Professor Kurt Tank said confidently upon hearing this:
"Boss, rest assured. We have already started the research on the engine. We encountered many difficulties when developing the turboprop engine for the T-1 project. For this reason, I recruited several engineers from Germany who have experience in jet engine development.
As long as the boss agrees to our project, I will organize them to start the relevant design work. "
Seeing the other party's confident look, Fang Lang also laughed.
"It is different now. We don't have to develop new turbojet engines entirely by ourselves. I am now a shareholder of General Electric, which has turbojet engine-related products.
You can choose from their product catalogues to find the product that suits us best. If you are not satisfied, you can also look into Pratt & Whitney or Rolls-Royce's related products. You don't have to worry about purchasing, I have the relevant channels. "
Upon hearing this, Professor Kurt Tank did not agree as Fang Lang had expected. Instead, he frowned and looked at Fang Lang with a worried look on his face.
"If we purchase the most important engines from the United States, Britain or other countries, will we be strangled by others in the future?"
This surprised Fang Lang. He had seen this kind of thing happen many times in the future, but it seemed that no one had relevant experience now!
...
...
But thinking about Kurt Tank's experience, he roughly understood what his concerns were. After all, as a talented aircraft designer in Germany, Germany was a mortal enemy of Britain and the United States during World War II. It did require a certain amount of psychological preparation for him to accept British and American products.
Historically, after Kurt Tank escaped from Germany, he went to Argentina and developed the Arrow-1 and Arrow-2 jet aircraft. However, due to Argentina's weak industrial base and the fall of the president who supported independent development of jet aircraft, the final products could not be mass-produced.
Later, he went to India and other countries to lead research work for a period of time, but ultimately failed to complete his project for various reasons. However, he never worked in countries with developed aviation industries such as Britain and the United States.
It can be seen that in his heart, there is indeed a certain hostility towards countries such as Britain and the United States.
Fang Lang was very happy that Kurt Tank was so vigilant, because this would definitely encourage him to be more proactive and consciously involved in the research and development of products with independent intellectual property rights.
However, considering Brazil's weak industrial base and the hope to learn enough experience from the advanced aero-engine industries in Europe and the United States, Fang Lang decided not to work in isolation.
He smiled and said:
"We can't stop purchasing from them just because we are afraid that they will strangle us! On the contrary, we should purchase some advanced equipment from them for our research and study before they strangle us.
In this way, the products we manufacture can keep up with the pace of development.
What do you think? "
Hearing this, Kurt Tank fell into deep thought, and soon understood what Fang Lang meant. He nodded seriously and said:
"Boss, you are right. In that case, please buy us one or two sets of turbojet engines that we can buy now!
Let our power research lab study this carefully to see if we can learn some advanced experience from this.”
Fang Lang almost choked to death when he heard this. My goodness, if he just bought two sets of everything he could buy, how much would that cost!
He waved his hands repeatedly and said:
"Kurt, this won't do. Now all countries are researching turbojet engines. Aren't you telling others that we want to study their technology?
It would be best if I could find a catalog of various engines so that you can see which engine is the most suitable. Then, we can directly choose the most suitable engine, which can save money and achieve our goal of developing jet fighters.
We can also pave the way for our own turbojet engines by studying the technology of this engine, what do you think?"
Kurt Tank looked at Fang Lang strangely, thinking, aren't you contradicting yourself in your words?
Seeing the other person's eyes, Fang Lang also seemed helpless! The research and development of aircraft engines is costly, long, and technically complex. The price of the product is naturally not cheap.
It’s not that he can’t afford to buy one or two sets of each existing model, but if he has to study each one after buying them, how much research and development funds will that require!
Even if you have money, you don't dare to spend it like this! The reason why I agreed to the other party's research on jet fighters is also to bet that General Nero Mora will be able to integrate the Air Force in the later stage and come up with funds to support the research and development of these projects.
Even if it fails, unilateral investment in research and development will not bring you down.
Seeing that Fang Lang had said this, Kurt Tank had no choice but to shrug helplessly:
"Okay! Who told you to be the boss?
As long as you agree to allocate funds to us, we can start the research and development project."
Fang Lang breathed a sigh of relief and quickly pointed at the T-1 trainer aircraft in front of him and said:
"There should be no problem with our T-1 project, right?"
"Well! Except for the shorter engine overhaul time, everything else has been resolved. The results of stress and fatigue tests cannot be obtained in a day or two.
However, I believe our little guy will be able to withstand the test."
Although Kurt Tank always said that he was unwilling to develop backward propeller aircraft, he was obviously very satisfied with the T-1 project at hand.
After all, they are your own children no matter what!
