Chapter 546 I come, I see, I am conquered (page 12)

Colombo felt that the sentence structure of Gambelli's sentence was a bit strange, but because his main attention was on the sky, he didn't think too much about it. He just shook his head and said in a determined tone:

"I have been in contact with the Chinese people since two years ago when I was still at AgustaWestland. It was also here, but the object we cooperated with at that time was a propeller airliner, like the ATR72."

"I'm sure they didn't have such a high technical level at that time."

Gambelli looked over with some confusion:

"The MA60, I know, is our company's first fixed-wing product, but if their technical level was not up to par at the time, why should we choose to cooperate?"

As an engineer who specializes in the helicopter field, he can only have a vague understanding of the company's newly established fixed-wing business unit.

Specifically, after making sure that the other party's existence would not affect one's status and the resources obtained, he stopped paying much attention to it.

"The situation is similar to this aircraft. Although everything else is average, its core competitiveness is very strong. It can save about 8% of fuel compared with passenger aircraft of the same class. This is what many airlines dream of."

As he spoke, Colombo lowered his head again and rubbed his sore neck:

"Furthermore, their technology is advancing very quickly."

"When I first came to China, when I saw the MA60, it looked very crude, with a lot of shadows of the Soviet An-24 transport aircraft on it."

"But only half a year later, the other aircraft was completely different. In addition to the fuel economy card, they also installed new propellers and flight control systems, which reduced the noise in the cabin to the average vortex level. Like a passenger plane."

Hearing this, Gambelli felt as if he had grasped the key point:

"In other words, that's when they started researching propeller noise reduction technology?"

However, Colombo shook his head decisively:

"That's not true. The MA60's noise reduction principle is to control the phase difference between the left and right propellers so that the mid- and low-frequency noises they emit cancel each other out. It is equivalent to some kind of active noise reduction measure, and it is only effective inside the cabin. Listening outside It’s still noisy.”

"But helicopters with a normal structure obviously do not have this possibility. The main rotor and tail rotor are hard coupled through the transmission mechanism, and there is no way to adjust the phase difference. Moreover, their noise levels are not at the same level and cannot be offset."

"So this time, we must have worked hard on noise sources such as the rotor and fuselage."

Gambelli opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Mainly because I really don’t know what to say.

Active noise reduction by adjusting propeller phase difference sounds simple in principle, but anyone with experience in engineering control knows that theory and practice are two different things.

If it really comes to fruition, that's another matter.

And they actually developed another method of reducing noise from noise sources at almost the same time.

Even until now, he has not fully understood the other party's technical means to achieve low noise...

This is a bit embarrassing to say.

In his mind, Gambelli once again elevated the importance of this cooperation.

If before coming here, his main idea was still the same as before when he faced Bell Company or Westland Company, which was to simply find an enemy to share the risk.

So now, he has begun to regard the other party as his core competitiveness.

The previous investment in MA60 was undoubtedly a gamble.

But both from Colombo's personal perspective and from AgustaWestland's perspective, it now seems that the bet has been won.

Regarding the former, he relied on the good relationship he achieved with China in this project to promote higher-level cooperation between the two parties in the future, and he also found a wife by the way.

Regarding the latter, the MA60, as a new model provided by a new supplier, has already received a total of more than orders from Thailand and China without completing the finalization and certification process. Obviously, it is also a promising future. .

If I could replicate my successful experience in the helicopter field...

Thinking of this, Gambelli rubbed his hands almost involuntarily, showing an eager expression.

The Zhi-9WY prototype quickly completed its scheduled two-circle flight and landed on the tarmac again.

Helicopters are different from passenger planes. Normal working conditions include loading and unloading cargo or personnel during the engine startup process. Therefore, except for the vicinity of the tail rotor, there are no generally prohibited safety zones around the aircraft.

And the Dolphin's ducted tail rotor is even safer.

Therefore, after the helicopter stopped and before the pilot shut down the engine, Gambelli quickly ran to Cui Wenxue and Chang Haonan not far away and asked if he could go to a nearby place while the aircraft was in working condition. have a look.

Although this plane belonged to the Bingfei Group, and theoretically the former should have the final say, he still looked at Chang Haonan standing next to him.

Cui Wenxue can still figure out who is really in charge of this round of cooperation.

Chang Haonan directly stretched out his hand, signaling Gambelli to do whatever he wanted.

The latter was not polite, skillfully opened the cabin door, took out a noise testing device from his bag, and got in alone.

This device can not only measure a simple decibel value, but also analyze the waveform of the sound to determine the proportion of each frequency band in the noise.

About five minutes later, Gambelli got out of the cabin again, sweating from the early spring weather.

The results of the instruments were similar to what his ears heard.

Overall decibel levels don't change much, but annoying pulsing sounds are almost completely eliminated.

Most of the noise falls in the upper range of the human ear, which is the sound of the turbine engine itself.

The final result is that this helicopter feels more like a small business jet when working.

This will be more comfortable for passengers inside the cabin.

For people outside the cabin, the propagation distance of high-frequency noise is closer, which will also reduce the impact of low-altitude flying helicopters on ground personnel.

No matter how you look at it, it's a sure kill.

Intellectually, Gambelli already fully understands the value this technology can bring.

But emotionally, it was still difficult for him to convince himself.

If a new technology has no disadvantages at all compared to existing technologies, it means that it is completely ahead of its time.

But Gambelli just couldn't understand it.

Why Chinese?

He has no prejudice against any country, but this is really not in line with scientific laws.

The Chinese have had almost no achievements worth mentioning in the helicopter field before.

Now come up and dump Wang Zha directly?

"Will this low-noise propeller have any problems with aerodynamic efficiency?"

Gambelli asked this question with extremely complicated emotions.

He didn't even know what answer he was expecting.

On the one hand, he hopes that the opponent's technology will show some shortcomings in at least some other aspect, because this means a "trade-off" rather than an all-round crushing.