Chapter 1250
Firefighting drone makes great contributions; Forest ranger Li Aiguo and Zong Xianfeng
That night, the two drank heavily at Li Ai's house until midnight, and both Lao Mao and Zhou Ke got drunk.
In their drunken stupor, the two men held Li Aiguo's hands and spoke earnestly: if anything were to happen to them one day, they would entrust their families to his care.
Li Aiguo originally wanted to tell them to stop planting flags.
I thought about it for a moment.
There was no such saying back then, so he just nodded silently in the end.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking.
Old Cat and Zhou Ke were about to board the train to Jinling when Li Aiguo drove his SUV all the way to the station.
The train sounded its whistle twice, and its wheels roared forward, grinding against the rails, kicking up the scattered leaves and debris on both sides of the track, and carrying its brothers and friends, gradually disappearing from sight.
When he rushed back to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop, Zong Xianfeng and Engineer Liu were already there, standing next to the small aircraft and discussing in hushed tones.
There was also a comrade in military uniform standing next to him.
With a stubble beard, resolute eyes, and a faint smell of blood about him, he was clearly a veteran who had been on the battlefield.
"You must be Comrade Aiguo? I am Zhao Xuanming, the commander of the 22nd Regiment of the 2nd Division of the Frontier Agricultural Reclamation Corps." Commander Zhao recognized Li Aiguo at a glance.
The two had met briefly when drilling rigs became common in the army. He stepped forward and firmly grasped Li Aiguo's hand.
"Commander Zhao, hello, hello." Li Aiguo immediately understood his purpose. Agricultural small aircraft are specialized equipment and must be modified according to the actual conditions of the border region.
Sure enough, after a few pleasantries, Commander Zhao spoke up: "Comrade Aiguo, our area is sparsely populated, so using small planes to spray pesticides can indeed save a lot of manpower and resources. But the border areas are windy and sandy, and even tractors break down easily, let alone planes?"
Commander Zhao's reason for opposing the purchase of small aircraft was simple: the conditions were not right.
Small planes are fuel-guzzling and delicate, and the brothers in the frontier legion really didn't want to serve such a "big shot".
However, things have been going well in South Asia in the past two years, and the domestic demand for cotton, wheat, and corn is increasing day by day.
The frontier troops were reclaiming more and more land, and manpower alone was simply not enough to keep up with the pace.
In addition, with the higher-ups advocating for agricultural industrialization, the legion held several meetings before finally deciding to purchase a few small aircraft.
Li Aiguo understood Commander Zhao's concerns and said, "Actually, we have already designed improvements tailored to the situation on the border. We can install metal dust screens on the engine openings, apply sand-proof film to the cockpit windows, and galvanize and paint all parts that come into contact with pesticides, such as the medicine tank, pipes, and nozzles."
Commander Zhao's eyes widened as he listened.
Although he didn't understand the specific technology, he could sense that these improvement methods were feasible.
"Come on, Commander Zhao, if you have any other requests, just let us know. We'll work together to figure out how to build a small aircraft suitable for agriculture in the border regions."
"The comrades of the frontier corps shed blood on the battlefield before, and now they're engaged in production in the local areas; we should make them shed less sweat."
When these words reached Commander Zhao's ears, his expression immediately turned serious, and he repeated them in a low voice.
"They shed blood on the battlefield, but once they get to their homes... we can't let them shed any more sweat."
"Very well! Patriotic comrade, just for what you said, I'm definitely taking these little planes back with me today!"
The attendant standing nearby was puzzled.
On the way here, the regimental commander was still talking to him about finding a way to return the small plane and replace it with a few tractors. How come he changed his mind in the blink of an eye?
Li Aiguo's promotion of small agricultural aircraft was naturally not without regard to the actual conditions.
Otherwise, even if the small planes were sent to the frontier legions, they would remain idle and eventually become a pile of scrap metal.
It consumes only twice the fuel of a large off-road vehicle, but it can spray nearly 100 acres of land per hour, which is the amount of work that dozens of soldiers do in a day. In the end, the cost per acre is several times lower.
Not to mention that it can take off and land on an unpaved runway, and the landing gear can withstand the bumps and jolts of gravel.
It's all manual mechanical operation, and soldiers can get started with simple training.
