Chapter 731 The first flight was successful, but why did the wing break?
Hearing this operation, Wu Shengli couldn't help but sigh: "If we purchase foreign arms, we will probably be treated the same. It seems that outsourcing arms is unreliable, and we can only rely on our own research and development."
Advanced weapons can only be developed by ourselves, and a large number of chips are used internally. This thing is completely uncontrollable, and we don’t know what chips and programs are built into it. If we always rely on this kind of thing, we will not be able to do whatever we want.
"Yes, if we can only rely on outsourcing, of course we will face this kind of danger. Fortunately, we are now very powerful and can produce various weapons independently without worrying about being controlled by others." Qin Tao said to Wu Shengli.
“Everything is ready!” At this moment, a technician said: “The program has been finalized and there will be no problems!”
“Collect the equipment and prepare for the first flight!” Zhang Dong shouted.
The data cable connected to the drone was put away. Who would have thought that such a large drone is actually driven by a small chip?
“What chip does it use?” Qin Tao asked.
"Ten Loongson 2 chips are used in it, and the computing power is fast enough." Zhang Dong said: "However, when developing the autonomous driving program, we also noticed that general-purpose processors are not the most suitable, so we are working on Technical preparations, we will need professional chips to operate drones in the future."
General-purpose processors can do anything, but it is precisely because of this that this chip is not very professional when dealing with certain professional fields, and its operating efficiency is not high.
Just like airborne radar, they initially used general-purpose processors. Even the American AWG-9 radar used the 8086 chip. However, in the later stages, radars began to use specialized DSP chips.
The same is true for autonomous driving, which requires a specialized chip.
Qin Tao nodded: "The group supports you. No matter how much it costs, we must successfully develop this chip. Now that we have developed drones, not only military but also civilian drone projects can also start." ”
“Civilian use?” Wu Shengli was curious: “Why do civilians need drones?”
Qin Tao smiled: "It's very useful. For example, there is a small circle called photography enthusiasts. They can afford cameras no matter how expensive they are, and they are willing to stick there for half an hour just to take a shot. If you give them a chance to take aerial photography, they won’t miss it.”
The first function of a civilian drone is to take pictures. This is very simple. Just take the existing drone camera system and simply modify it.
"For another example, when spraying pesticides in mountainous areas, you need to use either manual labor or aircraft. The former costs people, and the latter costs money. If you get a drone specifically for spraying pesticides, the cost will be reduced, and people will save energy. In short, It’s very useful.”
You must know that civilian drones will be very popular in later generations, and no company has yet set foot in this field. Since we have already set foot in this field, we might as well make this project bigger.
"Of course, there is a big difference between civilian drones and military drones. After all, civilian drones cannot find runways. Therefore, civilian drones generally take off and land vertically. This is also easier to implement. Civilian drones can be combined with The cross-section of the human machine is made into a polygonal shape, and each corner uses a horizontal propeller, which can be controlled electrically. Anyway, our lithium-ion battery pack technology has also made great breakthroughs, and it can still be used for drones. "
Zhang Wanhe was holding a small notebook aside and kept remembering what Qin Tao said. This kind of opportunity did not come often. Mr. Qin personally gave them instructions on how to make the drone! He had a hunch that this brand-new drone would definitely become a hot commodity in the civilian market!
Seeing Qin Tao talking about the plan here, Wu Shengli couldn't help but interrupt him: "Taozi, you may have forgotten that we have not opened any airspace in the country, even if it can only fly one meter high, it is It's under the jurisdiction of the Air Force. If you're doing this, aren't you afraid of protests from the Air Force?"
Strictly speaking, all domestic drones are black flights because the airspace belongs to the air force. Want to fly? Report to the Air Force in advance! If you fly it casually, the Air Force can shoot it down at any time with justifiable reasons!
"We are not open, but the United States is. You can fly in the airspace below 500 meters in the United States. Dad, let's build it and sell it to the United States. Wouldn't it be good to export and earn foreign exchange? Over the years, MadeinChina's products have gone have spread all over the world, but these products are low-end agricultural products and light industrial products. In the high-tech field, we are still lagging behind. If our industry wants to upgrade, we must develop this kind of high-tech equipment. In short, now in the international "In the world, civilian drones are still a blank field. Since we have the technology in this area, we must develop it quickly and occupy the market around the world!"
