Reema Horton was obviously stunned when he heard this. This was a little different from what he expected!
Since Kurt Tank's jet project was approved, why was he not allowed to continue working on his project?
"What do you mean by my project is too advanced? Didn't you just say that our project has achieved stealth performance?"
Fang Lang smiled and pointed at the chair behind Reema Horton's desk, motioning for her to sit down and talk.
“I want to say that your project is full of genius imagination, but the current scientific basis is not complete. It will take a process to realize your imagination.
I have seen the product you developed. Now this product is in an American research institution, and Americans are also conducting research on it. I have to say it is very beautiful.
But I think you should be very clear after the experiment that the flying wing structure you are pursuing has inherent defects in lateral stability, which is the inevitable result of not having a vertical tail.
Solving this problem is basically an impossible task with the current level of technology. Otherwise, your prototypes would not have crashed one after another.
As for the stealth performance you mentioned, do you know why your aircraft has such an effect?
...
...
Obviously, you don't know it yourselves, and I have some guesses in my mind, but I don't think it's time to say it now.
When the level of technology is able to support us to restart this project, I will tell you everything I know without hesitation.
Since this project can't be carried out now, you can't just waste your time here, right?
I think that if we change our thinking and start a new research from another angle, we may get some surprises!"
Fang Lang's words left Reema Horton speechless. He was very aware of the flaws of the product he had researched. Just as Fang Lang had said, the entire aircraft had no vertical tail, so its lateral stability was extremely poor, and it even had difficulty turning. All these factors caused their trial prototype to fail.
Now Fang Lang's intention was not to ask them to give up completely, but to wait for further progress in science and technology. Although this might sound like wishful thinking, he was very clear about it in his mind.
Fangyuan Aircraft Manufacturing Company is just a private enterprise, not a state-owned institution, so it is impossible for them to come up with large sums of money to support them unreservedly and continue to spend money on research.
It is impossible for me to do nothing and just stick to my belief in the flying wing structure.
So, in the end, Reema Horton fell weakly on the chair, looking a little dejected.
Seeing this, Fang Lang didn't know how to comfort the other person. He thought of a very interesting saying from later generations: the best way to heal a broken heart is to start a new relationship.
The other party's current state seemed to be similar. So he simply spoke directly:
"As you can see, one of our company's biggest businesses right now is to modify military transport aircraft and deliver them to civil aviation for use as civil airliners.
It is obvious that the civil aviation market will be a huge cake in the future, but most of the current passenger aircraft are still in the propeller stage.
Of course, some British and American airlines have already begun to enter the jet airliner market in a big way, and major aircraft manufacturers are investing huge sums of money in the research and development of jet airliners that are faster, have a longer range, carry more passengers, are safer, and are even more fuel-efficient.
As a newly established aircraft manufacturing company, if we fail to seize this opportunity and enter this field first, we will fall behind step by step.
The development of the company will also be hindered, not to mention whether I can complete my promise to restart your research project. It is estimated that there will be great problems in the production of our company.
Therefore, I want to appoint you as the chief designer to develop a civil jet airliner of our own, quickly occupy the booming civil aviation market, and obtain more funds to support our subsequent research.
I don’t know what you think.”
Reema Horton looked at Fang Lang in surprise and said in disbelief:
"You want me to lead the research on civil aviation passenger aircraft? But I have never had any relevant experience!"
He smiled and waved his hand, looking at the other person seriously, and said sincerely:
“It doesn’t matter if you have no experience. I will put forward specific research and development requirements, and will also explain to you the main models of other aircraft manufacturers one by one.
The company's resources will also be tilted towards you, and we can start recruiting personnel immediately. In short, your civil aviation passenger aircraft project will be the most important project of our company in the next few years.
I hope you can use your genius mind to develop an excellent aircraft for us that can occupy a place in the civil aviation market."
Fang Lang’s meaning was very clear, which was to concentrate the company’s strength to research new civil airliners.
Reema Horton could also clearly feel Fang Lang's determination, which made him feel overwhelmed, but he was not someone who would be scared by pressure. Fang Lang's trust forced him to take this task seriously.
For a person like him, pressure will not make him back down, but will only make him face the challenge head-on. So, without thinking for long, he stood up, looked at Fang Lang solemnly, and said in a serious tone:
“Thanks to the boss’s trust, I accepted this task.
Please rest assured! I will try my best and will never let you down. "
Seeing this, Fang Lang stood up with a smile on his face, stretched out his right hand towards Reema Horton, and shook hands with her tightly.
"Okay, then I'll go find Ante Polman and announce the launch of our civil airliner project.
Before that, I want to discuss with you the design ideas of civil aviation passenger aircraft. "
Having said that, he pulled out a piece of white paper from the other person's desk and began to teach Reema Horton his requirements and understanding of civil airliners.