The staff at the agricultural machinery station can perform repairs, and consumables such as sheet metal and rubber hoses are readily available.
In the office, Commander Zhao looked at the comprehensive modification plan for the small plane and excitedly slammed his fist on the table: "Build it quickly! Once this thing is transported back, let those old bumpkins see what the industrialization of agriculture is all about."
The Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop has now manufactured over a thousand small aircraft, and they are very familiar with the technology.
The renovation was handed over to Engineer Liu and Zong Xianfeng, and progress was rapid.
What about Li Aiguo?
The first training course on train accident investigation was very effective. After realizing the importance of safety investigation work, several railway bureaus in China also sent people to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot to learn.
Li Aiguo's great cause of education must continue.
Inside the classroom of the education room.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Li Aiguo walked onto the podium and coughed twice: "The second training course on train accident investigation is now open."
While Li Aiguo was working hard for the education system of the railway system, deep in the Greater Khingan Mountains, thousands of miles away...
A strange group of people were leading donkey carts, making their way through the depths of the dense forest.
They were dressed in thick cotton-padded coats, with leg wraps on their legs, and gleaming military knives and whistles at their waists. A large axe and chainsaw were also mounted on their donkey carts. It was clear at a glance that they were a logging team from the Forestry Industry Administration.
"Captain, are we not there yet?" A young logger, panting heavily, couldn't help but ask.
No wonder he was anxious. The team headquarters was set up in a simple log cabin camp along the Huma River. For this logging operation, they traveled dozens of miles of mountain roads without taking a break.
"What's the rush? We need to cut down trees according to the areas designated by the bureau. Otherwise, if everyone takes the easy jobs, who will do the hard ones?"
Team leader Wang Tieshan, in his fifties, is a retired veteran and the backbone of the team.
“This old forest is a treasure. With construction projects underway everywhere, the timber here can be put to great use.”
The young loggers, having been reprimanded, dared not utter another word, and the group continued walking in silence for a while longer.
Suddenly, the young man sniffed and his face changed: "Captain, why do I smell burnt wood?"
Wang Tieshan's heart sank. He raised his hand and made a shushing gesture, and the group instantly fell silent.
What Lao Linzi fears most is wildfires.
He sniffed carefully, following the scent, and sure enough, he detected a faint burnt smell. "Over there!"
He ran quickly eastward, and all the team members, except for the lumber collector leading the donkey, immediately followed.
But ahead lay a cliff.
Upon seeing the view on the other side of the cliff, Wang Tieshan and his team members were stunned and stood frozen in place.
Several large trees were crackling and burning, flames shooting up several meters high, and black smoke carrying sparks drifting into the sky.
There are many strange things happening in the mountains, and the random wildfires are one of them.
In the past, when people who had been cutting down trees in the mountains encountered this, they always said it was because the mountain god was angry, while others said it was because weasels were causing trouble in the forest.
After liberation, everyone joined the Forestry Industry Administration Bureau, which sent agricultural and forestry experts to explain the situation clearly.
Pine resin buildup will spontaneously combust, decaying leaves fermenting in ditches can also ignite, and even the lightning that struck the tree a few days ago, with the flames smoldering inside, has managed to ignite and eventually burst forth.
Regardless of the type, wildfires are the last thing the Forestry Bureau and loggers want to encounter.
To extinguish a wildfire, you have to put it out as soon as it starts burning. Otherwise, once it starts burning, it will spread with the wind and the whole forest will be destroyed.
Thinking of this, the lumberjacks were sweating profusely and shouted repeatedly, "Fire! Quick, put out the fire!"
but.
The loggers quickly discovered the problem.
Although the burning trees were not far from them, they were below the cliff, and it would take at least three to five hours to go around them.
The mountain winds are howling now, and by then the wildfire will definitely be burning.
Even if the loggers had never witnessed the horrors of wildfires, they had heard about them from the old loggers.
If a wildfire breaks out, all you can do is run, run as fast as you can, and never look back.
Wildfires are alive; they'll find a way to keep you there.
"What should we do?" The young lumberjack was so anxious he almost cried.