Qin Tao is serious. Of course he knows that as the motherland's scientific research capabilities gradually become stronger, it develops rapidly in some fields that others do not pay attention to, and then becomes the overlord in this field. Drones are one of them. In the field of drones, DJI is definitely the leader. It not only occupies the civilian market, but even the US military purchases large quantities of these drones for military use. Even though many politicians criticize them, the military still purchases Eastern products. Just one word, fragrant!
Not to mention drones, bulletproof inserts and other products from the East are also very popular. The price is less than one-fifth of the same type of products made in the United States, but the bulletproof effect is higher than theirs. Why not use them? When some US troops came to travel to the East, they specially ordered a large batch from Donghebao and brought them back. Yes, you can buy them online!
They do not believe in the products they distribute, but rather believe in Eastern products, which are of reliable quality!
Now, Qin Tao is going step by step firmly. His power alone is small, but he can drive the entire country's industry to continue to progress.
Wu Shengli nodded: "That's right, we can't stop doing research and development just because it's not suitable for our country. Now that we've taken a fancy to it, we can do it with confidence and boldness! By the way, will this civilian use affect the normal order, for example? , someone wants to use it to conduct reconnaissance near a certain military base?"
"This is why I said we should take drone technology into our own hands. We can completely build in the program. Just like military drones for export cannot come close to our national borders, neither can civilian drones. It will automatically return to the military restricted area we have set up. Every few months, the system needs to be upgraded. During the upgrade process, new places that cannot be flown will be added."
Many people think that the upgrade of a certain electronic product is for a better user experience, but they are totally wrong. The upgrade is for electronic product suppliers to better master a certain product. You can look at smart TVs. Every time they upgrade , is the boot advertisement changed to a new pattern?
(Ever since the XP system upgrade received the genuine verification patch N years ago, the hero of East China no longer likes to upgrade any electronic products. After buying various things, he will turn off the upgrade as soon as possible.)
"At the same time, we also need to develop a special capture device." Qin Tao continued: "This device is a radio transmitter and is distributed to units that need to keep it confidential. If a drone flies over, just send this device A device is pointed at the drone, and the drone will fly over and land, and then conduct an inspection. If it does capture something it shouldn't have captured, then in accordance with the law, fines and prison sentences will be imposed."
Some people get a drone and think they are great. They fly around and take pictures everywhere without any sense of national defense in their minds. They often talk about the freedom and freedom of the West, thinking that they can do anything. Once such people break the law, they must be taught a profound lesson so that they will be honest next time.
In this way, it is absolutely safe.
However, Wu Shengli thought more: "What if this kind of device falls into the public domain?"
Everything has two sides. In confidential departments, devices are useful, but in the hands of ordinary people, they can easily become tools for criminals.
“This is also simple. It still has a built-in satellite positioning device. After it is issued to confidential departments, it can limit the area. Once outside the area, it is to light fire sticks.”
This is the benefit of the information age! What you want to do and what you don’t want to do can be easily controlled. It's like buying a car with a loan. If the loan is not repaid on time, the car will never drive.
At this moment, the roar of the engine sounded, and the large drone of Yunma Factory was finally about to take off!
The start-up of the jet engine was so impressive. The roar of the AI-222 engine stimulated everyone's eardrums. Everyone looked over and watched the drone without any cockpit aim at the runway and begin to slide. start running.
This is a moment that can be recorded in history!
Although model airplanes also fly in this way, model airplanes are controlled by humans. However, the drone in front of you is not controlled by anyone and relies entirely on the built-in program to take off!
Its beautiful body slid past everyone's eyes, and the engine in the center of the V-shaped tail sprayed out flames, so dazzling and eye-catching.
The speed of the drone is getting faster and faster. After reaching the predetermined speed, the front landing gear is raised and it continues to fly for a few seconds relying on the rear main landing gear. Then, the main landing gear also leaves. track.
Flying!
With no one controlling it, it flew completely relying on its own program!
“It’s amazing.” Wu Shengli said: “Can the large number of J-5s and J-6s that have been eliminated in our country also be modified in this way?”
I am used to living a poor life, and I know that a broken family is worth a thousand dollars. Even if a lot of equipment is obsolete and outdated, I still can’t bear to throw it away. Take fighter jets as an example. Although the advanced third-generation aircraft are very powerful, the total number is only a few hundred. If there is a high-intensity war, these third-generation aircraft may be used up within half a year to a year.
what's next?
