Airborne Gyrocopter

Chapter 80 Airborne Gyrocopter

Jiang Fan's initial idea was to bring his mobile phone.

Once the battery is fully charged and all offline drawings and data have been downloaded, for example:

The manufacturing process of wireless steel pipes, a detailed list of Soviet aid projects 156 in China, a breakdown of tank construction, and instruction manuals for various Soviet industrial equipment...

If these things can be brought back, they will be enough to save Ansteel from countless detours in the next five to ten years.

But the problems are also obvious.

In 1949, Anshan Iron and Steel Company did not have 220V household AC sockets, and even if it did, the interfaces would not be compatible.

My lousy Apple phone can only last for two days at most; if I actually use it, it'll break down after just one day.

Moreover, Jiang Fan had no idea how long he would stay in 1949 this time.

Unless you can hand-make the charger and also need to avoid being discovered, it's really an excellent choice.

The same principle applies to computers.

Although it offers great value for money, we can only say that it's pending at the moment.

Then, Jiang Fan turned his attention back to the issue of military supplies.

It seems that entrenching tools and gas cylinder mortars alone were not enough to reduce casualties in 1950.

You have to understand, the most deadly problem on the battlefield is in the air.

The U.S. military's F-86 Sabre fighter jets and B-29 Superfortress bombers blotted out the sky.

Our volunteer army had virtually no air power and could only rely on anti-aircraft guns and machine guns for limited air defense.

By the time the Soviet Union's MiG-15 entered service, it was already 1951.

They only offered their help after they saw how renowned we were on the battlefield.

In other words, in the early stages of the war, our soldiers were completely exposed to aerial firepower and had no chance to fight back.

It would be much better if there were a weapon that could provide some restraint.

After all, it's impossible to actually use mortars to bombard airplanes, right?

That's not a real east wind!

Jiang Fan couldn't help but smile wryly, and then began to think seriously: Are there any aerial products that current technology can achieve?

Several common products popped into his mind, but Jiang Fan rejected them one by one.

As for drones, let alone in 1949, even in modern times like 2026, small drones still rely on lithium batteries, GPS chips, and flight control algorithms.

In 1949, even transistors were not yet widespread, let alone chips.

Even if we brought one over, it wouldn't be of much use.

A helicopter is a possibility.

Germany had already developed the Fw-61 in the later stages of World War II, and the American R-4 officially entered service in 1943.

The core of a helicopter is its engine and rotor system, and the engine has already been developed.

However, the transmission and automatic swashplate of a helicopter seem a bit too advanced.

Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the J-20 fighter jet popped into my mind.

Jiang Fan himself was amused by this thought. Even if he had the complete set of blueprints, equipment, and crew, he still wouldn't have been able to build this fifth-generation fighter jet in 1949.

Unless they directly inform the government that they can return to 1949 and ask them to send a complete machine over.

Otherwise, there is absolutely no possibility.

"Ugh."

Jiang Fan sighed softly. It seems that he still needs to gather the greatest talents in the world.

So Jiang Fan opened a short video app and started scrolling through it, hoping to find some inspiration through the power of the internet.

Surprisingly, this swipe actually gave him some inspiration!

A marketing account posted a video with the title:

[An elderly man at a noodle factory in Shandong is hand-building a small gyroplane; police are investigating!]

Jiang Fan was immediately drawn in and clicked on it. In the picture, a kind old man was standing in his yard, next to him was a strange thing that looked like an iron frame with a propeller.

The host explained that the old man modified a noodle machine into a rotor head, welded together a fuselage, and then attached a diesel engine, and it actually took flight.

More than ten have been sold so far, each costing only 100,000 yuan.

Normally, Jiang Fan would have just dismissed it as something new and interesting.

But things are different now.

His eyes lit up.

Small gyroplane...

Hey!

This thing works on a completely different principle than a helicopter.

But the functions are almost the same!

The rotor of a gyroplane is not driven; it generates lift entirely by being propelled by the oncoming airflow.

Its forward propulsion comes from the propulsion propeller at the rear of the fuselage, and its power comes entirely from the high-horsepower engine.

The structure is extremely simple: fuselage frame, rotor head, rotor blades, engine, propeller, and a set of operating systems.

Because the rotor is unpowered, it does not have the complex transmission mechanism and tail rotor system found in helicopters.

