Chapter 1054: An epoch-making product
In fact, what has always troubled Chang Haonan is that the pedigree of domestic aircraft is too incomplete.
Excluding C909 and Y8, the only ones that can barely be used as aerial platforms are MA60 and C808.
??At first glance, the former seems to be similar to the E2C platform, but in fact it is larger than the E2C and cannot be put on the ship at all.
As a purely land-based platform…
? ? It has a range of only about 2,000 kilometers, and with a big antenna on its back, there is no oversized luggage compartment that can be converted into a fuel tank like a serious passenger aircraft...
?That performance is really too abstract
The latter, like the Y8, is essentially more suitable as a one-size-fits-all medium-sized platform, rather than a low-end combination of high and low.
?For example, the C808 was selected from the beginning for the anti-submarine patrol aircraft and electronic reconnaissance/electronic jammer aircraft currently under development.
?However, just now, he found that he seemed to have entered a misunderstanding.
Because the early warning aircraft platform was first planned in 1998, it was natural that at that time only these models that had been or were about to be produced in China were considered.
?Although Chang Haonan had several contacts with the early warning aircraft project later on, he either thought of new radar technology or simply tested software or algorithms.
In short, it has nothing to do with the aircraft itself.
Hence, this matter has not been systematically reconsidered.
But today, Chang Haonan took advantage of the topic raised by Guo Lin and thought about it carefully, and suddenly realized that the situation had changed dramatically compared to 5 years ago.
?This change is not only reflected in technology, but also in the external environment -
In the past, we lacked core technology, so we were afraid of being unilaterally cut off.
But now…
Think about the NH90 helicopter
Think about the M88-3 engine.
Think again about the Trent 900…
Let me say it again, who is afraid of someone cutting off the supply?
? Huaxia’s competitiveness in the world’s industrial chain is no longer, at least not just about its huge market potential and low supply costs.
Rather, it actually has core technologies that cannot be replaced.
In this case, regardless of personal use models, at least for foreign trade products, you can think more broadly...
Don’t say anything else.
??Don’t the French want their own early warning aircraft?
??The Navy has no choice but to purchase E2C because it has to consider carrier-based equipment.
But when the Air Force chose E3F, there was still a lot of controversy.
?Except for replacing the aircraft platform with a better-performing engine, this model is not fundamentally different from the E3A 20 years ago.
The quotation was solidly close to US$500 million.
After entering the new century, the French Air Force, which felt that the performance of the E3F was somewhat outdated, began to seek technological upgrades.
As a result, he will be blackmailed a lot again.
?In addition, in terms of demand, with the scale and mission of the French Air Force, there is no need for a model of the size of the E3A.
Not only Chang Haonan thinks so, but even the French themselves think so.
There has been constant talk about replacing the E3F with the Erieye.
And they did exactly that before Chang Haonan was reborn.
Since you can even buy Swedish products, if the Falcon Z is used as a carrier aircraft, it will be at least the same as the NH90, and it can be nominally regarded as France’s own production...
As for the command system and data link, they were originally optional parts.
Just go back and use your own.
??Anyway, even the E3F is operated independently by the French Air Force and is not connected to NATO''s common command system...
Not only that, you can also get some advantages when selling to third countries.
At least it will not suffer because there are fewer users of Chinese fighter jets.
?Thinking of this, Chang Haonan, who was a little drowsy just now, stopped feeling sleepy in an instant.
At the moment, Liu Yongquan is in France tracking the testing of the SeA650 engine.
It just allows him to test the other party''s attitude.
After all, the overall design of Falcon Z still belongs to Dassault.
And if you want to modify a special aircraft based on it, it is obviously a big trouble without the original design plan...
…
A few days later, France.
The cloud of war hanging over the Middle East has had almost no impact on Europe.
At least not yet.
?Even more, because no troops were sent to participate in the deterrence operation, the French people generally just watched the fun.
Normal production and life have not been affected.
