So what is the purpose of having reserves of medieval variable-sweep wing technology?
Opening the secondary page, Xia Yu began to carefully study the details and discovered that it could provide the ability to deduce the design direction of variable sweep wings when modifying and upgrading fighter jets.
He used the system's fighter jet modification function, mostly by integrating disassembled parts to improve the aircraft's offensive capabilities, without modifying the fuselage structure to enhance its performance.
After all, if a vehicle is modified to have a bug, at most it will just stop working, but if an aircraft is modified incorrectly, it will go out of control and crash.
Xia Yu has always been relatively conservative. Apart from the usual addition of pods and upgrades to radar and fire control, he has never made any major modifications to the aerodynamic layout of a fighter jet.
Now that he has the backup of the medieval variable-sweep wing technology, it seems he can finally pull off some of the tricks he wouldn't have dared to try before.
For example, Xia Yu's long-cherished F-4S—Ultimate Ghost.
This project almost squeezed out the F-14 Tomcat. Although it didn't compete, it's still a bit of a pity that it died in the womb.
Now, he seems capable of driving the project on his own and creating a true variable-sweep winged ghost.
There are still two versions: the F-4J(FV)S based on the F-4J, and the F-4K(FV)S Ultimate Spey Ghost based on the F-4K.
McDonnell Douglas also used this project to fool the British navy back then; how shrewd that guy was.
They collaborated with the French on the AFVG project, and even though they eventually parted ways, they managed to reunite and create the mass-produced AFVG.
The Frenchman, fighting alone, didn't make good progress and ended up with Dassault's fallen angel—Phantom G.
To be honest, Xia Yu, whose kills were all French fighters, wasn't particularly interested in the Mirage 2000 from the Mirage Dynasty. But what can you do when he's a huge fan of variable-sweep wings?
So, given the chance, I'd really like to get my hands on a twin-engine, single-seat Mirage G4 and a twin-engine, two-seat Mirage G8 (sub-models 01 two-seat and 02 single-seat).
The Gallic Tomcat had excellent performance for its time, but unfortunately, it was too expensive and could not compete with the single-engine Mirage F1. The entire project was cancelled in 1975.
Since then, after the complete failure of the Dassault-Balzac project, the Germans have been unable to possess their own vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) fighter jets, nor their own variable-sweep wing fighter jets.
This is the exact opposite of Americans, who forgo the cheaper Ultimate Ghost and go for the more expensive Tomcat.
Well, if you don't have money, don't try anything fancy. This has become a universal truth. It's better to stick to flying a hang glider.
Xia Yu is different. He has a system, and he plays on scarcity. Only in this way can he have a high-class image.
Time flies when you get focused. By the time he had roughly reviewed the technical reserves, the little antelope had already arrived at the cave branch base.
This trip to Xiayu wasn't just for flying airplanes; he had checked the almanac before leaving, which said today was auspicious for breaking ground, praying for blessings, and offering sacrifices.
It just so happened that they entered the cave and, with a wave of their hand, put the long-idle tunnel boring machine into Garage No. 1, along with the heavy oil boiler, steam turbine unit, oil storage tank and other components, into the modification laboratory.
[Vehicle discovered x1, 3 usable modification parts, can be modified]
"Modify!"
Xia Yu selected "Confirm," and a progress bar appeared in the system.
Estimated remaining modification time: 3.5 hours
It's not a major overhaul or integration, just a power supply adaptation, so it doesn't take much time, but the amount of copper used will be relatively large.
During this time, he moved the tanks and planes in the center of the cave to the direction of the cave entrance and covered them with tarpaulins.
After finishing all these tasks, about two hours had passed.
Xia Yu took a sip of water and rested for a bit before returning to the little antelope's side, where he took a large rooster with its wings tied to it from the passenger seat.
These are free-range Sanhuang chickens raised by Lao Yu in the village. He specifically instructed that a few roosters should not be castrated.
It goes without saying that breeding with a hen to produce chicks is one reason, but there are also special uses.
In traditional Chinese culture, it is best to perform a sacrificial ceremony before breaking ground. Xia Yu believed in science, but he was not opposed to metaphysics.
However, I'd rather not kowtow to myself; I mainly worship the local earth god and the mountain god.
Since there's no corresponding place for Afica, let's pray to the plants and living beings and tell them that the big one is coming.
At the deepest part of the cave, standing in front of the pre-marked excavation point, Xia Yu lit three cigarettes and stuck them into the rubble. Then he took out the dagger from his leg and stabbed it directly into the rooster's neck.
"Ooh ooh ooh"
Amidst the mournful cry, warm chicken blood gushed out, dripping and seeping into the soil and rocks. Rising smoke obscured Xia Yu's face, creating an eerie and solemn atmosphere in the surrounding wide, deep, and tranquil environment.
