Chapter 475 Got the T-45 back
A beautiful umbrella flower appeared in the sky.
Malandrino's body relaxed and his vision gradually became clearer.
What about Draenor? What about the plane? Where did you go?
If it had fallen into the sea, why didn't you see the plane debris and the remaining fuel that would pollute the sea area?
Although he was doubtful, he did not doubt his old friend's determination to commit suicide. He just thought that Delano had some special means to plunge the plane directly into the sea, and then continued downward to turn into a submarine.
In fact, with his eyesight, if he turned his head and looked far behind, he could see the T-45 trainer aircraft flying close to the sea.
Plop!
Malandrino entered the water, and his parachute had been thrown away before entering the water. Then, he pulled the inflated lifebuoy, lay down **** it, and then waited.
The moment he ejected, the rescue device was activated. The base must have received the news and contacted the helicopter to rescue him. As for the punishment he will receive, that is something to consider after returning. The worst case scenario is to push it all to Draenor. His body was healed, and Delano was dead anyway.
The dead man Delano has completed the process of the golden cicada's shelling. He is driving the T-45 and flying on the sea. The waves are flying from under the wings, as if they can hit him at any time. However, Delano is not afraid at all. He had already done these actions more than once when he was flying Tomcat, but now he just repeated them.
Delano hummed a tune and got ten million dollars, all of which went into his pocket!
On the vast sea, it is quite difficult to fly with simple instruments only. However, the U.S. Naval Aviation has a more advanced means: the global positioning system.
In that war, the global positioning system played a huge role. After that, this device was more commonly used. The T-45 trainer aircraft has this kind of receiving terminal, which allows him to calibrate the route more conveniently.
The needle on the fuel gauge showed that it was already halfway through, which meant that his flight had become a one-way flight, and he could never go back. However, he didn't care, he was just taking a risk in the first place.
This kind of stimulation will make him even more enjoyable.
The sun gradually slid to the west, and the waves were sparkling on the sea.
Delano looked at the sea and searched hard. After calibrating the direction again, he finally found Zhenhua No. 1, which was circling in the distance.
The difference between that special ship and other ships could be seen at a glance. When Delano flew over, the people on the ship also discovered the plane, so someone climbed onto the highest point of the ship and climbed on top of it. Small flags of two colors were waved there.
Confirmation completed!
Delano looked at the fuel gauge and saw that the pointer had stopped moving. However, in order to avoid an accident, he flew around Zhenhua 1 twice until all the fuel was exhausted. He drove the T-45 and approached. When he reached the surface of the water, he pulled the tab between his legs.
With a graceful posture, the T-45 touched the sea surface. Due to its slow speed, no accidents occurred. It entered the water and slowly sank.
A small boat disembarked from the Zhenhua 1 and headed towards Delano who was parachuting.
After Delano got on the boat, he excitedly said to the responding personnel: "My mission has been completed. Whether this plane can be salvaged depends on you!"
Unless an aircraft carrier comes over, the T-45 will not be able to land at all. Even if it is an oil tanker of hundreds of thousands of tons, the deck is not flat and is covered with pipes. Unless it is modified, it can In order for the carrier-based aircraft to land, the welded steel plates must be strong enough, and there must be Fresnel light boxes and the like.
So the only option is to throw the plane into the sea first and then salvage it.
In order to facilitate fishing, they deliberately found a relatively shallow place. The current depth of the water here is less than two thousand meters, which is the shallowest place nearby.
However, Delano is not sure whether it can be salvaged. If it cannot be salvaged, it has nothing to do with him. He has completed his own mission. The ten million US dollars are all his own.
"Of course there is no problem, our salvage work has begun." The responder said, pointing to the Zhenhua No. 1. Behind this huge special ship, the crane was sending a compact submersible down. The submersible The casing is shiny and looks very high-end at first glance.
This is of course the tall Jiaolong deep-submersible lifeboat! Two thousand meters of sea water is definitely a piece of cake for it that can dive to a depth of seven thousand meters. So far, the Jiaolong has completed all sea trials and has officially become an all-rounder in deep sea work.
It is proficient in rescue, salvage, and scientific research. Now it is just a small test for it.
The T-45 fell into the nearby sea. After the Jiaolong was lowered into the sea by the crane, it immediately tracked forward and downward along the dropped position. When the T-45 finally fell to the bottom of the sea, it also The front and rear feet followed.
Use a robot to tie up the cables, and then connect to the top to lift. When it gets dark outside, the T-45 is hoisted into the cabin of Zhenhua No. 1, covered with a camouflage net, and the ship begins to return at full speed. .
Everything went well!