"No, this forest belongs to the collective, we can't just burn it down like this! Second brother, bring me the rope, I'm going down!" Wang Tieshan watched the flames leap higher and higher, and no longer caring about anything else, he reached out to grab the rope.
"Uncle, it's hundreds of meters above the ground here, and the wind is so strong, we can't get down at all." The lumberjack was anxious and stopped Wang Tieshan.
The two were arguing when suddenly someone shouted, "Listen! What's that sound?"
A buzzing engine sound came from the sky. Everyone looked up and saw a small plane emerging from the clouds in the distance, flying towards them.
"It's a small plane from our forestry bureau. I went to the bureau to report on my work a while ago and saw Lao Wang and the others fiddling with it."
"They must be here on patrol."
The crowd immediately started shouting.
"There's a forest fire here."
"Hurry back and report the news!"
But as he shouted, the sound suddenly stopped.
The forestry bureau is hundreds of miles away. Even if the fire brigade were to dispatch immediately and arrive in fire trucks, it would be too late. By then, the opportunity would be lost.
at this time.
Something unexpected happened.
The small plane seemed to have spotted the wildfire. After circling once in the air, it flew straight toward the fire.
"What is it going to do?!"
"Danger!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a water pipe suddenly extended from the rear of the small plane, its opening precisely aimed at the burning tree.
With a whoosh, a stream of water gushed out from the pipe and poured directly onto the blazing tree trunk.
The flames were instantly extinguished by the cold water, shrinking considerably and the crackling sound of the fire subsided.
But one box of water was far too little; it was simply not enough to extinguish the fire in several large trees.
The small plane seemed to have noticed this as well, and it circled and climbed higher before disappearing into the horizon and flying away into the distance.
"Let's go! The small plane has bought us time, let's get down here quickly!" Wang Tieshan shouted, and the lumberjacks snapped out of their shock and hurried down the mountain.
But after running for a while, they realized it was completely unnecessary.
The small plane that had been there earlier turned back again, and the black hose under its belly extended once more, spraying water forcefully at the wildfire!
"So the plane went to refill its water tank."
"That's too fast! Also, there's no airport nearby."
"I heard that the fire-fighting aircraft manufactured by the Qianmen Locomotive Depot can take off without an airport."
"With this precious tool, we won't have to worry about wildfires in the future!" After the last bit of flame was completely extinguished, the small plane sprayed water at the fire for a full two minutes to confirm that there was no possibility of reignition. Only then did the black tube slowly retract and the plane flap its wings and fly away.
"That little plane saved the whole forest!" Zhang Tieshan exclaimed sincerely, watching the plane disappear into the distance.
"This little plane saved the entire forest!" On the other side, the leaders of the Daxinganling Branch of the Forestry Industry Administration received a report from the fire-fighting small plane team and broke out in a cold sweat.
That forest is full of century-old pine trees, with many dead branches growing everywhere. If a fire were to start and spread with the wind, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Quickly! Report to the General Administration immediately!"
The branch office leadership reported this matter to the General Administration.
The leaders of the General Administration were somewhat bewildered.
A small plane extinguished the wildfire?
Once the details of the matter were cleared up, the leaders of the General Administration immediately realized the truth.
The role of firefighting drones is far more important than they realize.
“Hey, a while ago, Comrade Li Aiguo from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot suggested that we buy more, saying that it would be perfect for mass production. At the time, we thought the cost was too high and didn’t take it seriously.”
"Yes, they may not have said anything, but they're definitely not happy about it."
"These planes are fast and highly maneuverable. If we get a whole new batch and have them patrol regularly, we could probably nip wildfires in the bud!"
Several leaders of the General Administration were somewhat frustrated.
"The Daxinganling Branch Bureau has compiled statistics showing that the entire forest area was saved thanks to the timely firefighting efforts of the small aircraft. The firefighting flight team made a great contribution, and Comrade Li Aiguo, as the developer, deserves immense credit! I recommend that he be awarded the title of Model Forest Protector!"
"I agree! If these small planes could be widely deployed, how many forests would be saved!"
"Okay, I'll report to the relevant ministry now."
The forestry bureau leaders finally made the decision.
A few days later, the Qianmen Locomotive Depot's workshop welcomed leaders from the Ministry of Forestry, accompanied by several young-looking reporters carrying cameras.
