Chapter 675 It’s like we have acquired alien technology
The runway was approaching, and Salah tried hard to control his fear. He silently told himself in his heart: Believe in the instructor, believe in the instructor, this is how the carrier-based aircraft lands!
Finally, the plane jerked violently, and the landing gear hit the runway. It continued to slide forward, and his body began to jump forward. The seat belt pulled his body tightly, and he felt that he was beginning to feel faint again. .
He didn't know when the plane stopped or how it slid back to the tarmac. When the canopy opened, he stood up hard and tried to walk down the gangway, but for some reason, the two My legs are shaking involuntarily!
Shame, what a shame!
“Salah, what do you think?” Delano asked him: “After this flight, do you have a more comprehensive understanding of the takeoff and landing of our carrier-based aircraft?”
"A dancer on the tip of a knife, an eagle in the blue sky." Salah said: "Sure enough, the takeoff and landing of carrier-based aircraft is the most difficult. This is just a small training aircraft. If it is a larger fighter jet, It will definitely be more difficult to take off and land. I think it will take a lot of effort and hardship to master the takeoff and landing of this kind of aircraft."
US Navy carrier-based aircraft pilots have never looked down upon Air Force pilots. In their eyes, the Air Force's smooth flying cannot be regarded as a flying veteran at all. It is nothing at all.
Now, Salah has realized that this take-off and landing is not something ordinary people can bear.
“It seems that this kind of take-off and landing is a big challenge for us.” Salman also understood that it would not be so easy for them to achieve the take-off and landing of carrier-based aircraft. Their elite pilots have come to this conclusion: carrier-based aircraft are not something that ordinary countries can handle.
So, they might as well deploy the J-31A on land, as long as they are well protected. Aren't those Dongfeng-3 missiles also well protected?
He thought for a while and then continued: "Mr. Qin, your aircraft is a three-type aircraft. The vertical take-off and landing fighter has never been seen. I wonder how the development is going?"
“Everyone, this aircraft is the most technically difficult. However, we have achieved initial results. If you want to see it, we can arrange a vertical take-off and landing fighter performance next.”
“Okay, great!”
“Where are the fighter planes?”
“Have you seen it? Aren’t there three black fighter planes on the tarmac over there?”
Now, when you see the black-skinned fighter plane and look at its general appearance, you can tell that it is the J-31A. They are used to the presence of such an aircraft at the naval aviation training base in the East and don't think there is anything wrong with it. of.
However, when Qin Tao said this, they suddenly reacted: "Could one of them take off and land vertically?"
"That's right." Qin Tao nodded: "When we were designing, the three-type, vertical take-off and landing fighter aircraft had the same appearance as the other models. If you don't look closely, you can't tell the difference at all."
The American JSF also has three models in one machine. However, when the vertical take-off and landing F-35B is put together with the other two models, you can immediately spot the difference between them: this B model is obviously fatter, with a full circle of fat and plumpness. The F-35B gave the whole team the title of fat electric vehicle.
So, what is the reason why it is fatter?
First of all, there is the huge lift fan. The diameter of the F-119 is 1.17 meters, and the diameter of the lift fan is 1.27 meters. To stuff this thing in, the body must be thicker.
The second one is the range requirement. The huge lift fan takes up space in the fuselage, but the range still has to meet the standard and the wings have to be folded. So we can only find a way to make the fuselage fatter and carry more fuel.
This aircraft developed by Mingzhou Group will not do that. It has three models in one aircraft. It is intended to use common parts to reduce production costs. It is just like BMW's three-cylinder engine, with a single cylinder of 0.5 liters. The three-cylinder is 1.5 liters, and the four-cylinder is 2.0 liters. This can make most parts common. The cost saved by the car company will become profits, and the profits will certainly not be given to users.
If the vertical take-off and landing model has a different shape from other aircraft, it will be difficult to produce them on the same line.
So, the body of a vertical take-off and landing fighter is the same as other aircraft. As for the internal fuel space occupied, the range will be reduced at worst. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. You can’t have both vertical take-off and landing and a long range, right?
Look at the other two fighter jets of this era. Whether it is the Sea Harrier or the Yak-38, they are both proper mast defenders. Don’t look at the Sea Harrier boasting that it has a range of more than 2,000 kilometers. In fact, the combat radius of vertical takeoff and landing is also It's only one or two hundred kilometers, and short take-off and landing means a combat radius of 300 kilometers. This vertical take-off and landing fighter of ours can extend the combat radius to six or seven hundred kilometers when ski-jumping, which is already very good. .
