Chapter 1082 Straight Antenna
In fact, in Chang Haonan’s original idea, the platform and the equipment were originally matching.
It’s just that he didn’t expect that the French would be stuck at the time when he was so busy that he hit the back of his head, so he had no time to organize the three companies in person.
Liu Yongquan can only connect with Liang Shaoxiu alone.
So the situation became, the former was surprised, "Why is there suddenly a ready-made adaptation solution?"
The latter was shocked, "How come the early warning aircraft program was sold so quietly?"
As for the Electronic Technology Group...
Guo Lin happened to be in Jinling for basic testing, so he didn't get there in time.
But it’s not a big problem.
The two parties have not even signed an agreement yet.
The so-called "overall design plan" originally could not give out all the detailed technical details directly.
The early warning command system is inherently a highly customized product. Even if the platforms are similar or even the same, the specific designs are likely to vary widely.
The focus of this stage is still the aircraft structural layout and the basic performance of the core subsystems.
The main purpose is to give feedback that is acceptable to Dassault in terms of performance and schedule.
As for the specific research and development work, that will at least wait until Dassault shares the complete design data of the Falcon 8Z.
Therefore, after briefly reviewing the known situation, Liang Shaoxiu detached several people from the project team and began to assist Liu Yongquan in sorting out relevant documents...
For them, of course, this period of time was Fulfilling.
But for Ed Steiner, who has been waiting for news in France, it is different.
Considering that the Falcon 8Z itself is not yet in commercial operation, he is not in a hurry to see the plan.
But after the inquiry letter has been sent, there must be a feedback email indicating whether it is possible or not, right?
In the past, China's response speed to business issues was generally within a week.
Some important things can even be measured by the hour.
But this time, there was no news for nearly a month -
The communication between the two parties during the Falcon 8Z test flight continued as usual, but as long as he was in meetings or emails When it comes to content related to early warning aircraft, China always responds with the phrase "actively discussing and researching".
He also tried to contact Liu Yongquan directly to inquire about the situation, but the reply he received was that Mr. Liu was on a business trip and could not get through the phone...
In Ed Steiner's opinion, this was obviously the other party deliberately avoiding him.
But now that the matter has come to this, he has no other choice but to settle down and wait.
Until one day in early July...
The assistant opened the door eagerly.
There are still several pages of official paper in his hand.
It looked like it had just been printed and hadn't even been put into the folder.
"Doctor, the reply letter from China has arrived!"
As he spoke, he strode forward and put the document on the desk.
Although the other party did not directly explain what the reply was, looking at the anxious look, it was not difficult for Ed Steiner to judge that it was the matter that he was most concerned about.
He sat up straight almost instantly, his movements so violent that the chair under his butt made a sharp sound.
But the next second, perhaps considering his leadership image, Ed Steiner took a deep breath to calm himself down, and at the same time forcibly slowed down his movements.
“Got it.”
He nodded pretending to be relaxed:
“You go back first, I will come back to you later if I have something to do.”
Then he took out the pen from the pen holder and calmly looked at the first page of the document on the table.
However...
After subconsciously skipping the previous few lines of routine polite words, the first sentence he saw was——
In response to your request, we have Completed the overall structural design of the early warning aircraft antenna...
"???"
Ed Steiner's right hand holding the pen shook violently, almost removing the cap of the pen behind it Throw it away.
He closed his eyes and pinched his temples gently.
Then open your eyes again.
This is when I was sure that I had read it correctly.
The other party did not just reply with an intention to "cooperate". But in this month, the overall plan was worked out...
Ed Steiner raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, feeling a little at a loss for a moment.
But then I thought about it, the plan to jointly develop an early warning aircraft was originally proposed by the Chinese.
The other party was well prepared, and it seemed reasonable...
Although he found a seemingly reasonable explanation, he was forced to calm down at first. , I really couldn’t pretend anymore, so I quickly looked down.
China's meaning is very clear, that is, the basic plan is already available, but because a formal cooperative research and development agreement has not been signed, according to regulations, it cannot be sent out directly. You need to send a delegation.
Moreover, the current design is only a rough outline. If you want to go into further details, you need to obtain detailed design data of the Falcon 8Z platform.
At the end of the reply, I added a special paragraph, saying that the last two to three years may be a critical period for the explosion of the light early warning aircraft market. There are not many competitors at present. I hope that both parties can unite and not Because of some small differences, it leads to a lose-lose ending.
It is not difficult to see that there is something in what the other party said.
At least we know that Ed Steiner wanted to find a third party to cooperate with him some time ago, but he had no choice but to turn back.
It’s just that we are all decent people, and some words cannot be said clearly.
Of course, they are also urging Dassault to make a decision as soon as possible.
There is even a suspicion of PUA.
However, you can see it if you see it.
But this passage really captures the psyche of Ed Steiner.
So, the assistant, who had just returned to his office and didn’t even have time to drink, was called back by another phone call...
...
Only a week later, a delegation led by Didier Casore set off from France to China.
Although Casore had not had much contact with the Aerospace Power Group before, and it was his first meeting with Liu Yongquan, he originally supported cooperation with China on the early warning aircraft project, which was considered to be completely opposite.
Therefore, the talks between the two parties went very smoothly, and the retreat phase soon ended and the preliminary design plan began to be confirmed.
In fact, logically speaking, there are only four or five types of antenna layouts for early warning aircraft.
In Casore's view, since the Chinese have already equipped a medium-sized early warning aircraft with a T-shaped cross-section antenna, what they come up with this time is probably a scaled-down plan.
The key is how to integrate a fully functional system into a platform as small as the Falcon 8Z without having a fatal impact on the flight quality and body structure.
However, when Liu Yongquan turned on the projector and presented the plan on the screen, he suddenly realized that he might still be too young.
What appeared in front of the Dassault delegation was a straight-shaped antenna.
Ordinarily, this should be considered a classic design of a balanced beam structure.
But it is not installed on the back of the machine with a few thick supports like Ericsson's solution.
Instead, it is fixed by a slender structure similar to a hanger.
It’s just that this “hanger” is upside down.
It is equivalent to having an extra ventral fin on the back of the fuselage...
Thanks to this design, the distance between the antenna and the fuselage is very close, which greatly reduces the impact of the entire structure on the efficiency of the vertical tail. Influence.
And because the flat tail is completely higher than the formation, there is no problem at all.
And because there are no pylons that disrupt the airflow, there is no need to worry about stability during high-speed flight...
In short, it seems that all hidden dangers are completely avoided in terms of aerodynamics.
And the only problem is.
In order to ensure the number of T/R components, the size of this straight antenna...
Too long.
Almost 60% of the back of the machine is occupied.
Moreover, the weight of the entire antenna is concentrated on that narrow line.
A civil aircraft does not leave any particularly exaggerated margins in its structure.
Although this installation method has no effect on the lifting surface and control surface.
But Casore is almost certain that the body itself cannot withstand such a high-intensity load...
(End of this chapter)