Chapter 1263 Accidentally confronted with SpaceX
at the same time.
Air show site, in the ground exhibition area.
Although the A380 performing a flight demonstration in the sky attracted the attention of most media and audiences, the Chinese delegation, which brought real aircraft to the exhibition for the second time since 1998, also accurately attracted the attention of some potential users.
Without it, the aircraft labeled as Yun-9/Yuntan-9 would really stand out from the rest.
Although China has sent non-combat models such as MA-60, C808 and Y-8F to participate in air shows many years ago, no matter what their specific performance is, traces of Soviet design can still be clearly seen at a glance at these aircraft. .
All in all, it lacks a bit of elegance, and the workmanship details are a bit unflattering.
But this time, the core exhibits brought by the Chinese people changed the stereotypes left by the past.
Not only has the overall design begun to lean towards a European style that is more easily accepted by the market, but even the putty details of the prototype are much better than before.
On the contrary, it is a bit like their performance in the helicopter field.
However, this aircraft was obviously designed independently by China, because no even remotely similar model could be found.
If I have to say it, it is a bit close to a C17 that has been reduced in size and has two fewer engines.
And this is obviously an advantage for most potential customers.
Perhaps the only thing that may cause some concern is that this aircraft uses a turbofan engine designed and produced by China itself.
China is obviously aware of this, so while exhibiting the aircraft itself, it also brought a full-size model of the engine called the Turbofan 20.
It also stated that in the export version, users can choose another engine according to their actual needs.
Although no further details about this option were revealed, it was assured that the option model comes from a "well-known international supplier."
At this time in 2006, the old C130 transport aircraft equipped by many countries have gradually reached their end of life, while the latest C130J Super Hercules is still in the early stages of delivery, its production capacity has not yet been expanded and it is mainly for the US military's own use.
Therefore, the emergence of Yun 9 is equivalent to being stuck at a very clever replacement node.
Especially for many countries, with the advent of the new century, the "military" color of transport aircraft is gradually decreasing. In many cases, they just need an aircraft with a large enough volume, a springboard door, and easy loading and unloading to perform routine transportation tasks.
As a result, the already less obvious damage resistance and reliability advantages of the four-engine turboprop configuration have become increasingly insignificant.
As a result, even before the A380 performance ended, many interested users had already gathered around the Y-9 prototype.
Many of them wore classic white headscarves.
These oil guys don't care about the extra money and fuel spent on the C130J, but at first glance, this thing has the range and comfort of a passenger aircraft. Moreover, it only needs a simple modification to transform into an aerial tanker. No matter how you look at it, it is more in line with the needs of the new era.
In particular, the UAE Air Force has purchased a batch of early warning aircraft jointly developed by China and France, and now it has no psychological burden.
The look in his eyes was like asking someone to say, "Take my money and get off my plane."
Of course, this Yun-9 itself will have to undertake a lot of testing tasks in the future. No matter how much money the other party pays, it cannot really be sold.
But it was enough to make Liang Shaoxiu, who saw this kind of battle for the first time, smile from ear to ear...
……
Compared to the Middle Eastern guy who clearly showed his intention to purchase, the other group of people seemed very restrained.
Several exhibitors with Rolls-Royce ID badges hanging around their necks were gathering at the entrance of the Huaxia exhibition area, looking at the aircraft booth about 100 meters away.
Stretching further in this direction is the main runway of Changi Airport.
Therefore, almost everyone subconsciously thinks that their eyes should be focused on the A380 that has lowered its landing gear and is slowly lowering its altitude in preparation for landing.
However, for the technicians, the R&D and testing tasks of the Trent 900 have basically come to an end, followed by the step-by-step mass production and market competition. In fact, they do not need to invest too much attention.
On the contrary, the NGME project, which is still in an undisclosed state, is more representative of the future.
However, due to the improper operation of MTU and Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce has lost at the starting line in this competition and can only take the risk of choosing to cooperate with a non-traditional partner like Huaxia Haofa Group.
Although the latter serves as the core supplier in the Trent 900 project and has cooperated with Snecma to launch the SeA650, a small turbofan engine that is quite competitive at this stage, it has never conducted research and development of mainline-level aviation power before. experience.