While Delano leisurely returned to the east with Zhenhua 1, Malandrino took a helicopter and returned to the base. After returning, he reported everything that happened with a pale face, and his leader immediately roared.
“Damn it, that guy just wanted to die and wasted one of our planes!”
“Should we salvage the plane?”
“No need, that plane is almost at the end of its flight life, salvage is meaningless, and it will cost a lot more money, that **** mad dog!”
No one paid much attention to the T-45 that fell into the sea. After all, it was just a training aircraft.
When the good news spread back to the East, Qin Tao was attending an academic exchange meeting at Capital University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Originally it was none of Qin Tao's business. Qin Tao just wanted to stay in Huating, but his father-in-law called Qin Tao back with a phone call.
When Qin Tao entered the conference room, he saw some familiar faces, including Zheng Ming from the Navy, Luo Yang from the 601 Institute, Shi Lao from the 320 Factory, Wang Hua from Huating, and even someone from the Mingzhou Iron and Steel Plant. There are some technicians whom Qin Tao doesn't know.
These familiar people all smiled after meeting Qin Tao, especially Mr. Shi, who frequently cast expectant glances, which made Qin Tao feel flattered.
Everyone is here, are you here to discuss matters related to carrier-based aircraft?
"Even if we don't consider the need for ejection take-off, and only consider the landing of carrier-based aircraft, we still need advanced materials to manufacture the landing gear of the aircraft." Zheng Ming was in charge of presiding over the meeting, and he spoke: "With our land-based aircraft Unlike fighter jets, Navy carrier-based aircraft must be used in a marine environment. Therefore, our materials must not only have high enough strength, but also be corrosion-resistant. Today, we will discuss this topic. I hope we can solve it as soon as possible this problem."
"Everyone, let me first introduce the development history of steel for our aircraft landing gear. This will not take up too much of your time." A gray-haired old professor said. After speaking, he looked at Qin Tao. : "After all, Mr. Qin is not in our industry, so he may not know much about this."
Qin Tao smiled: "Thank you."
"The high-strength steel used in our landing gear has gone through three generations in total." The old professor said: "In the 1950s, we mainly emphasized static strength design, that is, using the tensile strength and yield strength of the material to evaluate , at that time we used 1175 MPa high-strength steel 4130, 30CrMnSiA and other materials to make it through manual arc welding and other methods."
"However, later on, we found that it was enough to use simple static strength to measure it. The landing gear would suffer from fatigue damage, so we later used the higher-strength 1580 to 1760 MPa ultra-high-strength steel 30CrMnSiNi2A. , 4330M, 4340, etc.”
Qin Tao listened very seriously. In fact, he really didn't understand. After all, he built warships. But now, the old professor was talking so enthusiastically, he had to look like he was listening carefully.
"In the 1960s, we developed the low-alloy ultra-high-strength steel 40CrMnSiMoVA steel with a tensile strength of 1860 MPa. It has good process performance and comprehensive mechanical properties and is used on the J-8 and Qiang-5. However, due to unstable quality , gradually withdrew. In order to solve the problem of steel for aircraft landing gear, in the 1980s, we established the General Iron and Steel Research Institute, the Capital Aviation Materials Research Institute, and the Fushun Special Steel Joint Research Group. After unremitting efforts, we finally successfully smelted it. 300M steel. This steel material significantly extends the life of fatigue cracks, allowing the landing gear and body of our aircraft to finally reach the same lifespan."
The old professor talked endlessly about this, because he is the person in charge of this project research team, Mr. Zhao!
"Now, our domestic aircraft landing gears are all made of 300M steel. However, this is still the second generation of steel after all. Therefore, we plan to continue to research and develop the ultra-high-strength steel AerMet100 that is equivalent to the U.S. advanced fighter aircraft. A-100 steel, the strength of this steel must reach two thousand MPa, and it must also have ultra-high strength and high fracture toughness, excellent plastic toughness, fatigue resistance, stress corrosion resistance and impact load resistance. As our It is the first choice material for the landing gear of carrier-based aircraft and new-generation fighter aircraft.”
What reflects the basic industrial level of a country is the smelting of steel. This 300M steel has reached the world's leading level, but it is not enough!
The United States has developed powerful AerMet100 steel, which is specially used on fighter jets, especially carrier-based aircraft.
Taking the famous F-35 in later generations as an example, the landing gears of A and B are made of different materials. The former uses 300M steel commonly used in commercial aircraft landing gears, while the latter will use carrier-based aircraft grade Aermet100 high-strength steel.
The country also needs to develop advanced landing gear steel!
Qin Tao finally understood. Today’s meeting is probably to decide on the development of aircraft landing gear steel!
