Chapter 522 is straight to 9WY, a fan forced to death (will continue to add updates during the Spring Festival, please give me a monthly ticket~)
Of course, it is only a thought to arrest a colleague to extract a confession.
However, Le Maire still walked around the plane called FTC2000 three times.
Finally, a little bit of the MiG-21 can be seen from the installation method of the engine in the tail part of the aircraft and the structure of the main landing gear set under the wing.
But...
To say that this thing is a modified MiG-21, Le Maire really can't convince himself.
Look at this round nose, look at the large side strips that are similar to the F18 next door, look at the two large screens in this cabin, look at the air intakes on both sides... …
“Wait...the air intake?”
Le Maire, who walked back to the front of the plane, stopped.
Just now, his attention had been on finding similarities between this aircraft and the MiG-21, so he didn't pay much attention to the details in other places.
Now with an overall view, I quickly discovered some bright spots.
Due to the existence of the fence, visitors cannot get too close to the exhibits.
But even from a distance, it is not difficult to see that the air intake of this aircraft is somewhat special.
Compared with common models such as Mirage 3, Mirage 2000 or MiG 23, which also use both sides of the air intake configuration, there is no common adjustment cone or adjustment plate between this air inlet and the fuselage.
In other words, it is fixed.
Fighters do not only need to fly at simple subsonic speeds because they need to cope with a variety of flight conditions. Therefore, for large-level passenger aircraft, the external air needs to be pre-compressed before entering the engine to meet the aircraft's performance needs.
The optimal pre-compression method corresponds to different flight conditions.
So most fighter jets will have adjustable air intakes.
The price paid for this is a complex mechanical structure and more dead weight.
“I remember this should be called DSI air intake...”
As the vice president of the French Aerospace Industry Association, Le Maire is quite familiar with some cutting-edge concepts in this field, and he quickly found this somewhat unfamiliar term in his mind.
“There are already mass-produced aircraft using this kind of air intake?”
“Is it a low-end export aircraft that is an improved MiG-21?”
He It was a bit unbelievable for a moment.
Although the concept of DSI air intake has been proposed for a long time, there are not many related studies.
In Le Maire's impression, there should be only a few technical demonstration aircraft equipped with this kind of air inlet for test flights.
Previously, let alone a mass-produced machine, there was not even a prototype.
Otherwise, he would not have discovered this after turning around three times.
The air inlet is not adjustable, which means that a fixed design must be used to deal with various air intake conditions, which requires a high level of calculation of air intake conditions and optimization of aerodynamic characteristics.
Thinking of this, Le Maire looked at the display board in front of the plane again.
"Maximum speed M1.4, available overload -2-+8g, practical ceiling 16,500 meters..."
A very normal advanced trainer aircraft, or a light fighter indicator.
Although it is not eye-catching, it is definitely not the kind of attack aircraft that can only fly smoothly.
Even the Americans only had technology in the verification stage, which was casually installed on a low-end model aircraft by the Chinese.
Something magical indeed.
However, Le Maire did not doubt the authenticity of the plane in front of him.
On the one hand, he has been immersed in the aviation field for decades and can tell the difference between a real aircraft and a full-size model at a glance.
On the other hand, the display board of this aircraft said that it will perform a flight show tomorrow...
Le Maire raised his head and looked around.
Soon I saw an old acquaintance of mine not far away.
Alan Caron is a well-known journalist in the industry.
At the first China Xiangzhou Air Show in November last year, he took a lot of first-hand pictures and video materials.
"Mr. Cuarón."
Le Maire walked up and patted Cuarón, who was looking down at the camera.
The latter had just taken photos of the flight show and was changing film in the camera.
The French in the 1990s were at the peak of their national pride. The successive appearances of Mirage 2000 and Rafale were obviously worthy of writing a column...
At this time, Cuaron suddenly heard his name, and then suddenly The ground raised its head.
As a reporter specializing in aviation industry news, it is naturally impossible for him not to know important figures in the French Aerospace Industry Association.
"Hello, Chairman Le Maire."
The two of them were acquaintances who had met a few times before. After a few brief greetings, Le Maire pulled Caron there. He set up the FTC2000 in front of him and signaled him to take a few more photos from different angles.
Of course, air intake design is such a delicate and highly customized task. Let alone taking a few photos, even if the original design drawing is placed in front of you, you cannot simply copy it.
Le Maire only thinks that from the perspective of industrial information collection, it is necessary to report this matter to his domestic colleagues in the future——
Not everyone will pay special attention to China-related matters. dynamics. Cuaron is a professional reporter after all, and he quickly found the angle Le Maire needed.
