Chapter 1320
The Difficulties Encountered by Sixth Master, Commander Dai Wants to Leave the Group, a
Chief Engineer Liu has now been officially transferred to Li Aiguo's studio and is no longer officially affiliated with Shenyang Aircraft Corporation.
Therefore, out of confidentiality, Shenyang Aircraft Corporation did not disclose all the specific details encountered during the J-6 test flight.
However, Li Aiguo understood what he meant.
It just so happens that the wind tunnel needs to be tested after it is completed, and it would be perfect to use the famous Sixth Master for testing.
Of course, I agreed immediately.
"Then I'll go and inform Shenyang Aircraft Corporation right now." Chief Engineer Liu was happy to be able to help his former employer.
After Chief Engineer Liu left, Li Aiguo gathered Chief Engineer Qi, Zong Xianfeng, Zhou Gaoyuan, and experts from the wind tunnel to begin preparations.
I was busy until evening before I rode my motorcycle back to the courtyard house.
the other side.
The atmosphere in Shen Fei's office was somewhat oppressive.
Chief Engineer Xu paced back and forth in his office, his hands behind his back, looking anxious.
At this moment, an expert walked in and gave a report.
"General Xu, news just came from Santaizi that they conducted their third wind tunnel test just now, and the results... the data is still the same as before, there are no problems."
"Was it conducted strictly according to the original testing plan?" Chief Engineer Xu stopped in his tracks, his brows furrowing even deeper.
“That’s right, I personally supervised the process on-site, and every step went smoothly…”
After a moment's hesitation, the expert said, "Mr. Xu, since the wind tunnel test is fine, how about... we proceed with mass production according to the original design?"
The Air Force is pressing hard; they're all waiting for the new fighter jets.
"Nonsense! Mass production cannot proceed until the wing vibration problem that occurred during flight testing is resolved!"
This is irresponsible towards the lives of pilots and towards the aviation industry!
Chief Engineer Xu immediately waved his hand, interrupting him.
"But...we can't figure out exactly where the problem lies..." the expert felt aggrieved.
Since the problem was discovered during the test flight, they have conducted several tests and organized expert discussions, but they have still been unable to find the problem.
Chief Engineer Xu was also helpless.
After all, things involving aerodynamics are very complex, and even the slightest error can lead to huge mistakes, so a high-precision wind tunnel is necessary for verification.
At Santaizi, there is currently only a low-speed wind tunnel, which cannot simulate the complex airflow environment during high-speed flight.
"Did Old Liu from Beijing call?"
"Not yet. But Mr. Xu, high-speed wind tunnels aren't so easy to build. We probably don't have time to wait..."
Before he could finish speaking, the voice of the communications officer came from outside.
"General Xu! General Xu! The Qianmen Locomotive Depot called, asking us to send over the scale model of the J-6 fighter jet immediately!"
"Great! This is a real lifesaver!"
Upon hearing this, Chief Engineer Xu's tense face instantly relaxed.
Of course, cross-unit testing at this level requires a very complicated approval process.
Even the scaled-down model is kept strictly confidential, and it must go through a rigorous security procedure before being sent to the capital.
Fortunately, the leaders of Shenyang Aircraft Corporation personally intervened and coordinated with the Beijing authorities and the General Administration of Civil Aviation, and the procedures were completed quickly.
Li Aiguo has been very busy these past few days, extremely busy.
The pharmaceutical machinery at the pharmaceutical research institute needs to be installed, and the equipment in the wind tunnel also needs to be debugged.
The export of ibuprofen also needs to be arranged.
Clinical trials for ibuprofen and cephalosporins are not yet fully completed.
However, with Li Aiguo winning the Montion Prize in Medicine internationally and gaining widespread fame, the sales of these two drugs have taken off.
I don't get home until after 10 p.m. every night, and I get up early in the morning.
"Good morning, Patriot!"
"Aiguo, you're up so early, have you eaten?"
The residents in the compound were washing up in the middle courtyard when they saw Li Aiguo and greeted him.
Parents, especially those with children, like to let their children interact with Li Aiguo.