Vertical take-off and landing fighters are mainly used on amphibious assault ships. When they are needed, the aircraft carrier's carrier-based aircraft have already completed the task of seizing air supremacy. The amphibious assault ships can launch attacks from two to three hundred kilometers away from the target. Range is not an issue.
Of course, it will be more convenient in the future when the new turbofan-15 is successfully developed and the fuel consumption rate is further reduced. The range of this vertical take-off and landing fighter can be increased by several hundred kilometers.
The Saudi visitors originally had no reaction to those black-skinned aircraft, but now, when they heard that there were vertical take-off and landing fighter jets among them, they immediately became interested.
“Mr. Qin, does this mean that this aircraft has been developed and matured?”
"The research and development has matured, but we are responsible and cannot directly bring such a brand-new aircraft to the market. We must conduct a large number of flights in our own hands to expose various hidden defects. , when it is delivered to the troops, it will definitely be the most mature aircraft, and now it is being used and tested at our Wasteland Village base."
“Then can we enjoy it?”
“Of course you can. Let’s take a closer look first and let our designers introduce it to you. After the static tour is completed, we will give you a flight show.”
"good!"
Everyone took long strides towards the plane. Salah had recovered and was walking at the front.
He has given up on catapult takeoff and arrested landing. If he were to fly this kind of vertical takeoff and landing fighter, it would be much easier to do a ski jump takeoff and vertical landing!
Pleshakov did not come. Although Qin Tao had already sent an invitation, this old aircraft designer was no longer interested in fame and fortune. He just wanted to continue his research, so it was Zhao Dangsheng who introduced everyone. .
By the time everyone passed by, Zhao Dansheng was directing a group of ground crew members to do maintenance.
“Old Zhao, come and introduce our guests. You must have met before, right?” Qin Tao shouted.
Zhao Dangsheng put down his work and came up to him: "Of course we have met, Mr. Salman, we have met again. Are you interested in our vertical take-off and landing fighter jets this time?"
“Yeah, I didn’t expect that our fighter jet has matured. Let’s come and take a look.” Salman said.
“Well, let’s look at the appearance first. From the appearance, you can’t see much difference. However, when you turn to the back, you can see that our engine tail nozzle is very different from other fighters.”
You can’t see any difference from the front or side, but the difference between the chrysanthemums is huge.
The vertical take-off and landing engine in front of you can rotate the tail nozzle downwards more than 90 degrees from a horizontal state. It uses a unique three-stage rotation structure. Through rotation, it cleverly changes the direction of the nozzle, which is also vertical. The core technology of take-off and landing engines.
However, these parts are all wrapped in the fuselage. What everyone sees is still an ordinary diverging-converging tail nozzle, and it seems that there is no difference!
“Now, we are undergoing maintenance, and we can demonstrate it to everyone.” After Zhao Dangsheng finished speaking, he shouted to a ground crew member: “Test the tail nozzle rotation!”
"yes!"
In everyone's surprised eyes, the body skin under the engine tail nozzle was folded to both sides, revealing the three-stage rotating structure inside. The two middle sections began to rotate, and the tail nozzle began to move downward. Sended.
It’s like science fiction! Everyone present opened their eyes wide and watched this incredible scene.
The tail nozzle elegantly rotated from horizontal to vertical before their eyes, and then converged to the minimum, which can provide the strongest thrust.
ˆThe internal mechanisms are exposed, and the pipes are full of industrial beauty.
“Beautiful, so beautiful. I didn’t expect you to be able to break through these technologies.” Salman said: “Eastern technology is already the strongest! We are very satisfied!”
Of course they know that the U.S. JSF joint attack aircraft is still in the research and development stage and is even difficult to produce. Dongfang's fighter has already begun to be delivered. In this industry, the United States has also fallen behind!
They were full of praise.
"Let's take another look. In order to propel this fighter jet to take off, we also need a special engine at the front. We use a lift fan. At this time, when the rear rotating nozzle moves, the lift fan at the front also moves. will open."
So everyone stepped forward, got under the plane, and looked up at the lift fan.
This is the biggest difference between it and the Yak-141. By replacing the lift engine with a lift fan, it avoids the problem of the tail nozzle burning the flight deck. For this kind of vertical take-off and landing aircraft to finally mature, although this thing will occupy valuable space in the body, it is also necessary.
The United States is currently bidding on two projects, one using the mid-engine layout of the Sea Harrier, and the other using the lift fan of the Yak-141. They have both been successfully led astray! Qin Tao felt a sense of accomplishment when he thought of this.