?Of course, it’s old Europe. The so-called “normal” production and life may not actually be normal…
?For example, the Falcon Z prototype was originally scheduled to fly for the first time in January 2003. Although everything seemed to be normal, it was still delayed for nearly a month without realizing it.
Fortunately, preparations on the ground were relatively sufficient, and the SeA650 itself is a relatively mature design, and the French are experienced in passenger aircraft test flights, so after entering the test flight stage, there were no other problems.
By late March, all basic subjects will have been completed and the gradual transition to the next stage will begin.
That is, the performance related to Falcon Z’s commercial selling point.
It mainly consists of three parts.
Speed, range, and cabin quietness.
Besides safety, these are also the most important properties of a business jet.
Quietness can be tested throughout the flight test and does not need to be conducted as a separate subject.
For the sake of ensuring test efficiency, the voyage must be arranged at a relatively later stage.
After all, it is more than 12,000km, which is enough to fly directly from London to Beijing.
??It could even be included in the trial run as part of a publicity stunt.
?Just like the aviation industry in the 1920s and 1930s, they were keen on crossing the Atlantic in various ways.
Hence, the core subject at the current stage is still the maximum flight speed.
?Especially for the new wing designed by China, in previous ground flutter tests, the maximum allowable speed reached an astonishing Mach 0.990.
It is higher than the design indicators presented at the beginning.
Of course, this number is already the maximum that the aircraft structure can withstand, which means that it will break immediately no matter how fast it is. It does not mean that the aircraft can really fly levelly at Mach 0.99.
This speed will not be touched even during test flights.
?Dassault is not Boeing, so it cannot really use its test pilots as consumables.
But as a model that uses high speed as its selling point, it will not hurt to leave some more safety redundancy...
“Charles, we checked the flight parameter recording equipment and determined that during this test flight, the aircraft reached and maintained an airspeed of Mach 0.92 in level flight.”
In a hangar at Merignac Airport, flight test director Rob Boudin emerged from the cabin of the Falcon 8Z and reported loudly to Charles Edelsteiner who was checking the cabin noise record data not far away. .
As he spoke, he strode to the test workbench, put the recording device in his hand on the table, wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued:
"I have to say that the most wonderful design of this aircraft is neither the speed nor the noise, but the cross-sectional area of ??the cabin... I can finally stand up straight in a business jet, without having to bend over and walk like a dog hole... "
“Thanks to Snecma…well…in short, thanks to the two new engines with sufficient thrust, the Falcon Z’s cabin cross-sectional height is 8 cm larger than the average for its class.”
“This number may not be very impressive, but for passengers of average height, it is just the critical point of being able to stand up straight...”
As Ed Steiner spoke, he raised his head and looked at the recorder in Robb’s hand with complicated eyes—
Mach 0.92 is actually the pie drawn by Falcon Z during the early publicity process.
Because it is a pie, it was not marked at the beginning whether it was air speed or ground speed.
?His original idea was to find a tailwind and let the aircraft''s GPS speed (that is, ground speed) exceed Mach 0.93 at the altitude at that time.
If that doesn’t work, you can still do a shallow dive.
In short, Chunqiu Bifa Laman, as long as it can avoid accusations of false publicity, it will be fine.
This is also an open secret in the industry.
Rich people usually think that their time is valuable, so they like this kind of publicity.
But in reality, no one really cares about those 10 or 15 minutes.
However.
?Who thinks so?
His intentions were bad, but he carried them out well.
After switching to a lower-drag wing, the aircraft actually reached an airspeed of Mach 0.92 in level flight...
This is great.
Falcon 8Z has a total of three main selling points.
High speed.
Relying on low-drag wings designed by others.
Large voyage.
Relying on a low fuel consumption engine designed by others.
Quietness.
? Relying on soundproof nacelles and active noise reduction systems designed by others. …
Although the overall design of the aircraft was still led by Dassault.
??But it didn’t feel right to Ed Steiner.
? Falcon 8Z is an epoch-making product in the field of business jets. But if you take a closer look, you will find that the times are marked by others?
(End of this chapter)