The main purpose of this trip by Luo Luo and his entourage was to take advantage of the precious opportunity of the Singapore Air Show to get a feel for the formal negotiations that were about to begin.
"How do you think this aircraft compares to the A400M?"
Tim Purdy held a railing with one hand and asked the other people following him.
"A400M...I guess they are not the same level of models?"
The first person to speak was assistant Blair Liggins. After visiting China with Bodie, he had become a close member of the latter. "That's true."
Bodie shrugged:
"But I have a feeling... the Chinese may have really found the correct way to open the medium-sized transport aircraft... and judging from the naming habits, they are also preparing to equip this model, which shows that they have enough confidence in the performance and stability."
At this time, NGME project operations officer Chuck Gibson, who was holding a camera to take pictures next to him, also turned his head:
"I have specifically estimated through satellite photos that the previous version equipped with the PS90A engine only carried out about 20% of the total number of test flights. The remaining 80% were carried out by this and another prototype equipped with a Chinese domestic engine. It shows that this model at least does not have particularly serious faults or technical problems.”
In fact, so far, there are only two prototypes of the Y-9 used for test flights. However, the No. 01 machine was later dismantled and replaced with a PS90A and a new turbofan 20. This led to unknown outside observers generally believing that There is also a No. 3 prototype.
But the conclusion is indeed very reliable.
After hearing this, Bodi hummed slightly, with a somewhat complicated expression on his face——
On the one hand, now that Rolls-Royce has decided to jointly develop the next generation of medium-sized turbofan engines with China, it is obviously a good thing for its partners to have stronger technical levels.
At least it will be easier to compete with the Pratt & Whitney/MTU consortium.
But on the other hand, Rolls-Royce also hopes to have absolute dominance in the cooperation.
Even if Haofa Group cannot be counted as a parts supplier like the Trent 900, it must at least ensure that NGME is a model that belongs to Rolls-Royce and not to the other party.
But now there is no trace of Rolls-Royce's technical solutions, but China's Turbofan 20 has been installed and has undergone a total of thousands of hours of test flights.
And there have been no major problems.
In other words, the new models cooperated by the two parties will most likely be based on the other party's overall design, supplemented by improvements in some of the core technologies provided by Rolls-Royce.
How can we talk about taking the lead?
It would be nice not to become someone else’s supplier...
For a moment, Bodi couldn't help but be immersed in the emo that was against Tiangang.
It was not until about ten minutes later that the A380 air show was completely over, and the area around the Y9 booth began to be cleared in preparation for towing the aircraft to the apron next door for preparations before the flight show.
As the only real machine participating in the exhibition left, the number of visitors gathered in the Huaxia exhibition area also decreased rapidly, and soon there were only a dozen or so sparse figures left.
"Come on, let's take a closer look."
Although what Haofa Group brought this time was just a model, it was extremely sincere.
Not only is the size and appearance restored to 1:1, there is even a transparent section that allows you to directly see the internal structure.
Bodi and the others were well prepared this time, with telescopes, cameras and telephoto lenses.
It's just that it's a bit too conspicuous to take out these guys under the spotlight, so I've been waiting for this sparsely populated opportunity.
A group of people walked into the Huaxia exhibition area and headed straight to the turbofan 20 model booth with a clear goal. Then they took notes and took photos.
After all, there are many people at the scene, so more specific technical analysis work must be done after returning.
So, after Purdy himself had circled the fence a few times, his attention was inevitably drawn to his surroundings.
Then...
He saw a wheeled chassis with an astonishing length and a large number of axles.
"Have the Chinese brought out long-range ballistic missiles to the exhibition?"
Bodie's eyes almost popped out of his head.
Although it is almost known that China has conducted what may be the only international trade of medium-range ballistic missiles so far, it was also done in secret after all.
Now that this is placed directly on the air show booth, it is a bit too aggressive.
Driven by curiosity, he walked to the exquisitely crafted model in three steps at a time.
But I only saw a line of English letters on the nameplate below:
Space rapid response service "Orbital Express".
In response to emergencies such as natural disasters, launch and insertion into orbit can be completed in as little as one week...
Small satellites do not need to wait for a ride, the launch cost is low, and the launch schedule is flexible...
……
“Isn’t this the business that SpaceX promoted some time ago?”
(End of chapter)