“Civil aircraft and military aircraft have a lot in common, but there are also big differences. First of all, the most important thing is definitely safety. Whether it is a civil aircraft or a military aircraft, the most important thing is to ensure absolute safety and reliability.
What makes civil airliners different from military aircraft is that they have special requirements for economy. You must know that airlines buy airliners not for charity, but to make money.
Therefore, in addition to safety, their biggest concern is economy. Simply put, they hope to consume the least amount of fuel and transport the most people to the farthest place.
And this is the important basis for our research and development of civil airliners.
This means that we must first use the jet engine with the highest fuel economy, which is also the first problem we need to solve.
According to what I have learned, the British Rolls-Royce company is currently researching an engine that adds a fan to the front of a turbojet engine in order to increase the frontal area and increase air flow.
The latest intelligence shows that the ground takeoff thrust of this engine has increased by about 40%, while the fuel consumption during high-altitude cruising has decreased by 15%, greatly improving the efficiency of the engine.
I heard that Mercedes-Benz had already started developing a turbofan engine code-named DB670 as early as 1943. Unfortunately, they installed the fan behind the turbojet engine at that time, and the experiment ultimately failed.
is that so?"
As a German aircraft designer, Reema Horton was obviously very familiar with the situation of German aircraft engines. After hearing Fang Lang's question, he nodded slightly disappointedly and said:
"Yes, I have also heard of this research project, but it was not successful."
Hearing this, Fang Lang smiled and patted the other person's arm and said:
“It doesn’t matter. We still have a chance to catch up. You can see if you can mobilize your connections and gather the engineers for this project together again.
Combining the successful experience of the British, we will restart the research on our own turbofan engine. "
In fact, Fang Lang lied here. The British Rolls-Royce company had not yet started researching turbofan engines. They did not officially start researching this project until 1950.
Fang Lang’s goal is to gain the upper hand and be the first to complete the research and development of the turbofan engine.
Of course, Reema Horton had no way of knowing this confidential information, but since Fang Lang's words were well-founded, he could not have any doubts. If the turbofan engine really had such great advantages as Fang Lang said, it must be very practical.
After thinking silently in his heart for a while, he looked up awkwardly and said to Fang Lang:
"Boss, but I'm not very familiar with the engine researchers at Mercedes-Benz!"
Hearing this, Fang Lang scratched his head helplessly. You don't seem to be very smart! No wonder Kurt Tank could take away the design department of an entire company, but you could only escape alone.
Fortunately, I have a cooperative relationship with Mercedes-Benz. Although I don’t know whether I am familiar with the people in the automobile R&D department and the aircraft engine R&D department, I can only give it a try.
"Then I'll make the contact! It seems that our power research lab needs to be further expanded!"
Seeing that Reema Horton in front of him looked a little unreliable, Fang Lang could only add fuel to the fire and draw the appearance of a civil airliner that he had seen in the future on the drawing in front of him.
Of course, Fang Lang is not a professional aviation professional, so he can only depict the aircraft shapes that he has seen most often. The ones he has come into contact with most are the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 series.
To an outsider like him, the difference in appearance between the two aircraft is not particularly huge; even the layout of the engines is the same, located under the wings.
However, there are some differences between the tail and the wing, but the difference is not particularly huge. So Fang Lang can only slightly combine the two according to his own impression. As for whether it is accurate, Fang Lang dare not guarantee it.
However, Fang Lang drew a separate schematic diagram of the cross-section of the wing. This was introduced in a video he accidentally saw while watching short videos in his later life. It was a technology called supercritical wing.
It seems to be a very remarkable technology from Airbus.
As for other aspects, he didn't know much about them. Even the aerodynamic layout required Reema Horton and others to go to the wind tunnel to blow it to see if it was suitable.
However, even with just a concept map like this, Fang Lang believed that it would help them avoid many detours and directly lead the trend of private aviation.
As Fang Lang's drawings gradually took shape, Reema Horton stared at them intently. It had to be said that this aircraft looked very beautiful. The slender fuselage and the slightly upturned wingtips looked very beautiful.
The arrangement of two engines suspended from the wings reminded him of German heavy bombers. The swept-wing shape reminded him of the TA-183 project, and he knew that this technology was first invented by Professor Kurt Tank.
Of course, he was very surprised to see him on the civilian airliner. After all, he had not heard the conversation between Fang Lang and Kurt Tank today, so he asked directly in confusion:
"This swept-wing layout can cause wingtip stall. Is your design suitable?"
Hearing this, Fang Lang smiled and said:
“Don’t worry, I have discussed this issue seriously with Professor Kurt Tank today, and we have found a way to overcome this problem.
You should communicate more with Professor Tan Ke at that time."
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