Fang Lang asked hesitantly about the name and model of the Henderson family's aircraft company, wanting to see if he had heard of it.
But I am also worried whether this information will be considered confidential.
I don’t know if I can tell myself.
As a result, Mrs. Henderson seemed nonchalant and said:
"Don't worry, there's nothing to keep secret. In 1945, our company received a commission from the British Ministry of Aviation to design and produce a large passenger aircraft capable of transoceanic flights.
Our family's aircraft manufacturer was called Bristol, and it developed several aircraft during the war.
According to the design plan, our aircraft will be more than 50 meters long, with a wingspan of more than 70 meters, and will be equipped with eight Centaur star engines developed independently by the company.
The designed range will reach 8,900 meters.”
This Bristol company doesn't seem to be very good! I have never heard of it. It seems that this model is not mass-produced.
...
...
The Bristol model, called the Bristol Brabazon, had lower speed and range than expected and was prone to fatigue cracking in its aluminium skin and internal frame.
Therefore, mass production was ultimately not achieved.
In other words, all the research and development costs of this aircraft were wasted.
"Mrs. Henderson, please forgive me for being blunt, but this aircraft is outdated. Britain should also be researching advanced jet airliners now!
Haven't you received relevant information? If you researched two models at the same time, you would have fallen behind when you started research and development."
"I heard that there are two factories experimenting with jetliners, but now everyone is still very uncertain about what the future is. Why do you think jetliners are the future?
Don't you know that jet planes consume an astonishing amount of fuel?
If it is used as a passenger plane, the economic efficiency is not very good."
Mrs. Henderson obviously understood the difference between the two types of aircraft and was very clear about the shortcomings of jet aircraft.
Unfortunately, this consideration is still full of limitations.
But this cannot be blamed on her. After all, the advancement of science and technology often leads to disputes over routes.
This is also a world where winners take all.
Fang Lang didn’t know what the final outcome of the Henderson family’s aircraft manufacturing plant was, but since it did not become famous in later generations.
I guess it’s because I took the wrong path that I became unknown!
However, Fang Lang had miscalculated on this point. Bristol was not an unknown company.
Perhaps this company lacks the technical capabilities to manufacture aircraft, but its manufacturing capabilities for aircraft engines are still very strong.
The famous British Harrier fighter was developed by Hawke Aircraft Company and Bristol Aero Engine Company in 1957.
However, due to poor management, Bristol was eventually acquired by Rolls-Royce in 1960 and became a company producing aircraft engines.
“In fact, the fuel consumption of jet engines at low speeds is indeed higher than that of piston engines, but their excellent high-speed performance is destined to replace piston engines.
The development direction of aircraft must be to go higher, faster and farther, right? Piston engines are naturally behind jet engines in this respect.
As for the fuel consumption issue that you are worried about, as long as the plane enters the stratosphere, the air will be thinner and the resistance will be smaller, so fuel will naturally be saved.
And there are many types of jet engines! As far as I know, the fuel economy of turbofan engines is obviously better than that of turbojet engines!
If you are worried about high fuel consumption, you can choose to use a more fuel-efficient turbofan engine as the engine of the passenger plane! "
Fang Lang knows the truth about the future directly through the mist of history, so he has an accurate and serious view of the future.
There is absolutely no need to cross the river by feeling the stones like people do today.
Fang Lang's words did remind Mrs. Henderson. Even Reinhardt interrupted after listening to Fang Lang's analysis:
"Yes! Mom, I think Fang Lang is right. Our family is so short of funds right now, and we have invested in the wrong research and development direction. Is there any way to adjust the direction now?"
Mrs. Henderson looked a little unhappy. She was just a businesswoman, not a scientist.
Therefore, she was not particularly familiar with the cutting-edge aircraft technology, and she did not even have a clear understanding of which was better, jet aircraft or piston aircraft.
But he could sense a hint of crisis from Fang Lang's simple analysis.
If it is really as Fang Lang said, perhaps the huge investment of the company will be wasted.
This is not a small amount of money.
The budget for the entire project was as high as millions of pounds. If the project went wrong, the company might go bankrupt, which she absolutely could not accept.
Of course, he would not completely change the company's research and development direction just by listening to Fang Lang alone.
“Fang, I believe in your vision, but this matter is very big.
So I need to organize experts to discuss and decide what to do next.”
However, Fang Lang had some ideas of his own at this time.
"Mrs. Henderson, since your company is able to develop such a huge propeller plane, then the technology in the manufacture of propeller planes must be quite advanced, right?"
"Of course, our company's 'Centaur' radial engine and 'Hercules' radial engine are both very advanced aviation engine technologies.
