Chapter 1398 Could this really be alien technology?

Autumn passes and winter comes.

Time quickly came to the last day of 2008.

Huangtianba Airport, western suburbs of Chengdu.

As night gradually enveloped the earth, the navigation lights on both sides of the runway glowed orange-red under the refraction of fine ice crystals.

A dozen technical personnel from Rongfei Group were gathered beside a plane stand. The leader, with the collar of his military coat tightly wrapped around his neck, looked up at the dusky sky with a somewhat worried look.

It was Yang Wei, the chief designer of Project No. 20.

For confidentiality reasons, the transportation of large items related to the development of the new generation of fighter jets is basically scheduled to take place at night.

But the weather is really not good right now.

When the meteorological department suddenly reported that the temperature would drop and fog would appear, the transport plane responsible for the transportation mission had already taken off from Shengjing.

If the weather conditions at the airport are too bad, you can only choose to make an alternate landing or return.

"Mr. Yang, the current temperature is -5 degrees Celsius. The ground defrosting work has been completed. The runway visibility with the edge lights on is about 350 meters. The pilots of both aircraft believe that the landing conditions are met and there is no need to go to Fucheng Nanjiao Airport for an alternate landing."

Assistant Chief Engineer Wang Chengyao trotted over from not far away, reporting the situation and handing over a thermos cup.

After hearing the conclusion that "no need for an emergency landing", Yang Wei finally felt relieved.

But as soon as I unscrewed the lid, another concern arose:

"Did you put any pressure on the pilot during the communication?"

He watched the steam condense into white mist above the cup and confirmed with Wang Chengyao:

"If there is a risk, don't force it..."

Seeing that the usually steady chief engineer was now showing an anxious look, the latter wanted to laugh, but under the gaze of the big guys around him, he didn't dare to laugh, and just shook his head:

"It was all communicated by the tower commander. We didn't say anything... Besides, it's not the first time that the No. 37 and No. 5 aircraft of the 6th Air Force Regiment have flown to our side. They should be familiar with the situation and won't take any risks..."

The civil aviation visibility requirement for landing 80-100 ton twin-engine aircraft in Chengdu is that the runway visibility range should be no less than 550 meters, but this number obviously leaves ample redundancy.

Yang Wei moved his lips, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't open his mouth.

The daily training of transport aircraft pilots includes low-visibility blind landings. In addition, there are no other aircraft using the runway at Huangtianba Airport, so the take-off and landing conditions must be more relaxed.

Just at this moment, the roar of an engine was heard in the air.

Then the lights on the landing gear and wings broke through the mist, forming a clear beam of light under the influence of the Tyndall effect.

It was not until the last moment before touching the ground that the light gray fuselage of the transport plane gradually revealed its full appearance, with the fully opened speed brakes and wheels baring their fangs and claws, like a ferocious beast breaking through its seal.

This latest twin-engine medium transport aircraft has only been officially equipped to the troops for about a year. In particular, it is equipped with a new power source. According to the past rhythm, it should still be in the replacement stage, and there will be certain restrictions on flight parameters such as load capacity, take-off and landing conditions and range.

However, the sudden need for disaster relief in the first half of the year disrupted all the plans that had been carried out step by step. Almost all the military's transport aircraft that could move were dispatched in turn to airdrop supplies or transport personnel and equipment.

It was finally proved that the Y-9 had a higher dispatch rate and lower direct maintenance man-hours per flight hour than the Y-8 or even the Il-76. Under high-intensity flight operations, it could even approach the level of civil airliners.

Of course, most of the Y-8s are old aircraft with a service life of more than ten years and have little reference value, but there are always quite a few Il-76s that were newly produced within the past five years.

In such a comparison, the new model is equivalent to directly passing the adaptation period, and the two troops that were the first to try it out instantly became popular and began to gradually take on the main transportation tasks of medium loads and distances.

……

At the same time, in the cargo hold of the second aircraft No. 06 behind, Liu Yongquan was seeing the outline of the huge hangar at the end of the runway slowly unfolding through the ice flowers condensed on the porthole.

Not far behind him, a WS-10G engine with its air intake wrapped in anti-static camouflage cloth was fixed on a special transport bracket. The silver-gray tail nozzle shell glowed coldly under the dim cabin lights.

