Chapter 1419: Bigger is yet to come

Under normal circumstances, it is definitely inappropriate to speak to your leader like this.

But the current occasion was obviously rather special, so no one cared to delve into the details.

The meaning of "making people fly so fast" is actually very obvious.

It's impossible to accelerate a person to hypersonic speed, right?

The entire vehicle must be brought out.

However, when Chang Haonan put forward this proposal in such a serious manner, it was still difficult for everyone to accept it at the first time——

The fastest manned aircraft in the atmosphere in human history should be the X1959A demonstrator finalized in 15, which once reached a maximum speed of 7272km/h.

But most of this thing's thrust is provided by the rocket engine, and it can only maintain about one minute of powered flight in total. It is essentially the equivalent of a human-controlled missile, and is a very American stereotype of a powerful flying machine.

But the problem is that in the 50s there was no other way to conduct hypersonic flight tests. The two sides of the Iron Curtain were completely obsessed with competition, so it is understandable that they took extreme measures and did something ruthless.

It is already the 21st century, and the "Xuanniao" verification platform is in a state where it can fly almost whenever it wants. Obviously, there is no need for pilots to risk their lives to fly a rocket.

Therefore, Chang Haonan must mean a proper plane.

What's more, he was pointing at those Dongfeng 17 missiles when he spoke.

This means that the aircraft will be 15% faster than the X40A.

However, leaders at this level have all seen a lot of storms and waves, so no matter how shocked they are inside, it would not show on their faces.

The movement just paused for a moment.

"You mean, build an airplane?"

Didn't even use a questioning tone.

Chang Haonan nodded, and then emphasized:

"And it's a transport plane with plenty of cargo space."

At this time, some people could no longer hold it in any longer.

Chang Haonan noticed from the corner of his eye that as soon as he finished speaking, an Air Force leader who was accompanying the tour moved his body and seemed to want to step forward and speak.

After all, everyone knows that technically, there is no significant difference between transport planes and passenger planes.

And this was exactly his original plan. The reason why he mentioned cargo transportation first was just to lay the groundwork.

Then he added:

"Of course, if its safety performance has been tested by time and market demand and policies allow, it can also be used to carry passengers."

Although everyone had already guessed this part, when Chang Haonan confirmed it personally, the atmosphere within a dozen meters around changed instantly.

More than one person thought of Khrushchev's visit abroad on the world's first jet airliner, the Tu-104.

Although relations between countries are based on interests, they are by no means without the factor of face.

In the mid-to-late 50s, the two larger and faster models, Tu-104 and Tu-114, greatly boosted the morale of the Soviet bloc.

As for the fact that China was later left behind by the West in the aviation industry, that was simply the inevitable result of the gap in comprehensive national strength between the two sides.

This does not negate the highlights of this process.

What's more, China's aviation industry is now much healthier than that of its big brother, and an aircraft that can fly at ten times the speed of sound is obviously more shocking than a mere Tu-104.

Even if their generation cannot enjoy it, it would be great to see this scene in news reports in the future.

But this fantasy only lasted for a short time.

Then came worry.

The Concorde, which can fly at twice the speed of sound, was launched only a short time ago. Although an accident was the direct factor that led to the retirement of the Concorde, if we really look into safety, the Boeing 747 has a more scandalous history, but this has not affected its status as a classic model all over the world.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the fundamental reason is that the operating costs are too high.

Whether it is passengers or cargo, the marginal effect brought about by the increase in speed is quite obvious.

Compared with sea transportation that takes more than ten days or even longer to cross the ocean, air transportation shortens the entire process to more than ten hours, which is a complete qualitative change. People are willing to pay more than ten times or even higher costs for it.

However, although shortening the time from more than ten hours to one hour is a significant improvement, we have to consider the cost issue.

Apart from military purposes, conventional transportation does not seem to have such stringent requirements.

Most people’s time in a day isn’t worth that much.

Seeing that the leader was still reluctant to speak, the Air Force general finally found an opportunity to ask everyone about his concerns:

"Comrade Haonan, after all, the earth is only about half a circumference of 2 kilometers. The cost-effectiveness of ultra-high-speed transportation is still a problem that needs to be considered... Isn't it safer to stay in the field of weapons and equipment?"

In recent years, China has indeed been able to invest a lot more resources in research and development, but overall it is still in the position of a follower and is far from being able to use them at will.

We are not afraid of spending money, but if we spend a lot of money to make something that has little practical use, it would be a waste of time and effort.

However, Chang Haonan had already prepared a plan for this:

"Commander, the transport vehicle I'm planning uses a dual-mode ramjet engine as its power source, just like the air-breathing hypersonic weapon. However, since there is no need to consider the penetration problem, it does not need to operate in the atmosphere throughout the entire process. Instead, it can combine some of the characteristics of the 'Xuan Niao' and take advantage of the adjacent space..."

"In fact, most of the flight process is in a gliding state, and it only needs to provide a certain amount of power at the lowest point of each trajectory cycle. Therefore, in terms of operating costs alone, it will not be much higher than existing ordinary aircraft..."

He also played a little word game here -

If an aircraft is to withstand flying at 10 times the speed of sound for a long time, even if new technologies such as spontaneous sweat cooling are used, it will inevitably require the use of very expensive surface materials, and the cost alone cannot be reduced.

But if the cost is spread over the entire life cycle, it does not seem so exaggerated because the fuel economy far exceeds that of conventional aircraft.

The leaders actually noticed the "operating costs" that Chang Haonan emphasized, but their attention was drawn to another detail:

"You mean, this... aircraft has some similarities with the air-breathing hypersonic missile that is about to enter the development stage?"

Today, most people have become accustomed to Chang Haonan's style of killing two birds with one stone.

Therefore, when everyone heard that they could share the results with existing projects, they felt relieved.

“There’s more than just a certain commonality.”

Chang Haonan explained:

"In fact, since maintaining altitude and speed in near-space does not require much energy, the main engines of the two can even be used interchangeably... Of course, cruise missiles are disposable, so the life span can be slightly relaxed."

"In addition, the dual-mode ramjet engine only needs a very low starting speed to enter the sub-combustion working state, so it does not even need to be equipped with a booster rocket like a missile, but can be equipped with two ordinary aircraft engines for take-off and landing requirements."

If it were a normal aircraft, it would be a crime to wantonly increase the dead weight during the design phase.

However, the lift-to-drag ratio of the parallel waverider in the adjacent space is too exaggerated, so the structural weight can be relaxed.

In fact, at this moment, Chang Haonan could already feel that the other party was almost persuaded by him.

However, project decision-making is always a serious matter, so the necessary procedures must be followed and it is impossible to just nod your head directly.

Sure enough, after some careful consideration, the leader turned his gaze back to the missile launchers in the distance:

"This matter has a significant impact. Please write a feasibility study as soon as possible after you return. We will find..."

He originally wanted to find an expert to study and verify the issue.

But at the moment, there was no one else who could do this job, and it was impossible for Chang Haonan to prove himself.

I had to change my words temporarily:

"We'll have to think about this again after we get back..."

Logically speaking, this matter should have come to an end. The next step would be to continue the tour process, and then everyone would hold a symposium together, with the leaders personally mobilizing everyone.

But just as the group was about to turn around and take a step forward, they heard Chang Haonan's voice again.

"In that case... I have another plan. Why don't you consider it when you return?"

This sentence finally made the leaders who had been serious all along unable to hold back, and they changed to a half-joking tone:

"Comrade Haonan, are you planning to come to us to purchase goods today?"