Set sail1992

Chapter 545 The plane is coming
Now that he knew the group's plan, Jiang He naturally had no second choice. He immediately said, "We will do what the group says, but Mr. Zhang, I have a question..."

Zhang Qihang nodded: "If you have any questions, just ask."

Jiang He hesitated for a moment, and then asked: "Mr. Zhang, this is two to three million electric bicycles. Can you really sell so many electric bicycles?"

"So you're worried about this." Hearing Jiang He's question, Zhang Qihang laughed immediately, and he asked back, "Lao Jiang, let me ask you, how many provinces have our electric bicycles covered so far?"

"Ah?" Jiang He froze for a moment, then slapped his forehead heavily, and said angrily, "How did I forget this?!"

He finally realized how unnecessary his worries were.

The monthly sales volume of Chaoyang electric bicycles has exceeded 4, but even so, the sales area is limited to three or four provinces adjacent to Shandong Province. It can be said that even half of the six provinces and one city in East China have not been covered. .

Now only half of the six provinces and one city in East China can achieve monthly sales of 4 vehicles. What if it is the entire six provinces and one city in East China?If you work hard, it's not impossible to sell 10 vehicles a month, right?
What about the Northeast?

Except for the six provinces and one city in East China and the Northeast region, don't the people in South China, where the economy is developing rapidly, don't need this kind of cheap and low-cost transportation?
If we can use the platform of CCTV to promote Chaoyang electric bicycles to the whole country, let alone 20 vehicles per month, 30 or even 40 vehicles per month is not impossible!
Thinking of this, Jiang He realized what a serious mistake he almost made just now.

Seeing Jiang He's appearance, Zhang Qihang said with a smile, "Have you figured it out?"

"Yes, I understand," Jiang He nodded vigorously: "If our group really promotes electric bicycles on the platform of CCTV next year, with the support of CCTV in public opinion, let alone 300 million, 400 million 500 or even [-] million vehicles is not without chance."

"It's good that you understand," Zhang Qihang nodded after hearing what Jianghe said: "Although next year's sales are very optimistic, you also have to understand that the pressure on you is also huge, the production capacity of the battery, the production capacity of the motor, the electronic control system, etc. production capacity, how to build this nationwide sales network and how to ensure the smooth operation of this network, and at the same time provide a strong after-sales service system..."

Speaking of this, Zhang Qihang patted Jiang He's shoulder vigorously, and took a deep breath: "Lao Jiang, if you take on this burden, next year your shoulders will be under a lot of pressure."

"I'm not afraid!"

Jiang He said decisively: "With you supporting me, I am not afraid of anything! I also have confidence!"

"You really have faith in me..."

Zhang Qihang smiled and shook his head, then he shook his head, Zhang Qihang really thought so in his heart: With Lao Tzu behind him, Lao Jiang really has nothing to be afraid of.

"Hey..." Jiang He laughed twice, and said, "How can I not have confidence in you? I have seen with my own eyes that you took our unit from a broken unit that didn't even pay enough wages in more than two years. Today, if I don’t believe anyone, I can’t believe you.”

This matter is settled.

........................

Looking at the document in front of him, Zhang Qihang frowned into a word of Chuan.

He knew that aero engines were very expensive, and even piston aero engines, which were only used in entry-level aircraft, were not cheap, but he didn't expect it to be so expensive!
To be a manned helicopter, Zhang Qihang didn’t even think about handling everything including the engine himself. He thought that it would be better to purchase mature products such as the engine. Kenley Comming and Continental sent inquiries, roughly meaning that their company is preparing to develop an ultra-light helicopter similar to the Millicent Robinson R22, and hopes that the other party can give a quotation to the manufacturer.

The Austrian rotex company was the first to give a reply, but the quotation in this reply frightened Zhang Qihang quite a bit: a 447 twin-cylinder two-stroke engine used for power delta wings and paramotors actually cost 1.2 US dollars—well, the rotex447 engine is the one on the domestic Bee 3C ultra-light fixed-wing aircraft, and it is the cheapest aero engine of the rotex company.

