Chapter 731: The number one in the world who missed the opportunity (first update, please subscribe)
Time flies so fast, but in just a blink of an eye, it is already the New Year of 2020,
New Year's Day in Nanyang is in the rainy season, with a lot of rain. People in Chang'an spent this New Year's Eve in heavy rain.
Every time at this time, people are always looking forward to sunny days around the Spring Festival at the end of the month. However, many people are generally used to the Spring Festival during the rainy season.
In the rainy season, it keeps raining, and the wiper keeps blowing away the rain. The heavy rain created puddles on the road, and as soon as the car passed by, the rainwater splashed up high. Lin Tonghua, who was driving an Alfa Romeo, stared at the windshield. Although the wiper kept blowing, the falling raindrops still blocked his view, which forced him to drive the car cautiously. Fortunately, he was heading towards The company doesn't have many cars in the middle.
The car was racing on the empty Route 3. Oil palm plantations on both sides of the road pass by. Soon, Lin Tonghua drove into Aircraft Town, a small town with Nanyang Aviation Industry Corporation as its core. Through the rain curtain, you could see the signboards written in Italian on the roadside. On the other side of the town was Little France. , most of the signboards there are written in French. Going south, there is Little Berlin...
This is Airplane Town, a town with foreign characteristics from the beginning. However, now with the scale of the company, With the expansion, Tang people have become the majority in the town.
As soon as we walked into the flat-roofed assembly plant with a large span, there was a smell of lubricating oil mixed with other greases in the air, and we heard the buzzing of lathes, the buzzing of milling machines and rivets. The unique "pop" sound of the gun...
These sounds made Lin Tonghua excited, and his body was full of vitality. In a factory that is half the size of a football field, there are several silver-white airplanes lined up in a row. Different from ordinary aircraft, there is no engine nacelle on the installed wing, but there are two strange-looking nacelles at the tail of the aircraft.
Although this aircraft has not yet been painted, looking at the windshield and other facilities that have been installed, everyone knows that they are close to completion.
What is different from ordinary aircraft is that its main beams are formed at one time using a 15,000-ton die forging hydraulic press, and then gantry planers and gantry mills are used to process them into the shapes drawn on the drawings. Then use bolts and rivets to build a frame on the girder, and fill the frame with wires, hydraulic transmission systems and electrical systems.
Half a month ago, the aircraft cabin was dragged into the assembly plant, and the horizontal tail and wings, engines and landing gear were connected. Then the workers installed radio stations and countless radios in the cockpit. Clean instruments.
In the workshop, assembly workers riveted the shiny aluminum skin to the fuselage on the truss, the installation fitters assembled the components one by one, and the inspectors constantly checked the installation quality. Hundreds of workers worked silently. Among them were Chinese, Italians, French, and of course Germans. Sometimes they would discuss it by chance, or call the technicians to say something, and they would just surround the plane. Thanks to their efforts, the aircraft has basically taken shape.
"I didn't expect it to be so soon..."
As soon as Lin Tonghua walked to the front of the cabin, Gu Guangfu stood aside and said.
"Yeah, I really didn't expect it to be so fast at first."
"The main reason is that we borrowed a lot of the design of the "707". Its cabin design is very excellent, using large overall forgings, which has very high strength. We It was directly shortened and put on the "717", which saved more than half of the time."
When it comes to the large overall forgings of the aircraft, Lin Tonghua had to admit that Nanyang made them in Germany. They got a lot of good things - they brought back a 15,000-ton die forging hydraulic press from Germany to provide large-scale integral forgings for Nanyang aircraft.
As early as when the C95 passenger aircraft was improved and designed, large-scale integral forgings began to be widely used. The application of this technology not only improved the overall performance of the Nanyang aircraft, but also allowed them to directly use it when developing the "707" project. This technology is applied to the "707".
However, because the 707 aircraft is larger in size, the 15,000-ton die forging hydraulic press can no longer meet his needs, so he ordered a 35,000-ton die forging hydraulic press in the United States to manufacture his spare parts.
However, for the small 717, a 15,000-ton die forging hydraulic press is enough.
In the process of designing the "717", Lin Tonghua and Gu Guangxia both followed one principle - to use existing accessories as much as possible. In addition to the design of the "707" cockpit, cabin and wings, it also A large number of parts were borrowed there. According to deputy chief designer Zhang Tingpeng, the "717" is a shortened "707" - the cabin length is shortened from 44.22 meters to 28.65 meters.
