Fang Lang, who had a clear understanding of this aircraft, no longer thought it was ugly when he looked at it again. Instead, he liked it more and more.
Asked casually:
"Since it has passed the wind tunnel test, why hasn't it been manufactured yet? Is it because there is not enough time?"
Unexpectedly, after hearing Fang Lang's question, Kurt Tank smiled bitterly with some embarrassment, and then slowly said:
"It's not entirely because of time issues. The main reason is that we still have a problem that has not been solved. Therefore, we dare not directly start manufacturing the prototype."
Fang Lang frowned when he heard this, and said with some concern:
"Oh! What problem do you mean?"
Some things obviously cannot be concealed, so Kurt Tank could only sigh lightly and said with a little distress:
“Although swept wings can give the aircraft better high-speed maneuverability, they also bring two problems: one is that it can cause wingtip stall, and the other is that low-speed stability is poor.
...
...
If we cannot solve these two problems well, the reliability of the aircraft cannot be guaranteed at all, and such aircraft will not be able to receive orders. "
This made Fang Lang fall into deep thought. He had never participated in aircraft design and did not understand the design principles of these aircraft. However, he had an advantage that no one else had, which was that he knew clearly that since the MiG-15 could be mass-produced, it must have solved the same problem.
As long as I compare the differences between the MiG-15 and the TA-183 in front of me, I will be able to solve this problem.
"Can you tell me what this wingtip stall you mentioned means?"
Kurt Tank had not expected his boss to be so curious. Seeing that he seemed to be frowning and thinking, he stepped forward very carefully, pointed at the wing tip on the drawing, and explained:
"The so-called wingtip stall is mainly caused by the jet aircraft flying too fast. When the wing cuts through the air, the airflow at the wingtip will separate, and the wingtip will lose lift.
Once the wingtips lose lift, the aircraft will become less maneuverable, and in the worst case, the aircraft may lose control, spin, or even crash.
This answer made Fang Lang break out in a cold sweat, thinking to himself, Wow! No wonder they didn't dare to produce a prototype, no one would dare to play with this kind of aircraft!
His eyes followed Kurt Tank's finger and looked at the wingtip position on the drawing, and various aircraft he had seen in later generations appeared in his mind involuntarily.
What is the difference between the wingtip position and the current drawing?
First of all, it can be determined that the position of the wingtips of fighter jets seems to be not much different, but the impression is that the wingtips of civil airliners seem to be a little different. The wingtips of the Boeing 737 that he took in later generations did not seem to be straight, but upturned!
Why is this?
Then, the MiG-15 and J-2 that I had seen in museums and pictures in later generations appeared in my mind again. There seemed to be two sharp protrusions on the wings of these two aircraft!
Could these two sharp protrusions be due to the same reason as the upturned wingtips of the Boeing 737?
Fang Lang obviously couldn't answer this question, but he could throw this question to the expert in front of him?
“Since this wingtip stall is caused by airflow separation, can we try to add something to the wing to change the direction of the airflow?
For example, like this..."
As he spoke, Fang Lang stretched out his hand and began to gesture on the drawing.
What he was gesturing at was exactly the wing blades on the wings of the MiG-15 that he remembered, and the upturned wingtips he saw on the Boeing 737 passenger plane.
Kurt Tank, who originally thought that his boss was just asking about him out of curiosity, was stunned when he heard Fang Lang's words. He didn't take it seriously at first.
But soon his eyes began to become sharp, and his gaze kept moving with the position of Fang Lang's fingers. He began to make crazy calculations in his mind. In his ears, the boss's voice immediately opened up his mind.
Gradually, his eyes began to light up, and he thought to himself, why didn’t I think of such a simple question?
As Fang Lang spoke, he recalled the planes he had seen in later generations and the differences between the wings of the plane in front of him. First of all, upturned wingtips were rarely used on fighter jets.
The sharp protrusions on the wings are definitely designed to cut the air and disrupt the airflow, but why are they no longer available on later modern fighter jets?
If they don't rely on these sharp protrusions to cut the air, how do they disrupt the airflow?
Soon, Fang Lang remembered that the front and back of the Boeing 737 wings did not seem to be smooth and integrated, but had a retractable mechanism, especially when he was sitting by the window on a plane and saw the plane landing.
The front of the plane's wing seemed to be pushed out, while the back of the wing opened directly.
The wings of later fighter jets seem to be the same. Does this mean that this wing structure is the one that later eliminated the protruding structure on the wing?
Although he didn't understand the principle behind it, it did not prevent him from providing this idea to Kurt Tank for research.
Thinking of this, Fang Lang quickly continued:
"No, no, this is not good. Maybe we can add a movable part in front of the wing and push it out when needed, or move it up and down to change the shape of the wing.
In this way, can we change the airflow so that it is simply cut into two parts, upper and lower?