The third uncle had already said in private that Li Aiguo was so good at producing so many things that he would have been a reincarnation of the God of Literature before the liberation.
The parents wholeheartedly agreed and all wanted to benefit from it.
Li Aiguo greeted everyone with a smile, then filled a basin with cold water and began to wash up.
Just then.
Uncle Liu Haizhong suddenly ran out from the backyard, waving a newspaper in his hand.
"Great news! Huge good news! The French have completely fallen out with the Northern Alliance. Marshal Dai is furious and is telling the Northern Alliance to get out of here!"
Upon hearing this, the residents stopped brushing their teeth and swarmed over.
"Are they going to fight amongst themselves?"
"Hey, this is called dog fighting, all that fur in the mouth!"
"Don't say that, the French are our friends now."
"That's true, but why did the French suddenly turn against the Northern Alliance?" Xu Damao stroked his chin and asked a very profound question.
The residents all looked bewildered.
Although they had heard that Commander Dai had a rather stubborn temper, it was still rare for him to slam his fist on the table.
Li Aiguo had already vaguely guessed the reason.
Early in the morning, Li Aiguo arrived at the studio, and Lao Mao called to report what had happened at the Gallic Chicken's house.
This matter ultimately stems from the previous Marseille port incident.
This was originally just a minor, localized incident.
However, the reckless actions of Major General Smith of the American family completely escalated the conflict and aroused public indignation in the French family.
Driven by those with ulterior motives, the matter escalated and became increasingly chaotic.
President Dai was already annoyed by the Northern Alliance's meddling in his affairs, and this was a perfect opportunity for him to take advantage of the situation.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, he slammed his fist on the table and demanded that the soldiers in the base pack up and leave immediately.
When Xiao Mei's family saw this, they were shocked to discover that the French were planning a rebellion! Naturally, they were a hundred percent against it.
The two sides then engaged in a war of words.
Xiao Mei's family cursed the French as ingrates.
They said that if it weren't for their help, the Gallic Chicken would have been stewed into a French-style roast chicken by San Dezi long ago.
The French family felt that the American family was treating their family as a colony.
Some even shouted resounding slogans such as "Restore France's former glory" and "France will never be enslaved."
Cough cough, Li Aiguo felt that the slogan should be changed to "Make France Great Again" to make it more meaningful.
In this situation, President Dai proposed to the Northern Agreement that he wanted to withdraw from the organization.
This caused a huge uproar within the family.
The eastern camp was naturally overjoyed, and they picked up their stools, ready to watch the show.
When the Western camp's John Bull, Little Dutch, and Bullfighters saw that things had escalated so much, fearing that the Russians might take advantage of the situation, they quickly stepped in to act as peacemakers, earnestly persuading the French.
"Brother, calm down, don't act impulsively!"
When Xiao Mei's family realized that Gallic Chicken was serious this time, they were also afraid that he would leave the group in a fit of anger, causing the entire defense system to collapse.
They had no choice but to swallow their pride and slink away from Fontainebleau Palace.
This matter has now come to a temporary end.
"I thought Commander Dai was really going to stick his neck out this time and just leave the group, but it seems like that's impossible now. All bark and no bite." Old Cat said with some regret on the other end of the phone.
Li Aiguo, however, doesn't see it that way.
Commander Dai was just testing the waters; he'll definitely bring it up again when the time is right.
But I definitely can't tell Old Cat about this.
After hanging up the phone, Li Aiguo walked around the studio and, finding no other work, drove his SUV to the wind tunnel.
No sooner had Li Aiguo left than Section Chief Xing arrived at the Ministry of Railways, unaware of what was going on.
The leaders of the Ministry of Railways were also completely baffled when they looked at the document, which had just been issued by the General Staff.
"Old Xing, come and see what's going on here? I didn't know your maintenance section could inspect fighter jets. This is quite a commotion; it's even alarmed the General Staff and the Air Force."
The Ministry of Railways leader, Teng, picked up the document and handed it to Section Chief Xing, who had just entered the room.
Section Chief Xing was also puzzled. After taking the document and looking at it, he immediately slapped his thigh in surprise.
"Oh dear, boss, my bad, my bad! I was just about to report this to you!"