In this way, with their efforts, after completing the construction of the full-scale model early last year, prototype manufacturing was also put on the agenda. Immediately after the cabin was completed, a water tank test was conducted - the entire 717 cabin was immersed in a huge water tank, and then pressurized and depressurized repeatedly at three-minute intervals. During a time equivalent to 10,000 flight hours, the aircraft Water pressure in the fuselage is raised and lowered to simulate conditions it would experience in flight.
This speed is amazing. In fact, this speed is directly related to their efforts. In order to keep up with the schedule, the entire project team almost lives and eats in the company. There is no such thing as getting off work at 8pm.
In order to work overtime, Lin Tonghua even moved his office to the company's basketball court. With the efforts of hundreds of engineers, drawings were drawn one by one. They are the mothers of the new aircraft. Each drawing is Have to examine it carefully.
Finally, with the drawings finalized, prototype production was also put on the agenda. Finally, after a year of hard work, the prototype of the "717" was finally presented to them.
Under the bright lights, the silver cabin was facing the designers. Looking at the prototype of the aircraft, Lin Tonghua's eyes flashed with longing, and he said.
"The Canadians gave up on the C102 last year. Our "717" will be the second jet airliner in the world, if..."
Licking his lips and staring This plane, he said.
"If we seize the opportunity, the "717" may even become the world's first jet aircraft to be put into commercial operation. After all, the "Comet" passenger aircraft is still undergoing testing, and we still have If you have a chance to compete with it, the next step is to compare speed!”
Zhang Tingpeng on the side reminded.
"General Engineer Lin, speed is important, but safety is more important. We cannot sacrifice craftsmanship in order to grab working hours." He then emphasized.
“And I heard from the airline people that the British plan to put the "Comet" passenger aircraft into the route from London to Johannesburg in May."
< br>Everyone was speechless after hearing this. As the chief designer, Lin Tonghua opened his mouth, but after all, no words came out. After a long time, he spoke.
"Does it matter whether he is second or first in the world? We just have to implement it according to the plan. As for other things, we don't have to think so much."
In fact, even if he said this, but in the In his heart, Lin Tonghua still had some regrets. After all, in the past year, they had been working day and night just to get ahead of the British, complete the test flight, and then become the first aircraft to be put into commercial flight. Even they had already We have planned where the first route will be - Chang'an to Dongning.
After leaving the assembly plant, Lin Tonghua stood under the awning outside the plant and smoked silently. At this time, Ma Deshu came over. They had developed the "Zhongyun No. 1" together as an engine. The expert, who now works for BMW, came here to assist in the installation of the wP100 engine. It is a domestic model of Rolls-Royce's "Conway" turbofan engine. After two full years of improvement and improvement, last year BMW launched a new model with a thrust of up to 17,500 pounds. The wP100/03 engine, this turbofan engine with excellent performance and low fuel consumption has been selected to power the 707 and 717.
"General Engineer Lin, you must be a little disappointed to be smoking alone here!"
"Who says it's not the case?"
Lin Tonghua said helplessly,
"Originally, I wanted to win the first place in the world, but now it seems that it is a bit unrealistic. According to the plan, the test flight will have to wait until a week later at the earliest. In just a few months It is impossible to complete the test flight project in a few months.”
Let alone a few months, the entire test flight may even last one to two years. In this case, I want to strive for the title of No. 1 in the world.
It’s just a daydream!
“Then let’s not argue.”
Madeshu smiled.
"Isn't it just a false name? The "Comet" aircraft uses a turbojet engine, which has high fuel consumption, low thrust, slow speed, and a small passenger capacity. Our WP100 not only has large thrust, And with low fuel consumption, it will definitely be more popular with airlines than the "Comet". Airlines always have to consider operating costs. As long as the performance of the "717" is good enough, it will definitely be welcomed by the market. "
In fact, this is also a world first - the world's first aircraft using a turbofan jet engine!
Sometimes when you see a problem, you just need to change your perspective.
“That’s all it can do,”
Lin Tonghua nodded and said.
“It’s a false reputation, so don’t fight for it.”
When I said this, I still felt a little unwilling in my heart.
"By the way, has the test pilot been selected?"
Mad Deshu asked.
"Well, there are a few alternatives. Do you have any suggestions?"
"Xingtang, he was the one who flew the "Zhongyun No. 1" when we were in the rear area."
< br>Listening to old friends mentioning old things, Lin Tonghua smiled.
"When Li Xingtang was conducting a long-distance acceptance flight, in order to eliminate his concerns, you, the great factory director, personally boarded the plane to participate in the flight. This time..."
Paused and looked. To old friends, Lin Tonghua said.
"I will personally participate in the test flight..."
(End of this chapter)