Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 731: The world’s No. who missed the opportunity (first update, please subscribe)
Time flies by so fast, but in just a blink of an eye it’s already the New Year of 2019.

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.

At this time, people always have some expectations, 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.

During the rainy season, it rains all the time, and the wipers keep 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 signs 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 expansion of the company, Tang people have become the majority in the town.

As soon as I 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. I heard the buzzing of the lathe, the buzzing of the milling machine, and the unique "porphyrin" of the rivet gun. —Snap sound...

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 the 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 1.5-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's cabin was towed into the assembly plant, and the horizontal tail and wings, engines and landing gear were connected. Then workers installed a radio station and countless instruments in the cockpit.

In the workshop, assemblers rivet the shiny aluminum skin to the fuselage on the trusses, the installation fitters assemble the components one by one, and the inspectors constantly check 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 cabin, Gu Guangfu, who was standing aside, said.

"Yeah, I really didn't expect it to be so fast at first."

"The main thing is that we borrowed a lot of the design of the "707". Its cabin design is very good, using large overall forgings, and its strength is very high. We shortened it directly and put it on the "717", which saved a lot of money in use. Most of the time.”

When it comes to large-scale integral forgings for aircraft, Lin Tonghua had to admit that Nanyang got a lot of good things in Germany that year - they brought back a 1.5-ton die forging hydraulic press from Germany to provide large-scale integral forgings for Nanyang's 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 apply this technology to the "707" project when developing it. 707" on.

However, because the 707 aircraft is larger in size, the 1.5-ton die forging hydraulic press can no longer meet his needs, so he ordered a 3.5-ton die forging hydraulic press in the United States to manufacture his spare parts.

However, for the small 717, a 1.5-ton die forging hydraulic press is enough.

In the process of designing the "717", both Lin Tonghua and Gu Guangxia followed one principle - to use existing parts as much as possible. In addition to the design of the "707" cockpit, cabin and wings, it also borrowed a large number of parts. 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 10000 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, and each drawing must be carefully reviewed.

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 the C102 last year. Our "717" will be the second jet airliner in the world, if..."

Licking his lips and staring at the 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 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 people at the airline that the British plan to put the Comet aircraft on the route from London to Johannesburg in May."

After hearing this, everyone was stunned for a while. 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 it's second or first in the world? We just have to implement it as planned. As for other things, we don't have to think so much."

In fact, even if he said this, Lin Tonghua still had some regrets in his heart. 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 This is the first time an aircraft has been put into commercial flight, and they have even planned the first route - 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. 100" together. As an engine expert, he now works at BMW. At work, this time I came to assist in the installation of the wP17500 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 the wP100/03 engine with a thrust of up to 707 pounds. , and this turbofan engine with excellent performance and low fuel consumption has been selected to power the 717 and .

"General Engineer Lin, you must be a little disappointed to be smoking alone here!"

"Who says it's not?"

Lin Tonghua said helplessly,
"I originally wanted to be the first 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. It is impossible to complete the test flight project in just a few months."

Not to mention 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 not many passengers. Our WP100 not only has high thrust, but also has low fuel consumption. Compared with Compared with the "Comet" passenger aircraft. It will definitely be more popular with airlines. 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 first aircraft in the world to use 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 just 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?"

Madshu asked.

"Well, there are a few options. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Xing Tang, when we were in the rear area, he was the one who flew the "Zhongyun No. 1"."

Lin Tonghua smiled when he heard his old friend mention old things.

"When Li Xingtang was conducting a long-distance acceptance flight, in order to eliminate his concerns, you, the factory director, personally boarded the plane to participate in the flight. This time..."

After a pause and seeing his old friend, Lin Tonghua said.

"I will personally participate in the test flight..."

(End of this chapter)