Chapter 907 The Postponed Paris Air Show (There Should Be Another Chapter After 0:00, Counting Today)

Although Chang Haonan has already made great plans, this kind of thing cannot be rushed.

Thanks to the good basic technological level of the French and the high performance of the CFM56 core machine itself, the foundation of the M88 engine is actually not bad.

It can even be said to be very good.

It may not be as powerful as the EJ200, which is designed according to the fourth-generation engine standard, but it is at least stronger than the F404 and RD33 of the same level.

It was just that the French lacked experience in the dual-rotor engine, coupled with their previous lack of vigilance and over-reliance on General Electric as a "partner", which led to the lameness of the project. In the end, they had to treat a dead horse as a living horse. The mentality is to find help from the Chinese people.

Fortunately, Chang Haonan's medical skills saved him in a short time.

However, twists and turns will lead to twists and turns, but after a round of design modifications and solving several of the most critical pain points, the M88-2 engine still showed its excellent potential, and the testing progress was very fast.

In just a few months, all four flying prototypes of the Rafale fighter jets - C01, B01, M01 and M02 - have been replaced with M88-2 and are undergoing intensive test flights together.

Especially the carrier-based M02 aircraft, it has even made dozens of takeoffs and landings on the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle——

In fact, compared to the French Air Force, which at least has Mirage 2000s, and Dassault, which at least has Mirage 2000s for sale, the French Navy, which has officially taken over the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier three months ago, is the one that is most anxious to get it right now. Rafale fighter jets in service.

It's already 2001, and their carrier-based fighter is still the F8 "Crusader" designed nearly half a century ago.

That's even a model with a cannon as its main weapon...

In short, it is impossible for the French to agree to make any major changes to the M88-2 at this juncture.

Therefore, whether it is optimizing the air film hole design or having the turbine blades manufactured by Liming Factory, we have to wait until the M88-3.

"Speak of it, Mr. Chang."

After recording the experimental data, Zhong Shihong raised his head:

"This weekend, this year's Paris Air Show is about to open. I don't seem to have heard that our group has any plans to participate in the exhibition?"

"Well, this matter was decided at the meeting at the beginning of the year."

Chang Haonan replied without raising his head:

"The models we have on hand, the turbofan 10, are temporarily inconvenient to take out, and the turbojet 14 and QC130 are a little behind, which affects our current image."

"As for other models, they are either produced under license from foreign engines, or they are still on paper. In short, no matter how they are set up, they are not suitable, so this year we simply did not bring any physical objects to the exhibition and asked the publicity department to make a few. There is also a place for large-scale models on the display board.”

"But you don't have to worry. This air show is held in France after all, so our group has also arranged some small surprises for our colleagues. Even the domestic exhibition team doesn't know about this..."

At first, his answers were very smooth.

But after talking about it, the voice gradually became quieter.

Something seems wrong.

"No, just wait a moment..."

This time, Chang Haonan finally raised his head:

"The Paris Air Show... shouldn't it normally be held in June? Why is it this weekend?"

While talking, he took a special look at the calendar hanging next to him.

That’s right, it’s August 14th.

Because the Aerospace Power Group had no official plans to participate in the exhibition this year, and had been extremely busy before, Chang Haonan never cared about this matter after the Spring Festival. He always thought that it was handled directly by the deputy general manager in charge of publicity business in the group. .

As a result, it hasn’t opened yet?

Zhong Shihong, who was not far away, was also a little confused by this question. He hesitated for about half a minute before speaking:

"Uh... In April this year, the French Aerospace Industry Association issued an announcement saying that because Le Bourget Airport was undergoing hardware upgrades and routine maintenance, the air show was forced to be postponed until the end of August..."

"Are you kidding..."

Chang Haonan was almost amused by this rhetoric:

"The Paris Air Show has been going on for almost 100 years, but airport renovations don't even know to avoid June in odd-numbered years?"

"Is this...this is what the French official says."

Zhong Shihong touched his chin:

"But we generally feel that it is because if the event is held in June as scheduled, several of their key models will not be available yet."

"If the air show held in Paris makes the British shine, it may be better for the French not to hold it."

This explanation is quite reasonable.

According to the plan, 88-2 will be installed and tested soon.

For safety reasons, it is unlikely that a model that is still in the early stages of testing will be directly used for flight demonstrations.

But the EF2000 next door is definitely flyable.