"The wind tunnel that Comrade Aiguo spearheaded the construction of is now basically complete, and we're just about to invite you, leader, to inspect it," Section Chief Xing immediately reported.
Leader Teng knew about the wind tunnel, but not about what happened after that, which made him even more puzzled.
"What's going on? Tell me in detail first."
"Here's what happened: Shenyang Aircraft Corporation learned that our wind tunnel construction was successful, so they wanted to bring over a scaled-down model of the J-6 fighter jet for testing..."
Section Chief Xing gave a full account of the whole story.
Upon hearing this, Leader Teng asked with some curiosity, "Is the wind tunnel that Aiguo built better than the one Shenyang Aircraft Corporation has?"
"Well... I really don't know."
The design and construction of the wind tunnel were all handled by Comrade Aiguo.
However, since Shenyang Aircraft Corporation was willing to send the airplane model all the way here, their technical level must be quite good.
Section Chief Xing realized that his words were a bit too Versailles-like, so he quickly lowered his voice and said...
"Leader, I deeply regret not reporting the situation in a timely manner."
But this matter involves the latest fighter jet model, and the level of secrecy is high, so I dare not speak carelessly.
"Sir, why don't you go to the site yourself and take a look?" Section Chief Xing asked tentatively.
"Okay! Let's go take a look!"
Just as Leader Teng was about to stand up, he thought for a moment, then sat back down, picked up the red telephone on the table, and shook it vigorously.
Early morning, at the foot of a small hill in Yungang, Fengtai.
The mist was thick, the roosters crowed, and it was a peaceful scene in the early morning of a mountain village commune.
After eating their communal meals, the commune members, led by the production team leader, went to the fields early in the morning to weed, carrying hoes.
Just then, the roar of a heavy truck suddenly broke the tranquility of the mountain village.
The villagers straightened up and looked over, and saw a convoy of vehicles speeding towards the distant mountain valley.
However, no one found it strange.
The strange building in that mountain valley has been under construction for quite some time.
They even responded to the call to help repair railways and install power lines a while ago.
It is said that it is almost finished now.
"I wonder what that building is for? Why make such a big fuss?" one of the members asked.
He had seen it before; the wires inside were as thick as a child's arm, and the screws weighed several kilograms.
"I don't know, but it must be something big. Look, the train is coming too." The production team leader pointed to the distance.
A train is slowly approaching this direction.
Unlike the trains used to haul coal and other goods, this train has specially made flatbed wagons at the back.
It was completely covered by a thick, military-green tarpaulin, so you couldn't see what was inside.
However, you can vaguely make out from the outline that it looks like an airplane.
"Hey, this plane looks like a fighter jet!"
"Where can you find a fighter jet this small? It doesn't look like one."
"Whatever it is, it must be related to fighter jets!"
"Haha, there are still the ditches I helped dig over there!"
The members all laughed when they thought that they had also contributed to the fighter jet.
This simple yet passionate emotion is something that many people in later generations cannot understand.
Just then, a commune cadre came running up, panting, and shouted, "An urgent notice just came from the commune!"
All militiamen must assemble immediately and set up checkpoints at all intersections, strictly prohibiting any suspicious persons from passing! Not even a fly is allowed to pass!
Upon hearing this, the members' expressions immediately turned serious.
This strange building in the mountain valley is indeed something extraordinary. When Li Aiguo arrived at the wind tunnel, the preparation area was already full of people.
Zong Xianfeng, Zhou Gaoyuan, and Chen Baiya all looked surprised.
Chief Engineer Qi and Chief Engineer Liu were carefully inspecting a scale model of a fighter jet that had just been unloaded.
Mr. Xu, the general manager of Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, stood beside him along with several key colleagues from the aircraft factory.
General Xu was very satisfied with Li Aiguo.
As one of the first generation of aircraft designers in China, and having participated in the design of the Santaizi No. 2 wind tunnel, he knew that the construction of such a large-scale wind tunnel was extremely difficult.
Forget about buying materials from the older brother's family; even just asking about the details would get you kicked out. As for Xiaomei's family, forget about it.
This is something that money can't buy.