“So, we hope that relevant departments can invest funds, just like the research and development of 300M steel, and cooperate with important domestic departments to carry out scientific and technological research and breakthroughs in key technologies such as ultra-pure metallurgy, precise control of large ingot components, and large-size bar billet forging. Developed the internationally advanced third-generation aviation ultra-high-strength steel A-100 to meet the needs of domestic fighter aircraft. Mr. Qin, what do you think?"
Qin Tao subconsciously wanted to nod. To successfully develop our carrier-based aircraft, we cannot do without advanced steel! You have to study what you should study.
But what is Wang Hua doing here?
He is engaged in 3D printing, and he has already achieved a lot of results. What is the purpose of coming here to attend the meeting?
Don't express your position easily!
“Is there only such a way in our country?” Qin Tao asked.
"Of course not!" Sure enough, Wang Hua, who was sitting below, said: "These are just conventional technologies. Even if they can produce landing gear materials, they are quite wasteful to use."
This kind of traditional craftsmanship is too wasteful!
Just look at the structure of the landing gear of the aircraft to know that it generally uses a strut sleeve type landing gear, which consists of a buffer strut connected by an outer barrel and a piston rod. The wheel is directly connected to the lower end of the strut, and the upper end of the strut is fixed to the aircraft body. on the skeleton.
This means that when a large forging blank is used for precision machining, the material cut out is many times the amount of material left, and a large amount of high-strength metal is wasted!
“The outer barrel of the landing gear and the piston rod are cylindrical components, which are manufactured using traditional forging and machining methods. The solid part inside the barrel needs to be removed by deep boring and cutting, which causes a waste of material, is difficult to process, and has a long manufacturing cycle, especially for , when conducting trial production, processing brand-new parts is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Therefore, we believe that we should use our 3D printing technology to quickly prototype and change the design at any time. This is the best solution. We believe that 3D printing technology manufacturing The landing gear that came out can fully meet the needs of use."
Sure enough, just as Qin Tao thought, Wang Hua came here just to use 3D printing technology to manufacture landing gear!
He is becoming more and more courageous. He used to only make small parts. Later, with the investment from Parthia, he began to make some larger titanium alloy parts. It is said that he recently used 3D printing technology to make a titanium alloy wing. box!
"Moreover, no matter what kind of steel is used, whether 300M or A-100, it cannot resist the corrosion of seawater. Therefore, it is necessary to add a coating on the outside to improve the corrosion resistance. If titanium alloy is used, the appearance does not need to be treated in any way. Suitable for use.”
"Yes, this technology can be used, but the cost of using titanium alloy to make aircraft landing gear is too high!" Mr. Zhao said: "We know that Mingzhou Group has a source of titanium alloy, but if When this batch of titanium alloys is used up? What happens next? The cost will definitely go up."
What is titanium alloy?
The most expensive metal used in aerospace! Only Lao Maozi has a mine at home, so he can build it with titanium alloy in a luxurious way. No other country dares to do this, not even the United States.
The current domestic titanium alloy 3D printing technology is gradually mature and can produce a variety of parts, but what about the future? After using up Lao Maozi’s titanium alloy submarine shell, what will I use in the future?
You have to think about it for a long time!
Qin Tao finally understood. No wonder he was asked to come here to decide what technical route to take. This is so critical!
“Mr. Qin, Mr. Qin!”
Someone called Qin Tao several times, and Qin Tao recovered from his thoughts.
“Mr. Qin, which of these two technical routes do you prefer?” Zheng Ming asked Qin Tao.
“I’m just a shipbuilder and I’m really not familiar with these technologies.” Qin Tao said.
He is really not familiar with it, so he cannot comment.
However, Zheng Ming would not let him go. Zheng Ming said with a smile: "Mr. Qin, as an outsider, your opinions are often more useful than those of an expert. I think you should give me your opinion!"
Qin Tao thought for a while: "Currently, both options have their own advantages and disadvantages. Using 3D printing technology to mold it in one go saves raw materials, but the material is more expensive. Using our high-strength steel and traditional processes to manufacture it is more wasteful. If Let’s just combine the two approaches.”
When thinking of this, Qin Tao suddenly had an idea: "If we use 3D printing technology, but instead of using titanium alloy, we use this kind of high-strength steel, whether it is 300M steel or the A-100 steel that we plan to continue research on. , will manufacturing it this way solve all the problems?"
3D printing, can only titanium alloy be used?
The answer is of course no. Since titanium alloy can be used, other alloys should be able to do it too!
Use 3D printing technology, that is, using lasers to melt special steel, to make landing gear?
Everyone was stunned by Qin Tao's creativity.
“Old Wang, you are an expert in this field, do you think it’s possible?” Qin Tao looked at Wang Hua.