Moreover, this aircraft, which uses a turboprop engine, is very different from the original piston type.
Fang Lang still believed what Kurt Tank said. After all, the guy in front of him was very similar to the Super Toucan he saw in later life.
"So what kind of test are we going to do today?"
Fang Lang saw that the test pilot who had communicated with Kurt Tank before had already climbed into the cockpit of the plane, obviously about to start testing, and he couldn't help but ask curiously.
"The main purpose is to test whether there are any defects in the aircraft structure by flying some difficult maneuvers. Judging from the test results over the past few days, our products are qualified.
That’s why I’m confident our little one can withstand the test.”
As the two were talking, the plane slowly ignited and started, and the engine made a sound that was completely different from that of a piston engine. Fang Lang had no choice but to shut up. After all, where they were standing, even if they wanted to speak, they couldn't hear clearly.
As time passed, the test pilot gave a thumbs up to everyone on the ground, and after getting confirmation, he began to slowly glide towards the runway.
Then there was an even louder roar. Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, the plane glided only a short distance before taking off. This startled Fang Lang, who looked at Kurt Tank beside him in surprise and said,
"This takeoff distance seems to be less than 300 meters!"
Kurt Tank stared at the T-1 trainer plane that had successfully taken off in the distance without blinking, and said casually:
"The test pilot is conducting tests, so he often tries to push the limits. He was squeezing out the power of the engine just now, and it's normal for the plane to take off in a shorter distance than originally designed.
However, this will further reduce the engine's overhaul life, so we cannot treat this situation as normal."
"That is to say, if our engine performance can be further improved, our aircraft will be able to take off in a shorter distance, right?"
"Of course, that's the case if the load is not increased."
Hearing this, Fang Lang did not ask any more questions, but just nodded silently. It seems that the T-1 project still has a lot of room for improvement!
The T-1 trainer plane in the sky kept moving around under the control of the test pilot, performing various high-intensity maneuvers that dazzled Fang Lang.
Fang Lang also learned to fly aircraft in the US military, but compared with today's test pilots, the difference in level is not a little bit.
The entire test did not take long. After flying for less than half an hour, the plane slowly returned to the ground. After the plane stopped, a group of ground crew members and engineers quickly ran up.
They began to surround the plane and the test pilot, checking and questioning them.
Seeing this, Fang Lang smiled with satisfaction. It seemed that his company's first aircraft was a complete success. After the engine was further improved and the stress and fatigue tests were passed, it could be announced that it would be officially put into production.
However, there is no rush for these things. After all, we still have to see what the Air Force Department says.
Ante Pohlmann, who had been watching Fang Lang from the side, noticed the satisfied expression on his face, breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly stepped forward to Fang Lang and Kurt Tank and said:
"Boss, Professor Tan Ke, let's go to the office and sit down and talk!"
Upon hearing this, Fang Lang looked at Kurt Tank and nodded. This was an aircraft testing site and he couldn't help much by standing here, so he didn't want to cause trouble for others.
Several people got back into the vehicle parked on the roadside and continued to walk into the factory. After seeing the two huge modification workshops, Fang Lang did not forget to get out of the car to take a look.
I saw a long row of C46 and C47 transport planes parked in the factory. The fuselages were surrounded by scaffolding and there were groups of workers busy inside and outside. It was obvious that the company's transport aircraft modification business was developing very well.
Walking through the factory, there are many aircraft waiting to be modified on the apron in the distance. It is very easy to distinguish them from the aircraft that have been modified. Those waiting to be modified are generally military green.
The modified aircraft was brightly colored, with logos of various airlines on it. Fang Lang only took a casual glance and saw the logos of at least five airlines.
This made him even more satisfied. It seemed that the company's modification business was developing very well.
Ant Polman introduced the changes in the factory to Fang Lang from time to time, and even told Fang Lang that the school near the company had been put into use, and even Professor Tan Ke would often take time to go there to teach the students.
After stopping along the way and visiting the power research laboratory, the group finally arrived at the design center where Kurt Tank usually works.
After knowing that Fang Lang agreed to his research on jet fighters, Kurt Tank seemed very happy and said to Fang Lang very proactively:
"Boss, would you like to take a look at my jet fighter project?"
After looking at Kurt Tank with some surprise, Fang Lang said with some surprise:
"Have you already started researching?"
"Well! You could say that this is actually a research project we started during the war. The German designation was "TA-183" and the code name was "Raven". Unfortunately, no prototype was ever built."
Fang Lang glanced at Anter Bolman, and after seeing that he gave him a positive answer, he looked up and down at Kurt Tank standing next to him. He seemed to have noticed something, and asked uncertainly:
"Hey! Is this ta your name?"
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