In fact, considering the Y-9's load-carrying capacity and volume space, two engines and less than twenty technicians only need one flight to complete the transportation.

Two planes were specially arranged only for the purpose of risk sharing.

This is certainly not the first time Liu Yongquan has come to Rongfei, but it is the first time that he has come here to take over a model designed by himself.

It’s completely different from the feeling of simply communicating about work in the past.

He even couldn't wait to see the new model installed on the next-generation stealth fighter that was about to be tested.

Chang Haonan once mentioned in a meeting that when Project No. 10 was officially launched four years ago, his peers in the aviation industry were already prepared to continue using the WS-A on the first batch of mass-produced models.

But now, the adaptation of the new version of power has been completed only in the technical verification stage.

In fact, if it were not for the purpose of obtaining sufficient comparative data, the conditions would even be met to directly use the new engine for the first flight.

A few minutes later, the vibration of the transport plane's tires hitting the ground interrupted his thoughts.

The moment the cabin door opened, damp and cold air carrying a mixture of the smell of aviation kerosene and metalworking fluid rushed into the cabin, making Liu Yongquan, who had just unbuckled his seat belt, feel a little uncomfortable.

For people who have worked in the Northeast for a long time, a temperature of -5°C is certainly nothing, but the water vapor that is so dense that it seems to be real brings considerable breathing resistance.

It's like wearing a mask for no reason.

"Old Liu!"

Before he could fully adjust, a voice pierced through the low roar of the engine at idle speed.

Liu Yongquan looked out along the hydraulic tailgate that was in the process of opening, and found that Yang Wei, wearing an old military cotton-padded jacket, was waving at him. Behind him, seven or eight other technicians were hurrying over with a special transport platform tractor.

"You came at the right time. Unit 2003 is waiting for these two hearts..."

While greeting everyone, he directed the technical team to start unloading and installing the engine.

Liu Yongquan stomped his feet habitually to keep warm, but the coldness in the southwest was an illusion rather than a real low temperature, so these two stomps made his legs, which were originally fine, a little numb.

He suddenly felt that this scene was a bit similar to a classic Spring Festival Gala skit.

You stomp and you get numb.jpg

So I changed the subject somewhat awkwardly:

"By improving the manufacturing process, it is 27 kilograms lighter than the initial design."

He glanced at the lifting platform in operation. Workers were using a laser locator to calibrate the engine hanger:

"In addition, to be honest, we have learned a lot from the British in recent years... The fourth-generation single crystal material combined with the previous generation of active cooling technology can withstand a maximum gas temperature of 2050K. Coupled with the adjusted full-state compressor, the thrust-to-weight ratio at sea level has finally reached a real double-digit level... Lao Yang, this time we finally don't have to reduce the thrust."

Upon hearing this, Yang Wei stopped preparing to sign and a complicated look flashed across his eyes when he looked up.

When they were discussing Project No. 10 20 years ago, they even considered using turbojet engines as a makeshift solution. Later, they found a Russian-made power plant that met the requirements, but they heard the other party’s engineers say in broken Russian English that "it would take at least five years."

The stinging pain still burns in my memory.

Now, these two engines, which embody the latest domestic technology, are being carefully transferred to a special flatbed truck, and combined with an almost perfect aerodynamic design...

A moment of complacency flashed through Yang Wei's mind, but it was quickly replaced by vigilance.

The most taboo thing in engineering is blind optimism.

"When I think about it, I wonder how the Americans came up with the technology to come up with the same data 10 years ago..."

This sentence is half a chat with the other person and half a reminder to myself.

It's far from being able to relax.

Liu Yongquan was also aroused to a lot of resonance, and couldn't help but recall the nights when he worked late into the night in the past few years.

"An engineer from Rolls-Royce once told me that they have shared the most advanced material technology of this era."

He suddenly talked about something that seemed unrelated:

"Overall, I think even if there is some truth in this sentence, it probably won't be too much..."

Yang Wei handed the signed transportation documents to the assistant behind him, then looked at Liu Yongquan with a puzzled look, as if he didn't understand why these were suddenly brought up.

The latter pursed his teeth and further explained:

"So the performance of the WS-10G has almost reached the physical limit of this era... but as you just said, it is only comparable to the F119."

Then he took a deep breath and said something shocking:

"You said there are aliens in Area 51... right?"