What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 690 Sports Flight
When Tang Wen learned from the newspaper that the Southern Alliance was winning one victory after another, he was slightly happy to have achieved his goal, but he was actually more disappointed.

The 10,000 tons of fuel saved Miler Savage from a stalemate that would have lasted at least seven months, allowing him to achieve in one fell swoop what would have taken until early 1999, compressing the time by nearly tenfold.

But in reality, the South Union was not weak to begin with. After all, it had been a forward bridgehead and a minor power on the peninsula for the past half-century. It would be abnormal for it to fight a semi-military organization like the KLA for a year.

The KLA was nothing more than a group of haphazardly trained soldiers with only light weapons, and theoretically should have been easily wiped out.

The root cause was the fuel shortage resulting from the strict lockdown. Tang Wen had investigated the extent of their fuel shortage before providing aid.
42 tons of corn were requisitioned for large-scale ethanol production, with a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline supplied to light vehicles;
Refining waste engine oil, tires, and plastics into diesel fuel;
8 tons of rapeseed oil were requisitioned to synthesize biodiesel;
Coal-to-gasoline synthesis;
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Methane is used to produce hydrogen, and some tanks are modified to be hydrogen-powered, allowing them to fight while carrying hydrogen tanks.
In addition to devising various methods to obtain fuel, combat troops also employed numerous ingenious tactics:
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The helicopter uses only one of its two engines to maintain flight;
One fuel-powered tank tows two unpowered tanks in combat;
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More than 12000 mules and cattle have been put back into service for transporting supplies.

Even so, the armored forces could only maintain less than one-third of their normal combat effectiveness, and the variety of inferior fuels caused many armored vehicles to break down and require frequent major repairs.

Ten thousand tons of fuel and half a month of repairs are enough to allow several armored brigades to operate at at least 8% of their peak combat capability for 15 days. Under these circumstances, it is normal for them to sweep the KLA away like autumn leaves.

While the KLA being driven to the border would grant it support from the Atlantic Treaty Organization and air cover, those 2000 missiles were no joke. If all went well, Miller Savage could very well quickly resolve the Covacs crisis, forcing the Atlantic Treaty Organization to accept the facts and lift the blockade after certain conditions were met, thus becoming a hero of the South.

but……

With the emergence of the Lost Empire during this crisis, the USS Kennedy carrier strike group has entered a state of combat readiness in the Mediterranean and is ready to intervene decisively at any time.

Can 2000 AIM-7 and AIM-9 missiles withstand the suppression of a carrier strike group? Probably not.

Millersavich has two options:
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Driven by passion: Push all the way to the border, wipe out the KLA, and then gamble on a compromise under the Atlantic Treaty;
The dilemma is that by compressing the KLA to the border region, one can gain an advantage and consolidate the status quo in exchange for a low-probability strong intervention from the Atlantic Treaty Organization, but this could also lead to another predicament.

Tang Wen was engrossed in reading the article in the Southern Union media praising Millersavich, pondering which possibility was more likely. He didn't even notice that Qian Lin'an had stood behind him at some point.

"Stop looking, what you asked for has already been made."

Tang Wen then suddenly came to his senses:

"So fast?"

Qian Lin'an smiled and said:

"How difficult could this be? But for the safety of the public, we still need to conduct more experiments... right outside."

……

On the open ground of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology, a group of employees were gathered together watching several researchers tinker with a... airplane?
To be precise, it is an extremely simple biplane aircraft composed of steel pipes, canvas, and a motorcycle engine.

The sight of this rudimentary aircraft, reminiscent of the 1920s, at the Fifth Academy, where rockets and satellites are being tinkered with, seemed quite out of place. However, the employees still watched the assembly process with great interest, pointing and commenting.

Tang Wen followed Qian Lin'an and squeezed in, looking at the nascent aircraft, and couldn't help but sigh:
This rudimentary aircraft, codenamed "Qingfeng-1," was designed by Qian Lin'an, with Zang Furen, the chief designer of the Shenzhou spacecraft, serving as the chief engineer. Two other academicians were responsible for the design of the landing gear system and the flight control system, respectively.

With such a star-studded design team, the "Qingfeng-1" also boasts impressive performance:
Biplane configuration; upper wing has a wingspan of 8.3 meters with a 3-degree dihedral, lower wing has a wingspan of 6.8 meters, a length of 5.1 meters, and a height of 2.3 meters;
Maximum takeoff weight 270 kg, empty weight 95 kg, payload 155 kg, can carry 2 people;
Maximum speed 115 km/h, cruising speed 85 to 90 km/h, stall speed 35 km/h, cruising altitude 300 to 500 meters, maximum service ceiling 2000 meters;
Equipped with a 36-horsepower two-stroke piston engine and a 30-liter fuel tank, it can fly 120 kilometers and stay airborne for 1.5 hours (which can be increased to 5 hours if used by a single person).
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The entire machine is mainly constructed of aluminum tubing and birch wood, with an epoxy resin-coated composite window screen for the skin, and is controlled by a pull cord.

(The image generated by the AI ​​is almost a perfect replica.)

The core design goals of "Qingfeng-1" are twofold: safety and ease of manufacture.