“Is this an exclusive technology?”
he asked while pressing the shutter button.
After all, the reporter is not a professional, but based on his first impression, he felt that the air intake of this aircraft was very simple and seemed different from all the aircraft he had seen before.
“Well...in a sense, yes.”
After considering the words, Flamel replied:
“This kind of air intake is lighter and simpler. , but the adaptability range is relatively small. For most tactical aircraft, if designed well, some advantages in thrust-to-weight ratio and reliability can be obtained.”
This is quite true.
The DSI air intake itself is not a life-changing thing, nor is it necessarily more advanced than the adjustable air intake.
However, being able to design a usable DSI air intake shows that the R&D personnel have profound knowledge in aerodynamics, which is something more worthy of attention than the air intake itself.
Of course, Flamel was just thinking about this in his heart and could not say it out loud.
These reporters are always trying to make big news.
With his status, he must speak tactfully, and he cannot openly enhance others' ambitions and destroy his own prestige.
Moreover, the FTC2000 can only be compared with the early Mirage 2000 in terms of size, and its positioning is even half a grade lower.
The target customers are completely different.
Not to mention the Rafale fighter jets that are currently undergoing test flights.
Le Maire’s positioning of China is basically a promising future.
After staying here for a while, the two continued walking side by side towards the home country exhibition area.
The content at the back of the Huaxia exhibition area is relatively lackluster.
Caron is not even interested in taking pictures.
In comparison, Le Maire around him is more attractive to him:
"Chairman Le Maire, what do you think the level of the Chinese aviation industry is at?" level?”
Obviously, this is another topic that is easy to write about in reports.
After all, just at the beginning of last year, the European Aviation Agency, Airbus and China Aviation Industry Corporation signed a super large order with an astonishing total amount, which involved positioning, technical exchanges, market competition, Policies, regulations, industrial production cooperation and many other factors.
Since some details of the cooperation have not yet been made public, until today, nearly a year later, no media has been able to dig into the true nature of the entire cooperation.
And topics related to China have become the content of interest to many reporters.
It’s a pity that there are not many opportunities to obtain effective information
"It must be admitted that the Chinese people are already at the forefront of the world in some technical fields, otherwise we would not carry out technical cooperation with them."
Le Maire's answer is still watertight, first of all, it is reasonable. Appreciating it, he explained the reasons for cooperation with China, but then changed the subject:
“However, from the overall level of the aviation industry, they are still in a fairly preliminary stage of development. The level of aviation power research and development and manufacturing is still far behind ours, especially in the fields of helicopters and large civil aviation aircraft.”
He added as if to improve his persuasiveness. Here’s an example:
“When I worked for Eurocopter a few years ago, I handled the transfer of production technical data of the AS365 Dolphin helicopter to China. In general, even if they only introduced our technology, It also takes a long time to learn it completely.”
"Until I left Eurocopter and joined the French Aerospace Industry Association, the Dolphins they produced still required a large number of imported parts..."
Le Maire's experience is indeed rich, and he can cope with Caron. This kind of reporter is very handy.
He knows exactly what the other person wants to hear.
These words can be written into a beautiful report without any processing.
Of course, Cuaron nodded frequently, and soon had the draft of the report ready to start writing when he returned to his residence today.
The harmonious and harmonious atmosphere lasted until the two were about to leave the Huaxia exhibition area.
Cuarón, who had already planned to say goodbye to Le Maire, suddenly saw several Chinese exhibitors removing the waterproof camouflage cloth wrapped on a helicopter at a booth at the end.
Soon, the former also followed his gaze and looked in that direction.
Following the actions of several Chinese people, a well-made and handsome helicopter gradually revealed its true identity.
The appearance of this plane made the two of them feel familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
Judging from the shape of the crew compartment and the ducted tail rotor, this is obviously a Dolphin - the model that Le Maire just mentioned.
However, its front fuselage, engine nacelle and main rotor are quite different from the Dolphin prototype.
Not to mention a pair of short wings that are obviously used to carry weapons, as well as an optical sighting device installed under the front of the nose.
What is even more coincidental is that the Chinese exhibition area and the French exhibition area are next to each other.
An original AS365N1 helicopter was parked at the booth separated by a fence not far away.
The difference between the two made Le Maire think of the FTC2000 that was "improved from the MiG-21" for no reason.
Caron next to him had already picked up his camera and started taking pictures.
From this position, the two Dolphins from China and France can be in the same frame without moving at all.
The expression on his face is wonderful.
Although he did not speak, Flamel clearly saw a heartbreaking question:
"Is this what you said about 'it takes a long time to fully learn' and 'there is a big gap in the helicopter field'?"
(End of this chapter)