared.
He is a pilot who specializes in aircraft flight test missions, with the goal of piloting the aircraft at any cost, even at the cost of his life.
As his debut line says, "As long as you can build [airplanes], I have the confidence to fly." They are the needles of the sea god of the aviation people who "chase the dream of the blue sky". It is believed that with the appearance of Li Zizhi, the audience will have a deeper understanding of the test pilot's singing and crying life.
In addition, "Chasing Dreams and Blue Skies" has also created a series of vivid female figures.
For example, the down-to-earth Cao Huifang (Huang Man), her work and aircraft manufacturing seem to have nothing to do with each other, but they are an indispensable logistical support in this big family.
The gentle and strong Xu Meng (Wang Jiayu) has the gentle virtue of being a wife and mother, and also has the tenacity of being an aeronautical engineer. Because of her long-term love affair with Jiang Xingjian, and because of Jiang Xingjian's premature sacrifice, she will make aircraft ejection seats and improve the safety factor of pilots, which is the goal of lifelong efforts.
The heroic Yan Qing (Xu Xiaosa) is a red flower in the military camp. She accompanied Qin Tian at his side when he was in the most difficult time. How their feelings will develop is also very worrying to the audience.
Rooted in that special era, these rather charming characters are intertwined in tandem, and under the connection of the same cause, the same goal, and the same faith, they show the ambition and flight of the builders of the new Chinese aviation industry.
Ideals are a real taste
For "Chasing Dreams and Blue Skies", the development of the aviation industry is one of the important driving forces to promote the plot, but the plot is not all grand narrative, and the charm and brilliance of the strivers.
In the recent plot, Qin Tian and Zhao Deliang travel to the Molov Aviation Academy in the Soviet Union to open a "new copy" of learning aviation technology. Xu Meng stayed in China and continued to sleep and forget about the development of the catapult seat.
However, before the "copy" of Qin Tian and Zhao Deliang was opened, they first folded on the language gate. The proud sons of heaven who were once foreign countries also had two eyes and one black. During the basic test, Qin Tian handed in the white paper and Zhao Deliang's barely passed score, which made the two lose face fiercely.
Fortunately, the two of them are well aware of the truth that face is not worth money, and when they come to the Soviet Union to study with the hope of the factory, they must have the courage to "wear gold armor in a hundred battles in the yellow sand, and never return the loulan without breaking the building". The tongue will still be knotted, the spitting stars will still squirt out, and the Russian language is no longer a problem under the insistence of day after day.
Of course, language is only the first hurdle. The real problem is for Chinese students to learn the core knowledge of aircraft manufacturing abroad. Confidential information needs to be memorized in the classroom, learning about airplanes, and also in the name of reading poetry. Even when they entered the library to look for materials, Qin Tian and Zhao Deliang had to show their housekeeping skills of "hide-and-seek" and wrestle with the political commissars.
Before leaving, Qin Tian told Zhao Deliang that his dream was to learn from the most advanced aircraft manufacturing technology of the Soviet Union and the United States to design his own Sino-Soviet. Zhao Deliang replied to him, "I have goosebumps when I say it."
What wouldn't it be like for off-screen audiences. If you ignore their special status, this vivid face does not seem to be much different from today's young people pursuing their dreams. However, under the basic national conditions with a weak foundation at that time, their spirit of struggle was even more moving.
In the final analysis, this drama not only tells the history of China's aviation development, but also witnesses the history of the struggle of New China.
At present, "Chasing Dreams and Blue Skies" has aired nine episodes. The spirit of the aviation people has been laid, and the learning journey of Qin Tian and Zhao Deliang has also come to an end, they returned to China to reunite with their colleagues, and put into the construction work in full swing with advanced knowledge.
In last night's plot, they plunged headlong into the "Blue Sky 101" plan, vowing to create their own fighter jets for China.
The whole plant worked together to install the aircraft, Zheng Youfu shouldered the heavy responsibility of "three hammers and fixed tones", and the wonderful clips of the successful flight of the 0101 aircraft were staged one by one. This makes people feel the blood boiling at the same time, but also from the bottom of their hearts to produce a sense of pride: nothing can overwhelm the Chinese aviation people.
Next, more challenges await, leaving them with more room to gallop. It is expected that with the follow-up good drama, Chinese aviation people can cut through thorns and create brilliant achievements.
【Text/Pomegranate】