Wind tunnels involve a wide range of cutting-edge fields, from aerodynamics to ultra-high voltage power systems and precision sensors.
Shenyang Aircraft Corporation did consider building a high-speed wind tunnel, but their foundation was too weak, and they even had difficulty with the design.
The design drawings seem simple, but we don't know the specific wind speed and flow field data, or how to eliminate interference from the tunnel walls...
Everyone knows that high-speed wind tunnels are great, but looking at the world, there are only a handful of companies that can manufacture them independently.
"You must be Comrade Li Aiguo, congratulations." General Xu took the initiative to step forward and extended his hand to Li Aiguo.
"Chief Engineer Xu, you're too kind. Your ability to design a national weapon like the J-6 is a role model for us younger generations to learn from."
Li Aiguo smiled modestly and turned to look at the scaled-down model of the fighter jet next to him.
This scaled-down model is not a toy model from later generations; it represents true high technology in those days.
Compared to the original fighter jet, the error is at the micrometer level. The rivet positions, skin seams, antennas, pitot tubes, etc. are all completely identical.
To facilitate high-speed airflow photography, the surface was coated with a matte black color to prevent reflection.
The interior is not empty; it contains a wind tunnel balance.
When conducting wind tunnel tests on fighter jets, using scaled-down models is the most common practice.
This model is a 1:4 scale, which is already very large. Shenyang Aircraft Corporation has invested a lot of money in it.
To be honest, the appearance of the J-6 is definitely a classic design of fighter jets from the 1950s.
With a 55-degree sweep angle, a nose-mounted air intake, wing fences, and that iconic large rear end, this aircraft boasts a powerful three-pronged design.
As the saying goes, "the nose is like a mouth, the wings are like two blades, and the rear is like a stick," this is the ultimate design of a fighter jet.
She looks very fertile. Cough cough, she's also very strong.
And that was indeed the case. The Northern Organization gave Sixth Master a nickname: Farmer, which meant tough, strong, and not to be trifled with.
We prefer to call them "airborne veterans" here.
There are only wrong names, not wrong nicknames.
The J-6 was produced in more than 5,000 units in later generations, making it the most produced single-model fighter jet in history!
It once achieved an astonishing air combat exchange ratio of 22:0, shooting down more than 20 enemy aircraft without losing a single one of its own!
On the other hand, the J-6 fighter jet has even shot down several Su-7 fighter jets in succession!
Of course, even the Sixth Prince isn't without his weaknesses.
The world's air forces have now entered the era of supersonic speeds and missiles.
Fighter jets such as the F-4 Phantom and Su-15 have already achieved beyond-visual-range attack capabilities.
The sixth-generation fighter still mainly uses a 30mm cannon and close-quarters combat, emphasizing "if you don't have the skill, make up for it with courage" and engaging in aerial bayonet fighting.
There's nothing we can do about it.
Our current aviation industry technology level is indeed still insufficient.
If given the opportunity, we could also build a fighter jet.
Li Aiguo was thinking about the upcoming tests while chatting with General Manager Xu.
At this moment, the final stage of safety inspections is being carried out on the exterior of the wind tunnel.
Section Chief Xing, along with Zhou Ke and Chief Niu, personally led the team to be responsible for the perimeter security.
"Everyone, pay attention! Chief Teng is coming to inspect today."
"The leaders from the ministry are coming!" Zhou Ke and the others immediately perked up.
Suddenly, a security officer ran over: "Section Chief! Section Chief! We just received an urgent notice, the higher-ups are coming!"
"Huh?!" Upon hearing this, Section Chief Xing was stunned, his brain instantly shutting down.
He originally thought it was just Leader Teng coming, but he didn't expect it to alarm a higher-level leader!
He instinctively wanted to turn around and run inside to inform Li Aiguo, but it was too late.
After the convoy came to a stop, the superior leader, accompanied by Teng and several leaders from the Aviation Industry Bureau, got out of the car with a smile on his face.
"Boss." Section Chief Xing quickly went up to him.
"Today is the joyous occasion of the completion of your wind tunnel. I hope my unexpected visit hasn't disturbed your work?"