"Like Gust?"

Chang Haonan asked with a smile.

He found that his influence on the timeline had gradually penetrated into these unimportant details.

However, precisely because it is not too important, it can be viewed from a more relaxed perspective.

But Zhong Shihong shook his head gently:

"Definitely mostly, but not entirely."

"Last month, Airbus announced the overall design plan for their super-large passenger aircraft, with 4 engines, 555 seats, and a range of 15,000 kilometers. It plans to make its first flight in 2005 and put it into commercial operation before the end of 2007... and officially changed its name to A3XX. It’s called the A380. I guess part of the reason is that I’m waiting for this. After all, it’s a model that surpasses the Boeing 747 and is enough to overturn the status quo of international air transportation.”

Speaking of the Airbus A380, Zhong Shihong still showed a look of envy on his face.

After all, even counting the models currently under development, the largest aircraft China can build is the 110-ton C909.

The largest self-designed aircraft is the 90-ton Y-9.

The A380 has an empty weight of 245 tons and a maximum take-off weight of 575 tons.

A proper Big Mac.

Once put into production, it will become the largest aircraft currently in production.

"Just take it one step at a time."

Chang Haonan also heard some clues from the other party's tone:

"In a few years, when the situation of the Turbofan 20 stabilizes, we should be able to initially establish a 200-ton model, similar to the Il-76. After that, there will be plans for 300-ton or even larger aircraft."

After all, he is a man who has lived two lifetimes, so he is quite calm about this kind of news.

Anyway, compared to the hellish state in the previous life in 2001, the current situation has been improved countless times...

Moreover, the Airbus A380 model generally feels a bit untimely.

When the project was formally established, the super-large passenger aircraft was already a bit like the setting sun.

And when it was put into operation in 2007, it completely missed its golden period.

Of course, Airbus may not be aware of this at the moment, but after all, it still has to consider things other than commercial operations——

They need a model that is comparable to the 747 as a symbol of their challenge to Boeing.

Therefore, for this A380, even if we know that there are uncertainties, we still have to go ahead with it...

…

Almost at the same time, Chang Haonan and Zhong Shihong accidentally chatted about the Paris Air Show.

France, northeastern suburbs of Paris.

An air formation consisting of five aircraft disbanded over Bushell Airport and entered landing routes according to air traffic control instructions.

In fact, as a large airport with three runways, the route management here should have been more efficient.

However, due to renovations, the longest concrete runway 07/25 was temporarily closed, and only the two asphalt runways 03/21 and 09/27 were available. In addition, the aircraft coming to participate in the air show intensively arrived, resulting in some air traffic Congestion.

In an Airbus A320 that was moved to the back of the landing sequence and was therefore still hovering in the sky, Guo Ruiqing, director of the Science and Technology Development Department of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China and leader of the Chinese exhibition delegation, opened the sunshade and looked through the porthole glass. under the wing.

Where his vision converged, a nimble fighter plane had opened the speed brake at the tail and pointed its nose at the shortest runway, 09/27.

It is the J-10E fighter jet that participated in the air show for the first time.

The weather in Paris is exceptionally sunny.

From Guo Ruiqing's perspective, he could even vaguely see the two Air Force emblems above the triangular main wing of the aircraft——

Although both types of J-10 have not yet officially entered service with the Chinese Air Force, it is a common practice in the aviation industry to spray the participating aircraft with the paint and emblems of their country or target customers in advance.

As a puff of smoke blew up between the rear wheel and the runway, two parachutes were pulled out from the root of the vertical tail, controlling the aircraft to a stop in the shortest possible time.

The entire landing process went smoothly.

"Speaking of which, we have to thank the French for helping us unintentionally..."

Yang Quanzhi, the representative of Rongfei Group sitting next to Guo Ruiqing, looked at the J-10E that had successfully landed, and his tense body finally relaxed:

"If they hadn't suddenly postponed the air show for two months and asked the J-10E to complete the last few test links, then we might have to bring the third child to the exhibition again this time..."

"yes."

Guo Ruiqing said and sat up straight again:

"The Aerospace Power Group didn't bring any real stuff this year. If we mess up our hips again, the scene won't look good..."

Even though he said this, he actually still had half of the words hidden in his heart that he didn't say out loud:

"If the aviation power company really brings the real guy of Turbofan 10, then we will become a green leaf again..."