Production can certainly not keep up with consumption. During World War II, the man-hours and cost of producing an aircraft and a tank were similar. But now, advanced aircraft are more than ten times that of tanks, and it is not easy to produce them.
Therefore, the old equipment must be retained so that it can continue to be used on the battlefield in the future.
In this way, the eliminated aircraft are still retained, and the number is quite large. Not to mention the J-5, just the J-6. In the long decades, a total of more than 5,000 aircraft were produced, even if some of them were of poor quality. , there are two to three thousand left. If one thousand of them were taken out and converted into drones, it would be quite huge.
At this time, after hearing Wu Shengli's words, Qin Tao smiled and nodded, of course it can be played like this.
“Of course, our third-generation aircraft use fly-by-wire operation and all have electric servos. Just bring them. However, the price must be cheap. If it is too expensive, it will not be suitable.”
Qin Tao is quite familiar with these things. The J-6 modified drone is all right. The steering gear is replaced by an electric one. Then a control system for the drone is built in and integrated using a data link. On the battlefield, it is completely It can be used as the first wave of attack force, even if it is only used to consume the anti-aircraft missiles on the opposite side, it is completely enough. Anyway, this thing is left lying around. Rather than being completely turned into waste, it is better to be consumed on the battlefield. .
Wu Shengli nodded and continued to look at the drone.
According to a normal first flight of an aircraft, it should make one turn in the sky before returning. However, the drone did not make three turns to align with the runway. After it flew into the sky, it sometimes turned left, sometimes right, and sometimes Climbing and sometimes diving.
“What are you doing?” Wu Shengli asked curiously.
"Learn." Zhang Dong said: "Although we have designed the program, after all, theory and practice are different. If it is a manned aircraft, the pilot needs to experience the driving experience, determine whether the flight control law is appropriate, and then proceed For corresponding improvements, the drone does not have human feelings, it has to feel it on its own. It has a set of autonomous learning programs that determine whether the program is perfect and whether it needs to be modified by controlling the deflection of each steering surface and the corresponding flight status."
“Today we really opened our eyes.” Wu Shengli said: “We have never seen that a machine can actually learn.”
In fact, autonomous learning is already very common in computer-controlled machines. Take the car engine as an example. After entering the era of electronic injection, it is controlled by the ECU. After maintenance, especially the throttle valve is cleaned and the spark plug is replaced. After that, you can find that the engine will not work properly for a period of time. In fact, this is the ECU learning and re-adapting.
While talking, the plane had finished learning, its flight became smoother, it circled in the air, and then aligned with the runway.
It’s about to land!
For any aircraft, landing is the most dangerous. If the pilot’s actions are slightly negligent, the plane may crash and a person or people may be killed. Only after repeated training can you fly solo.
What now?
This unmanned aircraft is completely controlled by a computer. Can it land successfully? Will there be any accidents during the landing?
Everyone opened their eyes wide and watched the drone gradually fly over. It flew smoothly and glide gracefully. It looked like it was taking a leisurely stroll.
“Although this is the first flight, we have done it many times on the simulator, so there should be no problems.” Zhang Dong is very confident: “We are confident in our technology.”
At this moment, the drone pulled up and flew in front of everyone's eyes!
This is a bit of a slap in the face. Just now I said it was no problem, but now it stops landing and starts flying again?
What's happening here?
Even Zhang Dong looked at it suspiciously, wondering what the drone was thinking.
“Isn’t it because it hasn’t flown enough and wants to keep flying?” Wu Shengli said.
Just after he finished speaking, the drone turned in a circle in the air and aimed at the runway again, but in the opposite direction to what it had just flown.
The runway is in the east-west direction. The drone was planning to land from the east just now, but now, it automatically chooses the west!
Zhang Wanhe thought of something, grabbed a handful of soil from the ground, then let go, and saw the soil flying to the west.
"I know, this thing is so smart!" Zhang Wanhe said excitedly: "It just planned to land from the east. This was its default program, but during the landing process, it found that it was downwind. So, it simply climbed up again, turned around and landed from the west, so that it could land against the wind. It was smart, so smart!"