At this time, these people were studying it carefully. This was the first time they had a close look at Dongfang's vertical take-off and landing fighter jets. They looked at it very carefully, while Zhao Dangsheng on the side kept introducing it.
“Are there only these two nozzles? How to control the attitude during vertical takeoff and landing?”
“We also bleed air from the engine’s compressor and blow it to the wing tips for attitude control to avoid crosswinds and other effects.” Zhao Dangsheng introduced.
The lift fan at the front and the main engine at the back provide power, and attitude adjustment is performed through the airflow at the wingtips. These controls are very complicated and the pilot cannot take care of them at all. Therefore, advanced aircraft must be used. control.
Even the Yak-141 was designed to introduce four-degree fly-by-wire flight control. Without the precise control of an electronic computer, it would be impossible to tame this monster. Even so, the pilot's ejection is automatically controlled. In the event of an accident, the computer will determine whether to eject at any time. There will be no hesitation when it is time to eject, and there will be no decision about whether to save the aircraft.
At this time, after hearing these introductions, everyone nodded.
"Of course, this vertical take-off and landing solution will still have certain risks. However, if compared with the blocked landing solution, we believe that this solution will still be suitable for the actual situation of some countries, such as yours. "
Vertical take-off and landing is very dangerous. After the U.S. F-35B entered service in large quantities, accidents often occurred and even caused the aircraft to crash. The failure rate of this thing is high. As for the Sea Harrier, it is even better at crashing. When the U.S. Marine Corps replaced the Sea Harrier with the F-35, a total of more than 300 Sea Harriers had been dropped. A cross.
Now, the Saudi visitors were very excited when they looked at the Transformers-like vertical take-off and landing fighter. After watching it for more than half an hour, Salman asked: "Excuse me, when can we see its performance? "
"That's it now." Qin Tao said: "Our plane does not need to taxi. It can take off directly from this parking position. You can watch from a distance."
Salah walked backwards and was surprised to find Delano following him. He asked curiously: "Instructor, weren't you the one flying that plane?"
“Of course not, this aircraft is still flown by the Flight Test Institute.” Delano said.
This plane has just arrived at the base, who can fly it? Delano didn't dare to go up directly. After all, the takeoff and landing of this kind of plane was different from that of ordinary planes!
Its test pilot is, of course, Lei Qiang!
Lei Qiang is now the official test pilot of the J-31A. He is allowed to fly on all difficult projects, which even makes Mr. Song unhappy. The test flight of the J-10 is still waiting for Lei Qiang. , as a result, Lei Qiang always ran this way.
However, the choice is on Lei Qiang’s side, and he still can’t control his appreciation for this kind of aircraft.
He walked towards the plane, fully dressed, and watched as the canopy flipped forward.
This method was once used on the MiG-21. It was used to protect the canopy from the wind when ejecting at high altitudes, but it turned out to be useless. This ejection method was very complicated, resulting in a pitifully low ejection success rate.
Nowadays, explosive hatch covers are popular. There is no need to flip the canopy during ejection. It is turned forward to facilitate the vertical take-off and landing model. There is a lift fan behind the cockpit. There is no place to arrange the flip mechanism, so just move it to the front. Well, one machine has three models, and the other two models have to be done in the same way.
Lei Qiang skillfully got into the cockpit and prepared to take off. Hundreds of meters away, everyone was watching all this intently.
The roar of the engine sounded, and after a few seconds, the engine entered full power output. Although the apron had been cleaned, there was still dust outside the apron that was blown away. However, the black aircraft The fighter planes are still clearly visible in the dust.
"Vertical takeoff consumes a lot of fuel. Therefore, if conditions permit, we still recommend using a short ski jump to take off. This can not only reduce fuel consumption, but also increase the maximum takeoff weight." Zhao Dangsheng told everyone Continue with the introduction.
The turbofan-15 engine copied from the R-79 engine has a maximum afterburning thrust of 152 kN. Coupled with the front lift fan, leaving a certain margin can also ensure a take-off weight of more than 20 tons.
However, this is in the afterburner state. If it doesn't matter on land, but on a warship, in order to avoid the tail flame from burning the deck, and can only give up the use of afterburner, the thrust will be further reduced.
The engine's shortcomings are a flaw.
Looking at the F-35 of later generations, the thrust without afterburner is 128 kilonewtons, and the thrust with afterburner is 181 kilonewtons. Therefore, even if the vertical takeoff and landing fighter does not turn on afterburner, the maximum takeoff weight can reach 17 tons. Left and right, and if the afterburner is turned on and rolling is added, the maximum takeoff weight can soar to 27 tons.