One bow!
Second bow!
Three bows!
After bowing, he straightened up.
"Alright, now that you've enjoyed the offerings, I'll take it as you've all agreed."
After Xia Yu finished speaking, he immediately picked up the MG-34 that he had taken from the later Tiger.
He forgot to bring firecrackers, but it seemed like a machine gun would do. He broke off 12 rounds from the 100-round ammunition belt and cocked it.
"Click"
"Tong Tong Tong"
Xia Yu pulled the trigger all the way down and fired 88 shots in a row. Good luck on the first day of work!
Ignoring the spent cartridge cases scattered on the ground, he directly released the adapted, powered hard rock tunneling system.
To start a heavy oil boiler normally, you must first inject diesel fuel to preheat the heavy oil before boiling water.
Tens of tons of cold water are heated to 400 degrees Celsius to produce high-temperature steam, which is necessary to power the steam turbine. To be honest, this process takes at least 10 hours.
Fortunately, Xia Yu took a shortcut. He started the test run directly in the laboratory module, heated the heavy oil, and the steam in the pipes was also steaming vigorously. After entering the impeller from the guide vanes, it drove the impeller to rotate and do work.
The steam turbine unit, operating at low power, began to output a continuous and stable amount of electricity through the auxiliary generator, waking up the digging beast not far away.
He can still manage on his own at this point, but things will get a bit more difficult if he goes any further. The good news is that Xia Yu also has an assisted driving module.
We quickly arrived at the control room of this composite tunnel boring machine. According to regulations, as long as the machine is running, someone must be in the control room. However, the same applies if the auxiliary driving module is plugged into the interface of the control console.
"Buzz"
The 15.6m diameter cutterhead pressed against the rock wall, like a giant worm opening its ferocious mouth, with densely packed cutting blades wedging into the rock mass under pressure.
The incredibly hard basalt was directly "gnawed" and crushed into fine rock powder. Only the rock on both sides of the blade was peeled into pieces of slag, which fell into the spiral transport machine and were sent to the rear.
Normally, all this slag would have to be hauled away one truckload at a time by heavy trucks, but here in Xia Yu, as long as a pile is accumulated, it can be directly stored in the material warehouse, and the printing mode can be activated to replenish the tunnel segments.
However, this thing is only needed after the tunnel boring machine has completely excavated into the rock mass, so the initial workload is not too heavy.
The real trouble will come later when the tunnel segments are laid and concrete mortar is poured into the hoisting holes.
However, because it is hard rock, there is no need to worry about the excavated tunnel collapsing in the short term, unlike the soft soil laying operation which must keep up with the speed of excavation, otherwise you will be buried alive in no time.
Then there's the issue of waterproofing.
Excavation in mountains is manageable, but if you encounter water-bearing strata underground in a plain, not only will the grouting equipment need to be modified, but the construction team will also need to hire two divers to handle the need for pressurized chamber entry operations.
This is also why Xia Yu did not choose an open-type hard rock tunnel boring machine. The rock conditions at the cave sub-base are very good, with no major fracture zones or faults, and not much fissure water, but it would not be enough for him to dig bunkers in the future.
Composite earth pressure balance is a good solution. With new technologies and functions, it can be upgraded. Xia Yu will have plenty of time then.
In addition, if there were no good locations available, the recently released "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter" gave him some inspiration.
Many people, after watching several movies, only saw that the Hive was the source of the T-virus leak, but little did they know that there was another world beneath the Hive.
Those wealthy individuals and Umbrella Corporation executives pulled a fast one, digging an additional shelter beneath the Hive, which was already an underground base.
Even more ruthless than Thanos, they released the virus, cruelly wiping out 99.9% of humanity, before entering cryogenic chambers to hibernate, waiting for the virus to "purify" the world before restarting human civilization.
Without commenting on this distorted way of thinking, Xia Yu could also dig several thousand meters down from the cave sub-base, just like in the Mbonig gold mine in Nanfei.
The mine is currently over 4,000 meters deep, and it takes miners 3 hours to travel from the surface to the bottom and back.
Apart from the temperature being a bit high down below, over 50 degrees Celsius, everything else is fine.
Xia Yu felt that 2000 meters was enough. He would change the entrance and shoot down at an angle. That way, even if the cave base was exposed, no one would be able to find the bunker hidden directly below, maximizing his sense of security.
But there's no rush; he has at least half a century to slowly dig into it.
Imperial tombs are usually built after the emperor ascends the throne and continue to be built until the emperor's death.
Xia Yu is still far from being the king of the PMC world. His personal wealth is not even comparable to that of many local rich people in Afica, so he still has to work hard.
