Rebirth in 1989: Building a Chinese Technological Empire

"Mr. Xu..."

Seeing Xu Huasheng, Zhou Changqing, the person in charge of this project, came over.

"Master Zhou, thank you for your hard work..."

Xu Huasheng said with a smile.

"Master Xu, it's not hard. This is what I like to do. I used to dream of building such a big plane. I didn't expect that my dream has finally come true. Now think about it, everything seems like a dream. Two years ago, when I got together with several of my classmates, we discussed the Mi-26 together. We said that if we could build our own Mi-26 in this life, it would be worth dying for. Now, we have not only built it, but also made it more advanced..."

Master Zhou started to introduce the progress of the Chinese version of the Mi-26 to Xu Huasheng while chatting with him.

At present, the internal code name of this aircraft is Z-26. As for the name after mass production, we will talk about it later.

"Mr. Xu, our Z-26 is improved on the basis of the Mi-26. The overall design has not changed much, and the engine is still the original engine, but we have used the more advanced technology and materials we have mastered on this engine. After a series of modifications, the total weight of this engine has been reduced by 12%, the fuel consumption has been reduced by 10%, and the maximum power has been increased by 8%..."

Zhou Changqing introduced the specific situation of the Z-26 to Xu Huasheng. Now Zhou Changqing and his team can't directly overturn the design of the Mi-26 and come up with a new design, or there is no need for it.

What Zhou Changqing and his team are doing now is to continuously modify and upgrade the Mi-26 to make the Z-26 more and more powerful.

It is recognized that the Mi-26 has a relatively high lifting capacity. But it is also recognized that this thing is a fuel tiger. This is also the characteristic of Soviet-made equipment.

The style of Soviet weapons and equipment is tough and durable, and powerful. As for refinement, it has never been the Soviet Union's specialty. After all, in the field of precision machining, the Soviet Union is still not as good as European and American countries. In terms of electronic technology, it is not comparable to European and American countries.

The D-136 turboshaft engine used by the Mi-26 is a famous oil-guzzler, with a fuel consumption of up to 2.5 tons per hour.

However, in the Soviet Union, no one cares about the fuel consumption of this thing. After all, the Soviet Union is an oil-producing country with a very large oil output and its own oil.

But in China, or in the future, if it is to shine in the civilian field, the fuel consumption problem must be considered. What's more, Saxo Aviation now has a lot of advanced technologies, which can reduce the fuel consumption of this engine.

While ensuring reliability, reducing engine weight, reducing engine fuel consumption, increasing engine power, and constantly exploring the capabilities of this engine, this is what Zhou Changqing's power team is doing.

In this process, they will digest the technology and design principles of this engine. After integrating these things, they will combine the technology on the Chinese side to design a more advanced engine.

"We have optimized the engine, and we have also used a lot of compliant materials for the fuselage to reduce the weight of the fuselage. However, the biggest change is the avionics system. The avionics system of the Mi-26 is too backward in our opinion. It actually takes five people to perform a mission. After our improvement, only two people are needed to perform a flight mission..."

Zhou Changqing took Xu Huasheng directly to the cockpit of the huge Z-26. The Z-26 has been almost built, and the various internal systems have been installed.

After entering the interior, Xu Huasheng found that the cockpit was indeed optimized too much. When the Mi-26 was just brought back, Xu Huasheng also went to see it. The cockpit was so dense and extremely complex.

Now, the cockpit inside the Z-26 is much simpler. Because it uses a more advanced avionics system, it has better performance and is easier to operate.

"Mr. Xu, if everything goes well with our Z-26, the comprehensive performance will be much higher than that of the Mi-26. The empty weight will be reduced from 28,200 kg to 25,700 kg, and the total weight will be reduced by 2.5 tons. The take-off weight will be increased from the current 56,000 kg to 57,500 kg, an increase of 1.5 tons. The maximum designed lifting capacity is 25 tons, and the carrying capacity is also more than 25 tons..."

Accompanying Zhou Changqing's explanation, Xu Huasheng's face was full of smiles. Especially when he came to the huge cabin at the back, looking at this huge cabin, Xu Huasheng was very impressed by the strength of the former Soviet Union.

This cabin is so big, comparable to a professional transport aircraft. The carrying capacity is even more violent than that of the C130 transport aircraft.

No wonder the United States is afraid of the Soviet Union. With such a competitor, how can it not be afraid.

"Mr. Xu, this prototype is expected to conduct its first flight test next month. If everything goes well, it will be ready by the end of next year.It can be finalized and put into mass production..."

Zhou Changqing said directly that this aircraft was just modified on the basis of Mi-26. The overall framework has not changed, and the overall layout has not changed, so the technical difficulty is lower.

"Well, very good, I will also arrange the company to arrange the relevant production lines as soon as possible. After mass production, our group company will first order a batch. "

Xu Huasheng said directly.

This aircraft is a good thing, especially for Longteng Construction. Next, Huasheng Group will invest heavily in infrastructure construction, highways, railways, bridges, etc. Infrastructure construction sometimes takes place in places with inconvenient transportation, and it is difficult to transport large equipment to many places.

In the past, China could only rely on small equipment or even manpower in the face of such a situation. If there is a Z-26, things will become much simpler. Even if the construction site is on the top of the mountain, it is no problem. Just use a helicopter to hoist the large equipment up and then hoist it down after the construction is completed.

In addition to the civilian field, the military field is also very important. Especially in plateau areas, where transportation is inconvenient, some places In the past, it was almost impossible to transport heavy weapons to places like that.

If we have the Z-26, we can directly use a helicopter to lift it up. Not only can we lift equipment, but we can also transport supplies. Soldiers no longer need to rely on manpower to supply them. It is much more convenient to directly transport them by helicopter.

So now China has a great demand for this helicopter. In the past, China couldn't buy it even if it wanted to. Now it can be made by itself, and things are much simpler. Not only has the cost been reduced a lot, but the quantity can also be as much as you want.

Not only that, the entire Z-26 project can also promote the rapid development of China's helicopter technology. In the future, China's helicopter family will become extremely rich.