At the same time, during the war, our company was the main bomber and transport aircraft manufacturer for the British Army, so you don’t have to doubt our technical capabilities in the aviation industry.”
When talking about the success of her company, Mrs. Henderson is not modest at all. After all, she has the capital to be proud of.
"Mrs. Henderson, would you be interested in working with me to build an aircraft manufacturing company in Brazil?"
Fang Lang looked at Mrs. Henderson with some anticipation.
"Oh! Fang is interested in entering the aviation industry, but if we build an aircraft manufacturing plant in Brazil, will there be a market for it?"
"Of course! Brazil's large farms are in great need of some light agricultural aircraft. Just imagine how much easier it would be to use aircraft to spray pesticides at high altitudes."
When Mrs. Henderson heard that Fang Lang was going to produce agricultural aircraft, she felt a little uninterested.
However, Fang Lang's relationship with their family is very close because of Reinhardt, so it is impossible to directly reject Fang Lang's request for cooperation.
After thinking about it, Mrs. Henderson said:
"Fang, you also know the current situation of our company. If it is really as you said, our company may need to change the research direction, which will put a lot of financial pressure on us.
If you want to form a joint venture, our company may only be able to invest in technology.”
What Fang Lang wanted was Bristol's technical support.
Therefore, I was very happy to hear that Mrs. Henderson was willing to invest in technology.
Nodding:
"No problem, but the main technical personnel in the early stage may also need to be provided by Bristol Company."
"Of course, but are you sure you want to build only one factory to produce agricultural aircraft? If so, the market will be a bit narrow and there won't be much potential for development!"
Mrs. Henderson is a business person after all, so she is very concerned about the sales of her products.
If the two parties jointly established an aircraft manufacturing plant in Brazil, it would go bankrupt due to lack of market.
That would also be considered a failed investment and would have a negative impact on my position on the board of directors.
“Haha… Madam, please rest assured. The reason for setting up a small agricultural aircraft manufacturing plant is to save costs and solve the problem of whether there is any problem first.
As for the later stage, our family’s Fangyuan Group is now establishing a military-industrial group.
If we had the capability to manufacture aircraft, we would of course start lobbying the government to purchase aircraft produced by ourselves!
However, it is still unclear whether we can get a government purchase order.”
Obviously Fang Lang’s idea is to use it for civilian purposes first, and then develop it for military use after he has complete technical capabilities.
For Mrs. Henderson, the participation of large corporate groups in the manufacture of national military products is a symbol of a company's success.
Since Fang Lang’s family’s company was able to enter the military industry in Brazil.
That means the Fang family has a strong influence in Brazil.
This is exactly the kind of partner the Henderson family needs.
“If your group has the opportunity to obtain national orders, I think I can easily convince the board of directors to agree to cooperate with your family.
This was originally a big matter, which required the negotiators of the two companies to sit down and conduct long-term negotiations.
However, given the relationship between our two families, I can tell you clearly that there is no problem with this cooperation.
But what proportion of shares do you think is appropriate?"
When it comes to the issue of distribution of benefits, neither side should be the first to speak; neither is good if the offer is too high or too low.
For a moment, Fang Lang didn't know how many shares he should give to Bristol Technology.
"Mrs. Henderson, our group has never had this kind of cooperation before. I wonder what proportion of shares you think should be allocated?"
Mrs. Henderson obviously understood Fang Lang's concerns, and actually did not care about Fang Lang's sudden proposal for the two companies to cooperate in establishing an aircraft manufacturing plant. She smiled and said:
"Fang, you don't have to worry so much. With the relationship between our two companies, we only need to determine the company's investment scale and then value our technology."
"Then I wonder how much it would cost to invest in building an airport that can produce agricultural aircraft?"
When Mrs. Henderson heard that Fang Lang still wanted to test the waters by producing agricultural aircraft first, she began to worry whether she could convince the board of directors.
After all, the market and profits for agricultural aircraft are too small.
After thinking about it, a new plan gradually took shape in my mind.
“It depends on what kind of capabilities your company wants to have. If it is just simple aircraft assembly capabilities, tens of thousands of pounds would be enough.
If all the parts can be purchased from us and then assembled back in Brazil, your factory will be very simple.
Even a small aircraft maintenance line can do the job.
In this case, you don’t need to form a joint venture with us at all, you can just assemble a production line yourself.”
Hearing what Mrs. Henderson said, Fang Lang was stunned. It seemed like he had an aircraft maintenance line left by the US military!
If aircraft can be assembled using this maintenance line, then there is really no technical content at all!
Moreover, Fang Lang suddenly thought of a new direction. The future world will be an era of global integration. Many factories will design their own products, then purchase suitable parts from all over the world and finally assemble them.
Just like the models produced by Embraer in later generations, most of them are produced in this way!
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