The superior's tone was heavily accented with his local accent.
"No, absolutely not. We would be delighted if you could come." Section Chief Xing was somewhat excited, even though he had received higher-level leaders before.
"Haha, you're just too polite, comrade."
The superior laughed heartily, looked around, and asked, "Where is our great hero, Comrade Aiguo?"
"Reporting to the leader, Comrade Aiguo is in the preparation room, accompanying the comrades from Shenyang Aircraft Corporation to inspect the fighter jet model. I'll go inform him right away!" Section Chief Xing said, about to run inside.
"Hey, don't disturb him." The superior waved his hand, stopping Section Chief Xing.
"Let's go over together and take a quiet look, without interrupting the young comrades' work."
As he spoke, the superiors led the way into the wind tunnel, with Section Chief Xing and Leader Teng following closely behind.
Inside the preparation room, General Xu had already had an in-depth discussion with Li Aiguo about the design philosophy of the J-6 fighter jet.
The more they talked, the more alarmed Mr. Xu became.
He discovered that Li Aiguo, this young man, had a completely different view of fighter jets from the mainstream aviation experts in China, and was very visionary.
"Patriotism, huh? From what you're saying, is it unnecessary for our J-6 fighters to follow the example of the US and Big Brother, blindly pursuing high-altitude, high-speed combat?" General Xu asked, frowning.
The lack of high-altitude combat capabilities has always been a major regret for him.
Now, both the older brother's and the younger sister's new fighter jets are emphasizing high-altitude combat.
"General Xu, look, the maximum flight altitude of the J-6 is over 17,000 meters."
But now the enemy's high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft often fly at altitudes of over 20,000 meters!
Moreover, those reconnaissance aircraft were all supersonic.
Even if our J-6 fighters flew to their maximum altitude, they wouldn't be able to reach them, let alone catch up.
Chief Engineer Xu nodded; what Li Aiguo said was true.
Li Aiguo continued, "In this situation, instead of using our weaknesses to compete with others' strengths, we might as well abandon high-altitude performance and maximize our low-altitude combat capabilities!"
Li Aiguo knows Sixth Master too well.
In the original historical timeline, the J-6 was initially expected to be a versatile fighter jet.
As it turned out, people later discovered in actual combat that this thing's low-altitude fighting performance was simply amazing!
Thus, Master Liu embarked on a wild and unstoppable journey down the path of low-level combat.
Even in the 6s, after Sixth Master retired from the front-line troops.
Because of its superior air combat performance, it has been extensively modified into unmanned combat aircraft and deployed in bases along the southeast coast, where it continues to serve its purpose.
In the history of world aviation, there are actually many classic fighter jets that disregard their own disadvantages and maximize their advantages.
For example, the famous A-10 "Warthog" attack aircraft that the US later built.
It completely abandoned air combat capabilities, flew slowly, and had poor radar.
However, it possesses extremely powerful ground attack capabilities and armor protection, making it an absolute trump card for America's ground assaults.
They caused trouble at Dalang's house a while ago.
Coincidentally, the J-6, with its excellent low-altitude maneuverability, is a natural nemesis of low-altitude, slow-moving attack aircraft like the "Warthog".
Who knows, in the future, these two fighter jets, which have taken specialization to the extreme, might even have a clash over some small island.
"That makes sense! This is called playing to your strengths and avoiding your weaknesses, taking an unconventional approach!"
After listening to Li Aiguo's analysis, General Xu couldn't help but nod in admiration.
Actually, when he was designing the Sixth Master, he subconsciously felt that he should focus on low-altitude close combat, but this idea was never fully realized.
After Li Aiguo said that today, he suddenly understood.
Just as the two were chatting enthusiastically, their superiors, accompanied by Leader Teng and Section Chief Xing, quietly entered the preparation room.
Along the way, the higher-ups looked at the massive equipment inside the wind tunnel.
He chatted warmly with the employees along the way from time to time, his face full of satisfied smiles.
As he approached the preparation room, Section Chief Xing saw Li Aiguo with his back to the door, engrossed in a conversation with General Xu.
Just as he was about to call for help, his superior smiled and raised his hand to stop him.