"Model Forest Protector." Li Aiguo was stunned when he saw the banner.
After understanding the whole story, Li Aiguo accepted the banner with both hands without hesitation.
"Comrade Patriot, thank you for your support of our forestry work."
"This is what I should do."
After Li Aiguo received the banner, Section Chief Xing invited Li Aiguo aside and said, "Comrade Aiguo, the forestry department has sent a reporter to interview you. You can tell the reporter how you developed the small aircraft later."
"Section Chief, this isn't appropriate. The creation of the small airplane wasn't solely my achievement," Li Aiguo said.
After careful consideration, Section Chief Xing realized that he had overlooked something.
"So what are your thoughts?"
"I think we should highlight the spirit of our maintenance depot workers working together with one heart and one mind, as well as the support from the ministry leaders, the Aviation Industry Bureau, the contributions of Engineer Liu and his colleagues, and the improvement plans provided by the comrades in the forestry department."
Li Aiguo was not modest; the small airplane looked simple, but building it in this era was quite difficult.
"Well said! Well said! You almost made me do something foolish." Section Chief Xing nodded repeatedly, his admiration growing stronger.
There's a reason this kid is so successful; no wonder he can always gather a group of people to work with him whenever he does research and development.
Li Aiguo was already used to being interviewed by reporters and wasn't worried at all.
Besides, these days, the questions reporters ask are all prepared in advance; they won't ask you questions like how many girlfriends you have.
The reporter is from "Production Express," the first newspaper in China's forestry sector, which mainly reports on logging progress, forest fire prevention and control, commendations for outstanding individuals/collectives in forest areas, and interpretations of Ministry of Forestry policies.
The newspaper did not cause much of a stir within the Qianmen Locomotive Depot after it was published, as everyone knew that the workshop often produced excellent work.
However, people from other places who were unaware of the truth were even more confused.
"Isn't the locomotive depot in charge of railways? How come they're building airplanes?"
"A train driver, and he even received the title of model forest ranger?"
Both the Qianmen Locomotive Depot and train driver Li Aiguo were considered by some to be somewhat neglecting their duties.
After the interview, the leaders of the Forestry Department also sent new orders.
"The Northeast urgently needs fifty small fire-fighting aircraft. Section Chief Xing, please make the arrangements."
"Huh?!" Section Chief Xing was secretly relieved that the purchase of fire-fighting aircraft had been stopped, as it would allow him to redirect the production capacity of the aircraft to other areas.
Hearing this news, I felt somewhat helpless.
What?
The only option is to expand production again.
Li Aiguo wasn't in a hurry, as the production capacity of small aircraft had already increased.
Furthermore, as small aircraft manufacturing technology matures, costs are decreasing and manufacturing cycles are becoming shorter.
The aircraft workshop is fully capable of producing both fire-fighting aircraft and agricultural aircraft simultaneously.
As for skilled workers, they can be transferred from other workshops first.
"Hey, Section Chief, where did these lychees come from?" After putting away the banner, Li Aiguo went to his office and picked up a fruit, only then recognizing it as a lychee.
Although Wang Daikui's Yangcheng trade route could often obtain bananas and other goods from the south, it never transported lychees.
Lychees soften quickly at room temperature. Even with advance planning and no delays, it still takes two to three days to transport them from Guangzhou Railway Freight Station to Beijing.
"These were brought back by a leader from a ministry who accompanied the chief on an inspection tour to the south. They were a special reward for our maintenance depot. There are only a few dozen kilograms in total. You can take ten kilograms back with you so your wife and kids can have a taste," Section Chief Xing said with a smile, taking a sip of tea.
Li Aiguo, holding a lychee, had a new idea: why not build a large transport plane so that he could eat lychees more often in the future?
There is now a trend of converting military transport aircraft into civilian ones in various countries.
The Russian Tu-104 had already entered service, but its fuel consumption was too high and its cargo hold space was too small. After being used in civilian applications for a period of time, it was all converted to military use.
This gave the US the opportunity to develop the Boeing 707, which was also a military-to-civilian conversion. The prototype was the KC-135, which subsequently ushered in the era of jet transport aircraft for the US.
Both the British and French families have their own transport planes, but their carrying capacity is too small.