Wang Hua frowned, pondered for a moment and said: "I think it is feasible. As long as the relevant units provide us with relevant special alloy wires, we can try to melt these alloy wires with lasers and then directly deposit them to eventually form related products."
“Is this okay? Is the structure not strong enough?” The old experts present began to question.
"At least we have achieved relevant performance requirements in the use of titanium alloys. The strength of titanium alloy parts manufactured with 3D printing technology is no worse than that of forgings. As for this new alloy, such as 300M, we still need to go through some process Experiment." Wang Hua is very rigorous.
He can't pat his chest and say yes, it would be irresponsible, but he can give it a try.
Definitely another breakthrough if you can.
By using advanced processing technology, we can simplify the production process and save costs. At the same time, we can also conduct rapid trial production. This kind of operation can be tried.
“Are we still researching our advanced steel?” Mr. Zhao asked.
"Of course we need to study. In addition to carrier-based aircraft, the new aircraft we develop in the future also need world-class steel." Qin Tao said: "Since Lao Wang said to try it, I think we can walk on two legs. On the one hand, Try to use 3D printing technology to use existing 300M steel to manufacture landing gear. On the other hand, we must also develop new steel to strive to reach the world's advanced level."
Zheng Ming smiled bitterly, Mr. Qin, it sounds simple for you to say it. It costs a huge amount of money to develop a brand new steel material. You don’t know that we can’t afford it!
Perhaps knowing what Zheng Ming was thinking, Qin Tao said: "The staff from our Mingzhou Steel Plant are also here, so we can also join in the fun and put the research work in our Mingzhou Steel Plant. All the technical staff, They all come to our Mingzhou Group for research, and we fully invest. Of course, the final steel production will also be done by our Mingzhou Group."
Zheng Ming nodded: "Okay, then we will do as Mr. Qin said."
Investment is the most important thing. Developing new steel materials means trying over and over again. It requires a lot of effort and a lot of money. If Mingzhou Group takes on this project, they will produce related steel materials in the future. That is to say, it is logical.
Anyway, Mingzhou Group has plenty of money.
"As for using 3D printing technology to manufacture landing gear, the funds still need to be provided by the Navy. I have a hunch that this will be easier. Maybe a breakthrough will be made in a few months. At that time, we can use it first, even if the lifespan is insufficient, in the medium term To replace the landing gear, we must first achieve independent production.”
Zheng Ming nodded.
This project has been decided in this way. It is related to the development of two types of fighter aircraft and is very important. Moreover, Qin Tao didn't know at this time that this advanced 3D printing technology was quite suitable for manufacturing aircraft landing gear. It was simply a revolution.
Breaking through specification limits, reducing raw material waste, shortening the processing and manufacturing cycle,...and the most critical fatigue resistance performance has been improved by 20%!
Originally, Qin Tao planned to stay and discuss with everyone to see how the development of the two carrier-based aircraft was progressing. Their simulation base was still waiting. Moreover, now that he has come to Capital University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, he can also see if there are any talents that can be poached. Qin Tao has also had the idea of starting a private aerospace company before.
However, before Qin Tao said anything, Xu Zhengyang came in and whispered something in his ear, so Qin Tao was instantly overjoyed.
“Everyone, if there is nothing else, I will leave first. By the way, Mr. Shi, if you have nothing, please come with me!”
Shi Lao originally came here because of soy sauce. Although their project also requires the use of carrier-based aircraft-strength landing gear, their aircraft are light after all, and they can make do with the existing ones. At this time, he heard Qin Tao say this, Shi Lao suddenly thought of something and felt excited.
Shi Lao and Qin Tao walked out together and got into the car outside.
“Mr. Qin, is the prototype here?” Mr. Shi asked excitedly.
"That's right, the prototype is here!" Qin Tao nodded: "This aircraft followed Zhenhua No. 1 to the dock of Zhenhua Group. We went there to pick up the goods. After picking up the goods, we removed the wings and vertical tail. Then stuff it into the cargo hold of our Mi-26 helicopter and transport it directly to Factory 320!"
The cargo compartment of the Mi-26 is 12 meters long, which can just fit the T-45 into it, but the width and height are not enough, so the wings and vertical fins can be removed.
“Well, I’ll contact the factory and ask them to send the technicians to Huating! By the way, we’ll bring the test pilots there too. Maybe we can fly this kind of aircraft back directly!”
Qin Tao smiled and shook his head: "Do you dare to fly a plane soaked in water?"
If it is not soaked in water, there is no way to get the plane back without being noticed. Although it has not been soaked in seawater for a long time, it is still soaked in water. What if something goes wrong and it flies into the sky and falls? The trouble is big.
It’s very difficult to get a second one.
(End of this chapter)