Also, the trailing edge of the wing would allow him to move around, don't you think?"
Kurt Tank, whose mind had already been opened by Fang Lang's wing knife plan, looked at Fang Lang with a look of astonishment after hearing this new plan.
This principle sounds very simple, but why didn’t I think of it before?
If these solutions had been thought of, the ta-183 should have been released long ago!
Thinking of this, Kurt Tank wanted to slap himself hard twice.
After Fang Lang finished talking about his thoughts, he found that Kurt Tank was staring at the blueprint in a daze, and asked uncertainly:
"Professor Tan Ke, do you think what I said can solve the problem you mentioned? Which of these two solutions is better?"
Kurt Tank, who was in deep self-doubt, slowly came to his senses after hearing this, and said with a slightly bitter smile:
"Boss, why didn't I meet you earlier? Such a simple question has troubled us for so long."
After saying that, he shook his head helplessly, and then his expression slowly began to become serious. He crossed his arms across his chest, supported his chin with his right hand, and looked at the drawing in front of him, his mind racing.
He said in a firm tone:
“Comparing these two solutions, the second one, which is to push the front wing to extend and retract, and move it up and down, is definitely better than the first one.
Because the first solution can solve the problem of wingtip stall, but the second solution can also have a very positive impact on stability at low speeds.
If I had to choose, I would definitely choose the second option.
However, the second solution is definitely more difficult than the first one, and the amount of calculation required for the entire project will be enormous.”
Kurt Tank's words made Fang Lang feel elated instantly. He didn't expect that this old guy, who looked so aloof, could flatter so smoothly. It made people feel comfortable just by listening to him!
Regarding the difficult problems that the other party mentioned, such as the difficulty of the process and the large amount of calculations, Fang Lang waved his hand and said:
“What’s the big deal if the process is difficult? We are not short of money.
Why are you afraid of a large amount of engineering calculations? Have you forgotten that we have brand new electronic computers?
Since you are sure that the second solution can solve your problems, then follow the second solution. "
After hearing Fang Lang's words, Kurt Tank was surprised and said to Ante Bollman beside him:
"Mr. General Manager, you heard it, the boss has agreed to our project, please allocate funds quickly.
I will now organize the personnel to re-establish our jet fighter program."
Looking at Kurt Tank who was so excited, Fang Lang smacked his lips and came back to his senses. Damn it! This old guy is waiting for me here! Who said that science and engineering men are honest? Stand up. Damn it, I came here to take a look at the drawings. How come the jet project team was established while I was looking at them?
Fortunately, he was also planning to start his own jet fighter research. Now that he already has Kurt Tank's TA-183 as a basis, I believe the progress of the entire project should be faster than expected!
After looking at the TA-183 on the drawing, Fang Lang couldn't help but say one more thing:
"Professor Tan Ke, I agree with the jet fighter project. I have no problem using your original TA-183 design ideas, especially the swept wing design, which I like very much.
However, I think it is necessary to make some adjustments to this short fuselage designed for maneuverability. After all, the current TA-183 fuselage cross-sectional area is too large, which will increase the probability of the aircraft being hit in combat.
Moreover, if we need to purchase our current turbojet engines from other countries, the power performance may not be particularly ideal. In this case, we need to work harder on the streamlined shape of the aircraft.
Try to design a fuselage with a lower drag coefficient.
Do you get me?"
After hearing this, Kurt Tank pondered for a while, then looked up at Fang Lang seriously and said:
"Boss, I understand. You think he's ugly."
Hearing this, Fang Lang was almost vomiting blood in anger. When he saw the smile on the other party's mouth, Fang Lang realized that the other party was joking with him. It seems that this German man is not as old-fashioned as the rumors say, which makes Fang Lang feel a lot more relaxed.
So I said directly without any hesitation:
“To be honest, it is a bit ugly. I personally think that as a subsonic fighter that can reach a speed of Mach 0.8, it does not need to be treated as a propeller aircraft.
At such a high speed, the way of dogfighting will also change. Your TA-183 uses a short and thick fuselage in exchange for maneuverability, which will inevitably sacrifice speed. I personally think that this deal is not worthwhile. "
Kurt Tank is an excellent aircraft designer with a very smart mind. As soon as Fang Lang said it, he understood what he meant.
He asked with a little hesitation:
"You mean we should take advantage of the turbojet's speed and give up the aircraft's maneuverability?"
In fact, this involves a change in tactical thinking. Now that the two have discussed this point today, Fang Lang feels that it is necessary for him to explain what he knows about future trends to the two aviation experts.
"In fact, this is not a question of choosing one or the other, but rather a balance between the two. A slender, streamlined fuselage allows the aircraft to achieve a faster flight speed, while a short and thick fuselage gives the aircraft excellent maneuverability.
What we need to do is to achieve the best balance between the two, maintaining our speed advantage while having sufficient maneuverability. "
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