We have already built the Y-5, which was improved by Engineer Liu. It has a maximum payload of 1.82 tons, can carry 10 people, has a range of 1200 kilometers, a biplane layout, and low-pressure tires suitable for simple airfields.
There is indeed a lack of a large transport aircraft.
but.
You have to eat your food one bite at a time, and walk your path one step at a time.
After getting off work, Li Aiguo divided the lychees into five portions and rode his mountain bike to deliver one portion to Liu Guozhang first.
With the first phase of the Beijing subway project nearing completion, Liu Guozhang was so busy he was nowhere to be seen, and unsurprisingly, he wasn't home.
The teacher's wife smiled as she accepted the lychees, and casually remarked that he hadn't even had time to go home for a drink of water these past few days.
After leaving the Liu family, Li Aiguo took a detour to deliver a gift to Cao Wenzhi and Chen Fangxuan, and finally turned into the farmer's small courtyard.
The farmer's eyes lit up when he saw the lychees. He picked one up, weighed it in his hand, and said with delight, "I tasted this when I went on a business trip to the south a few years ago. It feels quite novel to see it now."
"Teacher, is there any news from the cat group leader?" Li Aiguo asked casually.
"Not yet, but these kinds of cases usually take a long time to investigate."
They left the farmer's house.
Only then did Li Aiguo ride his mountain bike slowly back to the courtyard house.
Chen Xueru has returned and is cooking. She has to go to night school tonight.
When Ms. Chen saw Li Aiguo's bag of lychees, her eyes nearly popped out of her head in surprise.
"These were distributed by the department. We divided them into several portions and gave them to people. We'll keep the rest and send some more to Aunt Liu and Yushui." Li Aiguo placed the lychees on the table.
Chen Xueru responded, quickly found a white porcelain plate, carefully washed the lychees, and carried it to the next room.
After dinner, Li Aiguo strolled over to the scrap metal shop.
Wang Daikui has recently helped collect a lot of old books, which he can use to accumulate points.
You know what, people in the Ming Dynasty really dared to write novels.
Take Li Aiguo's book "Bian Er Chai" as an example; it can be considered the earliest form of transformation literature.
****
In the following days.
While grinding for points, Li Aiguo was also busy producing small aircraft. In his spare time, he would study the data on large transport aircraft. This data was obtained by Andrei from the Russians, but it was not classified.
They're living a wonderful life.
Everything is going smoothly at the studio.
On the weekend, Li Aiguo was about to go home after get off work when Zong Xianfeng knocked on the door and came in.
"Patriotism, I plan to go with Dasha to meet her parents."
Because Zong Xianfeng had performed meritorious service several times, and considering the special circumstances of the two, the higher authorities specially approved their marriage.
The marriage application has already been signed at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, and we can get our marriage certificate soon.
"That's only right. What gifts are you planning to bring?" Li Aiguo agreed without hesitation and even helped Zong Xianfeng apply for some foreign exchange.
"Dasha told me that there is a shortage of light industrial products there, and there are no electrical appliances or anything like that. I plan to bring a rice cooker, a fan, and a few boxes of instant noodles, which are said to be hard currency there."
Zong Xianfeng works at the locomotive depot, and these items produced by the depot itself can be purchased without coupons.
After Zong Xianfeng left, his work was temporarily handed over to Zhou Gaoyuan.
Zhou Gaoyuan has been in the studio for some time and has now joined the organization. He has performed excellently in Project 116 and is now one of the core staff members of the studio.
Production of the small aircraft is progressing smoothly.
After receiving numerous orders for firefighting and agricultural aircraft, the geological exploration department also commissioned geological survey and mapping aircraft.
Li Aiguo spent the whole day building a small airplane, and when he got home, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
In the maintenance workshop of Xiaguan Station, a subsidiary of Jinlingjiang Ferry Management Office.
Several men in gray Zhongshan suits formed a circle, their eyes fixed on the propeller bearing that had just been disassembled.
The heavy bearing broke in two from the middle, and its surface was covered with cracks.
Zhou Ke stood to the side, his eyes filled with doubt: "This thing really wasn't blown apart with explosives?"
Old Cat glanced at it and frowned: "Let's contact the train driver."
(End of this chapter)