The superior quietly walked over, stood behind the two of them, listened for a while, and couldn't help but applaud.
"Great! What a brilliant idea to make the most of your strengths!"
Patriotic comrade, your strategic vision is truly insightful!
That's how war is: you fight your way, I fight mine, we play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses!
Hearing the voice behind him, Li Aiguo turned around abruptly and realized that his superior had come over in person. He quickly stood at attention and saluted.
"Good leadership!"
"Alright, Comrade Aiguo, don't be so reserved." The superior patted Li Aiguo on the shoulder with a smile.
"Come on, today you'll be my guide and give me a proper introduction to this wind tunnel!"
"Yes, sir! Reporting to the leader, this high-speed wind tunnel chamber has an experimental section diameter of 2.4 meters and a designed Mach number between 0.4 and 1.4."
It's a continuous wind tunnel, capable of conducting long-term continuous operation tests!
"Mach 1.4!" Upon hearing this, the superiors were immediately relieved.
Mach 1.4 is already capable of testing most aircraft, and the key is that it is manufactured in-house. Although it looks a bit rough, that's just the surface.
"Comrade Patriot, I have a layman's question to ask." The superior pointed to the experimental section of the wind tunnel.
"Could we make this 2.4-meter diameter aperture bigger in the future? Like an 8-meter by 8-meter aperture?"
Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo said, "Sir, this is extremely difficult."
The cost of a wind tunnel increases exponentially with the cube of its diameter.
The high cost is one issue, but the more difficult one is the electricity problem.
Our wind tunnel, with a cross-section of 2.4 meters, has a peak power of 2.3 kilowatts when it is turned on.
If we were to replace it with a large-diameter wind tunnel measuring 8 by 8 meters, the operating power would directly increase to over 25 kilowatts!
This is equivalent to the total electricity consumption of a medium-sized city!
Our current power grid simply cannot handle such a large load.
"Oh? I see. It seems I was just being delusional." The superior nodded thoughtfully and turned to look at the leader from the Aviation Industry Bureau beside him.
"Leader, Comrade Aiguo is absolutely right."
In fact, besides the enormous cost and power bottlenecks, the difficulty of manufacturing ultra-large diameter wind tunnels increases exponentially.
The aviation department leaders quickly nodded in agreement.
The aviation leadership had no objection to Li Aiguo's statement that he only mentioned the cost and electricity consumption without mentioning the technical difficulties.
After all, if you really want to build a super wind tunnel that is 8 by 8 meters, the cost will be as high as several billion!
Even if you poured all the nation's total aviation budget into it, it probably wouldn't even make a ripple.
This wind tunnel alone cost tens of millions of dollars, and only the studio had Hextech as a source of funding.
As a researcher, perhaps it's possible to focus solely on technical issues.
However, now that Li Aiguo is in this position of leadership, he must take into account the overall situation of funding, resources, and the industrial base.
"Rest assured, leader! As long as the country needs us, our locomotive depot has the confidence and determination to continue cooperating with Comrade Aiguo to develop a larger and more advanced new ventilation tunnel!"
Seizing the opportunity, Section Chief Xing quickly straightened his chest and expressed his stance.
"You, you..." Upon hearing this, the superior laughed heartily and pointed at Section Chief Xing.
"You old Xing, you don't even know what a wind tunnel is, yet you're just bragging to me!"
However, the higher-ups weren't really angry.
It's perfectly normal for Section Chief Xing, as the administrative leader of the locomotive depot, not to understand such cutting-edge technology as wind tunnels.
"Comrade Aiguo, have all the preparations been completed? When can we start the test?" the superior asked Li Aiguo again.
"Reporting to the leader, everything is ready." Li Aiguo turned to look at Zong Xianfeng in front of the control panel.
Zong Xianfeng immediately stood up straight and reported loudly, "Reporting to the leader! The wind tunnel's main drive motor is in normal condition! The cooling system is circulating normally! The model's attitude control system is locked! It can be powered on for testing at any time!"
"Okay!" Li Aiguo turned around.
"Sir, for the first official test of this wind tunnel, please press the start button yourself!"
(End of this chapter)