"Buzz"
With the auxiliary driving module monitoring the shield machine's hydraulic transmission, cutterhead excavation, and energy supply, Xia Yu suddenly had some free time.
After all, the rated speed of the Bella cutter head is only 2 revolutions per minute. Even if we are not afraid of machine wear and tear and deliberately increase the performance by 10%, it is still only 2.2 revolutions per minute.
Working this way, they can excavate an average of 12 meters per day. If they work for about 30 days, they can complete 90% of the tunnel project as planned.
It's a bit slow, but we can let the São Paulo set off first. The tugboat is towing at a speed of less than 10 knots. A few days ago, he was able to make a round trip between the cave base and the aircraft carrier every day.
After collecting a truckload of excavated soil, Xia Yu left the towering tunnel boring machine and returned to his collection.
The system currently has spare working hours and readily available raw materials, so we can try modifying the ultimate ghost.
Xia Yu waved his hand and put the F-4J he had collected into Hangar No. 2.
We'll have to go back to the British and buy another batch of F-4Ks and F-4Js from them. The renovation and refurbishment of the St. Paul is calculated on an annual basis, and the same goes for a larger number of fighter jets. Xia Yu can start preparing in advance.
Let's buy two of each type of carrier-based aircraft to form a Phantom squadron. It can handle both passenger transport and performances.
He has already asked Alexei to help him find a two-seater MiG-29, and it must be in good condition and be from a recent year.
The price can be a bit higher; Xia Yu has recently checked online.
Oracle's owner, Ellison, spent over $6 million to buy a MiG-29 in the 1990s.
Microsoft's Paul Allen, a well-known tycoon (who is willing to spend money), also acquired a MiG-29UB in 2011 for a similar price.
In recent years, the price has become even cheaper, with a two-seater MiG available for just $4.65 million.
Of course, this refers to the removal of weapon systems.
The old pivot, after being modernized, is still worth 10 million.
For unmodified aircraft that require major repairs, Xia Yu would offer a maximum price of 1.2 million to 1.8 million per unit.
For an aircraft in this price range, if you spend roughly the same amount of money as buying a new plane, refurbish it, and then resell it, you should be able to make a profit of around 500,000 to 1 million.
To earn more, you need to find a powerful backer who can vouch for you. Fighter jets are much more sensitive than ground equipment, so Xia Yu sells some weapons on the side, but he doesn't want to get involved in this mess.
The number of MiG-29s is also 4, but because they need to be converted into carrier-based aircraft, this MiG squadron will not be deployed until six months to a year after the third phase of the museum's construction begins.
Although the goods are not yet available, Xia Yu has already asked his hometown to take care of the reinforcement work on the machine body. A factory in the southwest will be responsible for it.
Compared to their counterparts in northern China, they are more familiar with the MiG series, making them a perfect match for their expertise.
Furthermore, it does not require participation in actual combat, and the requirements for many performance indicators of carrier-based aircraft are not high.
Xia Yu has given up on folding the wings. Anyway, the hangar of the São Paulo is big enough, and the ship only operates about 20 fighter jets, so it can accommodate them even without folding.
Just thinking about it, we need to hire at least eight pilots, which is no small challenge. We should ask for support if possible, and the São Paulo can help share the training burden.
Before it was grounded and retired, the two sides had cooperated in this way. Xia Yu's ability to get the St. Paul running again was actually quite unexpected for his hometown.
This is probably what commercialization is all about!
The fact that the Pasig people couldn't handle this ship doesn't mean the business model is unworkable. Xia Yu is exploring more possibilities, and that deserves support.
Behind this, the support of the system is indispensable.
After selecting the F-4J and starting the modification simulation, a three-dimensional image of a variable-sweep wing fighter jet with a MiG-23-like style appeared in Xia Yu's mind.
The low-wing monoplane was replaced with a variable-sweep high-wing monoplane, the dihedral angle at the tail disappeared, the landing gear position was changed, and even the engine was replaced.
These are visible changes that align with McDonnell Douglas's historical aerodynamic design for the ultimate monster.
The expandable, angled air intake and the reshaped nose give this F-4J(FV)S a resemblance to the F-14.
The bloodlines were all mixed up, which made it look good, and regardless of who made the mistake that night, it gave the ultimate monster considerable mobility.
If he had that Phantom in front of him, Xia Yu would definitely have dared to go toe-to-toe with the Phantom 2000 in the white top hat... no, the Phantom F1.
Pick the softest persimmon to squeeze; never engage in dogfighting if you can ambush someone from beyond visual range.
Calvin, like Kuhn, is losing his hair... Time to get ready for a new map.
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