It is relatively easy to operate; takeoff and landing are achieved by adjusting the rotor tilt angle, and steering is achieved by the rudder at the tail.

Moreover, its cost and materials are extremely low.

Take this old man's handmade piece, for example. It costs 100,000 yuan. Isn't that cheaper than the price of a family car?

Jiang Fan made up his mind and immediately began searching for relevant technical software.

Just as expected, it's not complicated at all.

The core principles of gyroplanes can be traced back to the Spanish engineer Juan la Cerva in the 1920s.

He built the first operational rotorcraft, the C-4, in 1923.

During World War II, both Germany and Japan equipped themselves with small rotorcraft as reconnaissance and observation platforms.

But our People's Liberation Army has never seen it.

Its technical threshold can be summarized in one sentence: "If you can repair bicycles, you can build a flying gyroplane."

All that's needed is: steel pipes, aluminum plates, an engine, bearings, and a few steel cables.

Jiang Fan became more and more excited as he looked at it.

More importantly, the sub-products and extended products of the rotorcraft are virtually unmatched.

With a slightly increased payload, it can be transformed into a military reconnaissance aircraft, flying at low altitudes to observe enemy positions and provide artillery fire correction.

With further modifications, it can be transformed into an aerial command platform or even an "aerial three-wheeled vehicle" for ground attacks.

It's definitely an armed observation aircraft.

If it were converted to an agricultural version, it could also be used to spread pesticides and transport supplies to farms in the Great Northern Wilderness.

Jiang Fan became more and more excited as he thought about it, but then he suddenly realized...

I don't have 100,000 yuan to buy a ready-made rotorcraft.

Furthermore, the news article stated that the elderly man had been summoned for questioning and his gyrocopter had been confiscated for illegally manufacturing and selling aircraft.

"6

'

Jiang Fan was at his wit's end. The inspiration he had finally gotten had vanished just like that.

No, absolutely not!

Since we can't bring back samples, we can only bring back the blueprints and principles.

This time, I won't draw by hand!

Jiang Fan made a quick decision, immediately plugged his phone into the data cable, and began downloading data like crazy.

He not only had to download the complete set of technical drawings and manufacturing records for the gyroplane, but also had to cram other things into it as well.

He first found the entry for Project 156.

That was the collective name for 156 key industrial projects that the Soviet Union aided China in the 1950s.

It covers almost all basic industrial sectors, from steel, coal, and electricity to military, aerospace, and chemical industries.

Ansteel is one of the key projects of Project 156.

"If we bring these items back with us, then Director He and his team will be able to know the country's future industrial layout in advance."

Of course, Jiang Fan wouldn't be foolish enough to just pull out his phone and show it to Lao He; he had to proceed step by step.

Next is the development process of the J-5, the first domestically produced jet fighter manufactured by Harbin Aircraft Factory.

Although there weren't any specific blueprints or anything like that.

However, there are definitely papers and interviews about when the project was initiated, what technical difficulties and bottlenecks were encountered, etc.

After all, these historical experiences are invaluable.

Then came the tanks.

You can't forget this thing; you still have that Alexander guy in your head.

He specifically searched for information on the manufacturing process of the T-34 tank and found a considerable amount of publicly available information.

Although it wasn't particularly detailed, Jiang Fan understood it all at a glance, even the parameters and various cast iron proportions were crystal clear.

Just as he had guessed, these people only shine in their well-known fields.

Next is agricultural machinery, which is a vast field.

With a tracked tractor as the primary focus, countless related products are readily available:

Harvesters, land levelers, rice transplanters, threshers, seeders...

Each one has a mature design concept and structural diagram.

As Jiang Fan downloaded the files, he exclaimed, "If we could take all of these back with us, Ansteel wouldn't have to worry about product direction for the next ten years."

However, the phone's memory quickly ran out, so Jiang Fan had to uninstall all the games and compress them repeatedly until he finally managed to fit them in.

After all that was done, the remaining two hours or so came to an end.

Jiang Fan was still a little uneasy, wondering how much time had passed in 1949, or if it was still stuck in the late night he left.

Jiang Fan hopes it's the latter.

"Forget it, there's no point in thinking about it. We'll find out when we get back."

Jiang Fan held his phone and put his watch back on.

The countdown has only 30 seconds left.

【00:00:30】

The blue light came on again the next second.