If you say goodbye to your loved ones at the station, you can say it was a smooth journey, but if you are sending your relatives off on a plane, never say it was a smooth journey. At least when taking off and landing, a smooth journey is not good.
Whether it is taking off or landing, what is required is relative speed. This is most obvious on the aircraft carrier. When releasing or recovering the carrier-based aircraft, the aircraft carrier must turn to the upwind direction and sail at full speed, creating a new environment for the carrier-based aircraft to take off and land. Best conditions.
At a land airport, once the direction is fixed, it cannot move, but the aircraft can choose. Especially when the runway is empty, the aircraft can fly over from another direction, but that is a human choice. ,What now? This drone is as smart as a human!
Everyone is extremely impressed. How can a plane without a human pilot be so smart?
The drone landed again, just as smoothly as last time, except that it did not go around like last time. Instead, it kept landing and landing. Finally, the landing gear made contact with the ground, taxied, and the front wheels landed on the ground and braked smoothly.
“This first flight has been a complete success. On behalf of the military, I congratulate you!” Wu Shengli said.
“Thank you to the army for your support!” Zhang Wanhe was also very excited: “It would be even better if the army could place an order!”
“Of course, we have no control over the Air Force, but as for the Navy, as long as it can take off and land at the Huangdi Village base, the Navy can order five aircraft first!” Wu Shengli made the decision on the spot.
If it were an American-made Global Hawk, the price would be ridiculously high and not acceptable to ordinary users. However, although this domestic drone is very large, it is not very expensive. The chips are all for civilian use, and the research and development is also The most expensive engine among private companies is also produced by Tianjiao Aviation. When assembled in this way, the price is less than one-fifth of the American one. The exported ones can be sold at a high price, and the ones for personal use are of course cheaper.
“Our drone can be sent to the Zhuhai Air Show in a few months and will definitely become a star at the air show,” Qin Tao said.
Zhang Wanhe nodded repeatedly: "As long as the military has no objection, of course we can exhibit it, and our Yunma Factory also wants to make a splash!"
He looked at Wu Shengli while talking. He had already mentioned this in the conversation before the first flight. Wu Shengli supposedly had no objection.
“Our Navy has no objection, it’s up to the Air Force.” Wu Shengli’s answer was very objective. The Navy’s procurement volume will not be large, and the bulk of it is estimated to be the Air Force, or even the Army.
Zhang Wanhe nodded. If the navy can agree, of course the air force can also agree!
At this moment, someone shouted: "Damn it, why did the wing break?"
Everyone was stunned.
The first flight was successful, and everyone was excited, especially the technicians from the Goose Factory that engaged in autonomous driving. Their technology was finally used in the sky. However, there was not only good news, but also bad news.
The wing is cracked!
Everyone gathered around and saw to the naked eye that there was a crack in the wing. The crack was like a big mouth laughing. It was smiling, but the technicians were about to cry.
“It seems that our carbon fiber materials are still not up to standard.” Qin Tao sighed with emotion.
The Global Hawk UAV looks very tall and can fly at high altitudes for a long time, all thanks to its long wings. In professional terms, it is called a high aspect ratio straight wing. This kind of wing also requires It is light in weight, so Americans use high-end carbon fiber materials. This material is used more and more on aircraft. Its biggest advantage is weight reduction. It is much lighter than the structure composed of aluminum alloy frame and skin.
Domestic aircraft have also begun to use carbon fiber materials. Since this drone is modeled after the American Global Hawk, of course it also uses wings made of carbon fiber. However, facts have proved that our country is still lagging behind.
The cracked wing in front of you is proof of this.
“Yeah, it seems it’s still unqualified. If you want to be able to participate in the air show this year, I’m afraid you’ll have to switch to an aluminum alloy structure.”
“No, the aluminum alloy structure is too heavy. After replacing it, our performance will be even worse.” A technician objected.
Although the appearance is the same as the Global Hawk, the inside is different. In terms of electronic technology, it should have advantages, but the basic industry still limits it. For example, the AI-222 engine uses more fuel than the Global Hawk engine, so The data such as range are not good-looking. Now if the wings are replaced, the gap will be even greater!
“But if we don’t change, we will need more advanced carbon fiber composite materials. Are you sure you can develop such advanced materials?”
Everyone was silent. Progress in materials technology does not happen overnight, and they cannot afford to wait.
(End of this chapter)