What is even more enviable is that the thrust of the improved F-135 engine has reached 23 tons. If installed in the F-35B, it can take off vertically without afterburner and have a take-off weight of more than 20 tons.
This side cannot compare with our own side. The basic industry is backward, so we can only make do with it. Of course, now that the Americans have been fooled into going astray, our side may be able to take advantage of this opportunity to seize development and finally stand on the same starting line as the United States.
At present, it is not convenient for Zhao Dangsheng to explain these specific data, so they will be blurred for now.
“Fly!” At this moment, a cheer came from the crowd.
The black-skinned fighter flew directly from the apron and began to transform at a height of tens of meters above the ground.
The thrust must be sufficient, just for the purpose of transformation.
If the vertical takeoff thrust is 20 tons, then the fighter plane has 20 tons. Even if the fighter plane can be pulled up, when it turns to level flight, the engine nozzle will rotate backwards, and the vertical downward thrust will not be enough, and the wings will not generate force yet. Lift, the plane will definitely fall.
The engine nozzle is slowly turning backwards. This process is the most dangerous. Vertical takeoff and landing fighter jets almost always crash during this process.
Now, as the nozzle rotates, the aircraft begins to fly forward at a speed. It accelerates from zero in the horizontal direction. As the speed gradually increases, the lift of the wings becomes larger and larger, and it flies forward. About one thousand meters, the speed is enough. The top cover of the lift engine on the back of the aircraft is closed, and the aircraft has entered normal flight status.
If I could describe it in one word, it would be handsome! Even Delano, who has always been picky, looked at the plane's state change with envy in his eyes.
It’s so spectacular!
“How do you feel, everyone?” Qin Tao asked with a smile.
“It’s amazing, your operation is so beautiful!” Salman said: “Your technology is so powerful!”
“Yes, our technology is very powerful, just like alien technology.” Qin Tao said proudly.
This sentence was originally a boast made by Americans, but now it was taken over by Qin Tao. I wonder what it would be like to be heard by those Americans.
Now, while everyone was listening to Qin Tao's words, they watched the fighter jet change mode, fly forward, circle over the airport, and then fly back again.
This time we did not return to the tarmac.
There are two planes below. If there is a mistake during operation, the other two planes may be affected. At this time, the plane is directly over the runway. In front of it, there is the circle that was drawn yesterday.
After the aircraft flew over, the cover of the air inlet of the lift fan on the back of the aircraft was opened again. Under everyone's gaze, it began to switch states with a graceful attitude, just like an elegant fairy. .
At the rear, the lower cover of the engine was also opened, the nozzle turned from horizontal to vertical, the fuselage began to slow down, and finally hovered steadily, and then slowly fell.
“How can it be so accurate?” Salah asked in surprise.
He has seen the landing of Sea Harrier, which is wobbly and has to be adjusted left and right. Otherwise, it is impossible to accurately aim at the position below.
Now, it’s actually successful in one go?
"Everyone should know that during the take-off and landing stages, this kind of aircraft is also very dangerous. Therefore, we use a lot of advanced technologies, which can now be controlled by computers. Computers are more accurate than manual control." Qin Tao said: "The role of the pilot is just to take over management at any time when needed. For example, if he suddenly takes over the mission and flies away again, under normal circumstances, automatic driving is enough."
Taking off and landing is dangerous, and an accident may happen at any time, so the method they adopt is to let the computer control it!
"Sure enough, your technology is like alien technology!" Salman said: "We are very interested in this kind of fighter jet. We hope to purchase thirty of them and equip them on our own aircraft carriers."
Computer-controlled take-off and landing without human control. These advanced technologies have conquered Salman. He has decided to follow the plan recommended by Qin Tao: use vertical take-off and landing fighter jets on the aircraft carriers purchased by his own side to reduce the complexity of operations!
Salah nodded: "Yes, I also think this take-off and landing method is more suitable for us."
"You have made the most correct choice." Qin Tao was very satisfied. As a result, the vertical take-off and landing fighter jets were also sold. With Saudi funds, the research and development of this type of fighter jets will be more abundant.
At that time, the old Dassault hoped to rely on Saudi funds to support the Mirage 4000 project. Unfortunately, he failed. Saudi Arabia finally chose the F-15. However, when it comes to fourth-generation aircraft, Saudi Arabia has no choice!
(End of this chapter)