As for the rotex914 engine that can be used in ultralight two-seater/four-seater fixed-wing aircraft, the maximum power is 110 horsepower, and the price is quoted at US$5.2.

This is the Austrian ROTEX with relatively cheap quotations. Although Lycoming and Continental have not given quotations yet, Zhang Qihang believes that for the same type of engine, the quotations of Lycoming and Continental are definitely not low.

Professor Xu Qingwu, who was sitting next to Zhang Qihang, grabbed his hair vigorously: "The price is a bit expensive, but as far as I know, the Rotex engine is already very cheap. If I remember correctly, the price of the Lycoming O-360 engine It should be more than 6 US dollars, and the quotation from the mainland should not be far behind..."

"Teacher, I understand what you mean." Before Professor Xu Qingwu finished speaking, Zhang Qihang nodded with a wry smile: "But I am not reconciled. To put it bluntly, we are just making an ultra-light plant protection helicopter, not pursuing mileage. , Do not pursue flight height, let alone flight speed, the only requirement is to be able to bring a pilot, a 100-liter pesticide box and supporting spraying equipment. No more than 30 kg.

For such a simple helicopter, my goal is to keep the total cost of the aircraft below 70 RMB. Only in this way can it be widely promoted. But now, an engine costs 50 RMB. how to count? "

Professor Xu Qingwu sighed, and also had a headache.

But the headache was a headache, and he had to persuade his beloved apprentice: "Xiao Zhang, why can't our country produce this kind of aero-engine, and you are also engaged in engines, you should know that although this piston-type aero-engine looks Simple, but in fact the technical content is not low at all, our country can't produce this thing..."

Before Professor Xu Qingwu finished speaking, Zhang Qihang responded: "Teacher, I understand what you mean, but I just feel uncomfortable."

Is the technical content of the piston aero engine high?
To some extent, it is indeed quite high. During the take-off and climb phases, the engine must run at almost full power. Using the analogy of the cars we are more familiar with, during the take-off and climb phases, the engine must always run at high speed. The speed zone marked red on the meter;
Even in the cruising stage of smooth flight, the engine has to maintain about 80% of the speed (cruising power), which is roughly equivalent to the engine of our car running at a speed of five or six thousand revolutions. Such a high speed can be imagined Know how harsh the requirements are for the various components inside the engine.

This is just the speed, the most terrible thing is the overall power-to-weight ratio. In the case of including the deceleration structure, the power-to-weight ratio of general aero-engines is generally 1:1 to 1.2:1, that is, one by one with a self-weight of 100 kg. Aeroengines can emit a maximum power of 100 kilowatts (136 horsepower) to 120 kilowatts (163 horsepower), which cannot be achieved by ordinary civilian mass-produced cars.

But in fact, the technical content of piston aero engines is not as high as everyone imagines.

In order to ensure the stable operation of the engine, piston-type aero-engines with more than four cylinders generally adopt OHV intake and exhaust systems, and this ejector valve system is doomed to the engine speed will not be very high, such as the famous Lycoming O-360 family, Its maximum power speed is generally between 2550 and 2800, and the engine speed during cruise flight is generally between 2000 and 2200. After a few years, an ordinary SUV equipped with a 1.5T engine will run at 120 on the highway. Cruise at a speed of kilometers per hour, and the engine speed is roughly like this.

As a technical expert of the AVL company, Zhang Qihang is actually very clear about the cost of a piston-type aero engine. For example, the cost of an engine of the rotex914 and Lycoming O-360 will not exceed [-] US dollars.

Of course, you may wonder why Lycoming, Continental, and ROTEX can monopolize the global piston aviation engine market steadily since the profit of aero engines is so high. That’s the thing about engines. Those big car manufacturers in Europe, America and Japan Why not do it?
This is actually very simple to say, because the market for piston-type aero engines is too small. Globally, the annual sales of piston-type aero-engines is less than 2000 units. It's just a plate with less than 5 billion US dollars per year. In fact, Lycoming, Continental and Rotex, the three major piston aero engine companies, rely more on the after-sales service market of piston aero engines accumulated over the years;

In addition to the small size of the market, another very important factor is that the three major aero-engine manufacturers have backers, such as Lycoming, whose full name is "Daxin-Lycoming". I know that Daxin Group is one of the veteran military giants in Millikin...

