Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

Capital International Airport, the tarmac.

A four-engine passenger plane stood there quietly, bathed in the sunset's afterglow. When the group of Europeans saw it, they were all taken aback: "Isn't that a Boeing 707?"

The size, shape, and layout are almost identical!

"Gentlemen, this is our Y-10. It's different from the Boeing 707. Not every aircraft with four engines hanging under its wings is called a Boeing 707. Not to mention us in the East, your Airbus company probably makes more than just twin-engine passenger planes. You'll probably build four-engine ones in the future, right?"

The Airbus A340 is a four-engine long-range passenger plane, and it's also a narrow-body aircraft. Its appearance is very similar to the Boeing 707.

"Why is there an upturned winglet at the end of the wing?" Thomas asked curiously, looking at the end of the wing.

"This winglet is our invention. It can improve the airflow at the wingtips and reduce fuel consumption by about three percent."

"What? Just installing such a small winglet can reduce fuel consumption?" The onlookers were shocked.

McDonnell Douglas started out making military aircraft. After merging with Douglas, they began to venture into the passenger plane market, and then McDonnell Douglas collapsed.

"Can we go up and take a look?" Thomas asked.

"Of course."

The group of Europeans boarded the plane, looking at the seat layout inside. It wasn't much different from the Boeing 707. Looking at the front, the flight instruments seemed to be identical to the Boeing 707. However, considering that they were still asking the Easterners to process parts, they were too embarrassed to say it was the same as the Boeing 707.

"This plane is really good!" Thomas nodded, expressing his praise.

"After our test flights, the performance is even more advanced than the Boeing 707, and the range can also meet the requirements. Next, we hope this plane can fly directly from China to Europe," Qin Yang said.

The people present were immediately stunned.

"President Qin, the safety of passenger planes is extremely important. Once an accident occurs, it involves dozens or even hundreds of precious lives. Our European EASA, adhering to a strict management attitude, is very cautious about issuing airworthiness certificates to even our Airbus company's products. Your company has never produced advanced passenger planes, yet you have suddenly developed a large passenger plane. This cannot be rushed; it must be done slowly," Thomas said.

EASA is the European Aviation Safety Agency. All passenger planes flying to Europe need to meet their regulations, which means obtaining their airworthiness certificate.

Do American planes need it?

The answer is no, because the United States also has relevant agencies that issue airworthiness certificates to aircraft. The United States and Europe mutually recognize each other. As long as Boeing and McDonnell Douglas passenger planes obtain domestic airworthiness certificates, they can fly in each other's airspace.

They jointly create a technical barrier to prevent third parties from entering this market. The world only needs the United States and Europe to build passenger planes; other manufacturers are not needed!

"Do it slowly? We can completely send a brand-new Y-10 to you for the most stringent testing in Europe. We believe our plane's performance meets any requirements you may have," Qin Yang said.

This airworthiness certificate is equivalent to a birth certificate. Without this certificate, you can only fly domestically or to some friendly countries nearby. But now, the world's major economies are still the United States and Europe. We can't not do business with them! The best routes for the Y-10, a long-range passenger plane, are the American or European routes. If we don't have the relevant airworthiness certificate, we won't be able to fly to Europe or the United States.

At the same time, obtaining the airworthiness certificate can completely shut up the domestic civil aviation authorities. What are you worried about? Our Y-10 fully meets Western stringent standards! If you still prevaricate, then we'll establish a private airline and leave your civil aviation with nothing to eat.

At this time, upon hearing this request, Thomas naturally had to politely refuse. What a joke! If Eastern passenger planes were to develop, how would Airbus make money? There absolutely cannot be a third strong player in this market!

"I'm sorry, your aviation industry has only just started, and you are not yet qualified to apply for an airworthiness certificate from EASA. You can fly domestically first."

Qin Yang didn't insist.

You can't get fat on one bite. Everything has to be done slowly, just like the C919 in later generations. If foreign countries don't give us an airworthiness certificate, we'll fly domestic routes first, accumulate experience, and build a reputation, and slowly we'll develop.

Now, we've only just made a start and can't be too impatient.

After seeing the passenger plane, everyone was tired and hungry. Next, they went to the Friendship Hotel for dinner.

In the banquet hall of the Friendship Hotel, there was a lively atmosphere with clinking glasses and happy guests. Halfway through the meal, Thomas came to Qin Yang with a glass of wine to drink, and at the same time said, "President Qin, it must have cost you a lot of money to develop that hydraulic press, right?"

"Well, but it doesn't matter. Our Capital Agricultural Tool Factory has plenty of money."

"President Qin, would you like to earn foreign exchange by processing parts for us?"

"No, our schedule is very tight, and we're not short of money either."

The money was offered to them, but they didn't want it!

The people from Airbus were very embarrassed.

"President Qin, we need advanced hydraulic presses to help us forge the landing gear and beams of large passenger planes," Thomas decided to get straight to the point. "Please help us!"

"The safety of passenger planes is extremely important. Once an accident occurs, it involves dozens or even hundreds of precious lives. We in the East have never produced advanced passenger planes, and we in the East are not confident in undertaking such a task. Don't be anxious; take your time."