Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

Everywhere were buildings with pointed roofs, and the ancient streets carried an aristocratic air.

Different countries have different heritages. Germany gives people a rigid feeling, France is romantic, and Britain is elegant with an aristocratic air. This is cultivated by years of long history. Even an old lady on the street exudes a unique elegance that outsiders cannot learn.

Even if Qin Yang is rich, he only exudes the air of a nouveau riche, but Qin Yang doesn't care. As long as he has money, even if he wears flip-flops, he will be respected everywhere.

High Holborn district, Rose Hotel.

Just like the name of the hotel, the entire hotel is filled with the scent of roses, but in this season, you won't see blooming roses. The scent in the air is just a kind of perfume. Qin Yang and the others entered the hotel, and before they had time to appreciate the beauty of the hotel, they were occupied by Old Ma's impatient questioning.

"President Qin, are you saying that you want us to turn the Y-10 into a twin-engine aircraft?"

"Is that difficult?" Qin Yang asked.

Changing four engines to two engines seems simple, just changing the position of the engines, but in reality, it is definitely not that simple. After all, the wings of an aircraft are the most important part of an aircraft. There are a large number of load-bearing frames inside the wings, and the position of hanging the aircraft engine also needs special reinforcement.

Originally, there were four engines, each placed in its own position. Now, if it is to be changed to twin-engine, it means that the position of the engine must be re-searched.

Hanging it outside is definitely not possible. The outer hanger cannot withstand the weight of the engine. Hanging it on the inside, because the engine becomes larger and the noise becomes louder, it will bring discomfort to the people in the cabin. A position must be re-selected between the two engines of the original four-engine layout, and then the hanger needs to be re-made, and the stress needs to be recalculated. This will be a huge project.

"It's not difficult," Old Ma said. "We have advanced die forging presses in China. We can completely use this die forging press to forge the engine pylons to ensure sufficient strength without increasing weight. However, if it is changed from four engines to two engines, we may face the requirements of extended twin-engine operations. But anyway, we won't be flying to the United States, so this requirement doesn't need to be followed."

In the past, there were almost no twin-engine aircraft flying across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Why? Of course, it was because of legal regulations. After all, engines can fail.

If it is an aircraft with four engines, if one of the engines fails, it is not a big problem. It can continue to fly as it was, but if a twin-engine aircraft has one engine failure, the aircraft will only have one engine left to use. At this time, the risk will greatly increase.

Therefore, the United States proposed regulations as early as 1953: For twin-engine aircraft, the distance from any point on the route to an alternate airport cannot exceed 60 minutes of flight distance.

This requirement makes sense. Once a twin-engine aircraft has only one engine left, it must fly to an alternate airport within one hour to be safe.

But at the same time, this also means other troubles.

If flying over land, it is certainly easy to find an alternate airport. An aircraft can fly seven or eight hundred kilometers in one hour. It is always possible to find an alternate airport over such a long distance, but what about on the sea?

Where is the alternate airport on the vast sea?

Therefore, aircraft crossing the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean can only be four-engine aircraft.

The Boeing 707 is a typical four-engine aircraft. One engine only has more than 80 kilonewtons, and now with the advancement of technology, an advanced aircraft engine can have more than 180 kilonewtons, or even two or three hundred kilonewtons. Therefore, one engine now is more powerful than two engines in the past.

However, as long as there are regulations for extended twin-engine operations, twin-engine aircraft cannot carry out intercontinental transoceanic flights.

However, by the late 1980s, due to the increasingly advanced technology of aircraft engines, this indicator was finally abandoned. Therefore, in later generations, it is difficult to see four-engine aircraft. Whether it is a large aircraft or a small aircraft, it is enough to hang one engine under each wing.

Currently, China is still testing the WS-8 turbofan engine. It is not known when this engine will mature. If it matures, four engines can continue to be used. After all, military and other departments still prefer the reliability of four engines. For airlines, the most important thing is economy. At this time, the advantages of twin-engines are shown.

Twin-engines have two fewer engines than four engines, which means a lot less maintenance tasks. At the same time, an engine of 180 kilonewtons is definitely more fuel-efficient than two engines of 80 kilonewtons. In this way, fuel costs and maintenance costs are saved. This is the profit of the airline.

Airlines pursue market competition and value these costs the most. Passenger aircraft in later generations have a two-person driving system, just to save one person's salary.

Now, if the Y-10 is changed to twin-engine, it will save customers a lot of money. Customers will definitely welcome it, but we have to purchase twin-engines from abroad.

Old Ma looked at Qin Yang with some curiosity: "President Qin, are you planning to use Rolls-Royce engines? These engines are not cheap. It is said that one costs one million pounds. If we use this engine, the cost of our passenger aircraft will greatly increase."

The RB-211 engine not only spent a lot of money in research and development, the 170 million pounds of research and development costs almost made Rolls-Royce disappear in the long river of history. At the same time, the manufacturing cost of this engine is also very high, costing about 230,000 pounds to build one. In order to recover the research and development costs, the British also set a very high price for the engine.

If they use it themselves, they may only make a profit of one time, but if the East uses it, the price will skyrocket.

"Well, my plan is to form a joint venture with Rolls-Royce to open an RB-211 production plant in our East, using our labor cost advantages to reduce the price of this engine to two million RMB," Qin Yang said. "In this way, our Y-10 can be used in large quantities."

The value of the pound is relatively high, and the exchange rate is basically around ten. A manufacturing cost of 230,000 pounds is equivalent to more than two million RMB. Now, Qin Yang wants to build it in the East and reduce the price of the engine to the cost price. Is this possible? Moreover, will the British agree to form a joint venture in the East?

Doubtful expressions appeared in Old Ma's eyes.

Qin Yang smiled: "I have a way…"

On the way here, Qin Yang had already thought of the operating procedures.