To offend a military industry giant with influence and connections in the political and military circles for such a small benefit?
Those automakers aren't crazy!

Zhang Qihang was pondering in his heart, and at the same time, he was secretly ruthless: Why don't we wait and see the quotations from Lycoming and Dalu?If the quotations of these two companies are too outrageous, at worst, I will do it myself!
If others can't handle this stuff, is it possible that I still can't handle it?I just don’t know if airworthiness certification is troublesome or not…

Just when Zhang Qihang was secretly angry, his secretary Xiao Liu Yifeng knocked on the door: "Mr. Zhang, the company we cooperated with called and said that our plane has started to go through the process of customs declaration. "

"What?" Hearing the news brought by Xiao Liu, Professor Xu Qingwu, who had just had a headache with Zhang Qihang because of the engine problem, stood up abruptly, and said in surprise and joy: "Our engine has already entered the customs." ?”

"Yes," Liu Yifeng nodded happily, "The other party said that it will be very soon, and the plane will be delivered to us within two or three days at most."

Professor Xu Qingwu nodded excitedly: "Good! Good! Great!"

So far, China has not had an ultra-light helicopter designed purely for civilian use, especially for plant protection operations, including Harbin Institute of Technology, the most authoritative institution in domestic helicopter design, and no one has a "single-engine piston ultra-light civilian helicopter" " concept, so during the early technical discussions, the teachers of Harbin Institute of Technology easily shifted their thinking to the thinking of military helicopters.

Therefore, this time, in order to develop a manned plant protection helicopter, and for everyone to have a more accurate and intuitive concept of "civilian ultralight helicopters", Zhang Qihang specially asked someone to help order a second-hand Robinson R22 from abroad for everyone. As a reference, let everyone understand what a real ultralight helicopter designed purely for civilian use looks like.

Of course, since it is a reference, there is no need to buy a new plane, not to mention the need to wait for a new plane, and other procedures are also very troublesome, so Zhang Qihang simply asked someone to help him find a company that has flown more than 600 flight hours and the registration time is 4 The second-hand Robinson R22 that has been used for more than a year, and now, this aircraft finally arrived soon, how can this news make Professor Xu unhappy?

Professor Xu even felt that his colleagues must be very happy after hearing the news, so after calling, Professor Xu Qingwu excitedly said to Zhang Qihang: "Look at me, I have forgotten such a big thing... …Xiao Zhang, if you want to use this plane normally, you need not only a pilot, but also need to register with the civil aviation department, don’t forget this.”

Speaking of this, Professor Xu paused, and then said: "Well, your plane is a second-hand plane, and it has not been certified for airworthiness in China. It may be a bit troublesome to register, so let me talk to the school, see See if you can think of a way to help you complete the registration as soon as possible, after all, our aircraft is just a prototype for technical reference, and it is not of the same nature as those commercial aircraft."

Zhang Qihang did not expect Professor Xu to be so concerned about this matter, and he was deeply moved. However, he understood that this was not the time to be humble. If Harbin Institute of Technology did not come forward, the registration of this second-hand Robinson R22 would be very troublesome, so he tried his best Nodded: "Teacher, thank you."

"Thank you," Professor Xu said with a chuckle, "If your group's aircraft is successful, it will be our country's first civilian helicopter developed without financial appropriation, and it will be of great significance both symbolically and economically. , the school has already told me that it will fully cooperate with you in this project."

Of course, Harbin Institute of Technology knows how much it means to itself if it can develop a helicopter from scratch, so when Zhang Qihang proposed to jointly develop this agricultural plant protection helicopter with Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology immediately agreed without saying a word. down.

(End of this chapter)