As a biplane, the Qingfeng-1 will not lose control no matter what danger it encounters. It can recover on its own after entering a spin. Even if it dives straight down to the ground, its speed will be very low due to the excessive drag. As long as the pilot lets go, it will automatically tilt up under the special aerodynamic design and land safely at a speed not exceeding 60 km/h and a descent rate not exceeding 2 m/s, which is safer than parachuting.

In terms of manufacturing, any agricultural machinery factory or motorcycle factory in the country can produce qualified engines, any small hardware and building materials factory can provide all other parts of the machine body, and even repair shops can gather parts from what they find, making it extremely simple.

Tang Wen envisioned the following application scenarios for "Qingfeng-1":
Training/examination aircraft: Any county or town can manufacture qualified products according to the blueprints, safely train pilots, and enable them to master basic flight skills and obtain qualification certificates through this aircraft.

Therefore, although Qingfeng No. 1 is rudimentary, unlike homemade aircraft, it has proper instruments, its flight operation characteristics meet the standards, it can be ridden by two people (instructor/student), it is very easy to learn and operate, it is intuitive for beginners, and most importantly, it has a super safe aerodynamic layout.

To achieve this final point, the Fifth Academy used supercomputing to simulate the structural stress and aerodynamic characteristics, and conducted 1:1 wind tunnel tests. Integrating decades of aviation experience, the safety and ease of operation reached their peak and even surpassed Wave 2, making it a true friend to beginners.

Therefore, the rudimentary Qingfeng-1 is fundamentally different from other domestically made light aircraft; its redundancy reliability, safety, and ease of operation are on completely different levels.

"Even if someone is illiterate, as long as they have driven a tractor before, they can quickly learn to fly after a few tries!"

Qian Lin'an proudly introduced the assembled mini-airplane, his sense of accomplishment seemingly no less than that of a rocket launcher.

"Should we make the manufacturing process of this aircraft public and encourage private aircraft manufacturing?"

After assembling the oil pipes, Zang Furen asked a question, but Tang Wen simply shook his head:
"Of course not, such danger is too great. All flights must be carried out under proper management. In fact, I originally planned to call Qingfeng No. 1 'Youth Games No. 1' and it would be best to be under the jurisdiction of the sports department."

"Youth Games? Youth Sports Aircraft?"

"Yes, it's air sports!"

Tang Wen was slightly pleased with himself; this was a method he had come up with with great difficulty. On the surface, the popularization of small airplanes seemed unrelated to sports, but that was from the perspective of 30 years from now.

To state a fact that defies common sense, the number of sports students/athletes nationwide in 98 was only 18, less than 60% of that in 80.

China has always been committed to comprehensive development, especially in the early years when it learned from its big brother. It didn't just learn about tanks and mathematics; it also studied and vigorously developed art, culture, and sports.

Back then, it goes without saying how high the level of sports culture and art culture of the older brother was and how widespread its popularity was. Although the foundation in China was a bit weak, it was still cultivating talent. Even in an era of material scarcity, it still insisted on holding various sports competitions and formed a fairly good and complete selection system for sports schools.

Of course, in order to develop the economy, these kinds of activities and competitions could only gradually shrink until after the millennium when there was enough room to continue to develop. However, the gap in between still caused great damage, and the decline in the quality of the national football team was partly due to this.

But this doesn't mean that no one values ​​sports. On the contrary, the number of fitness equipment in various places is still increasing. It's just that its appeal and influence have declined a lot, and it's no longer as important as it used to be.

However, if flying is incorporated into sports, it will undoubtedly quickly create a new sports craze throughout society, and sports and cultural activities in various places will greatly attract young people to participate.

More participants mean more competitions can be held, which in turn bring exposure and funding. With funding and manpower, other sports can be taken care of, which is very beneficial to the entire sport.

Moreover, if the sports authorities were to intervene, the approval process for low-altitude routes would be much smoother, and a large number of junior pilots would be trained quickly.

This leads to two additional benefits:

The first option is naturally to bring in the navy and air force. A flying genius won't have his talent buried just because the plane is bad. If the navy and air force are to select people from the sports department, shouldn't they at least offer some tokens?
The second point is that a large number of junior pilots will become a reserve pool of civil aviation pilots, and as long as they take one step forward, they can fly small aircraft needed for low-altitude economic operations.

Once sport aircraft truly take root across the country and form a mature flight culture, the difficulty of establishing dedicated passenger aircraft flight schools will be much lower, and major airlines will certainly be willing to support them.

Therefore, as long as "Qingfeng No. 1" is accepted by the sports authorities and training begins, there will be numerous benefits:
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With official support and affirmation, even the most troublesome routes, flight spaces, and airfields can be given the green light, and local authorities will actively coordinate and resolve issues on their own.
The military branch that needs pilots is willing to provide support, at least in the area surrounding the garrison, and may even send instructors;
With the support of major airlines, even a small amount of money leaked from the fingers of the deep-pocketed airlines is enough to support several flying clubs.
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With widespread support from the whole society, how can anyone refuse the idea of ​​bringing the once lofty sport of flying down to the grassroots level?
Moreover, the biggest feature of Qingfeng No. 1 is that it is cheap.

It's not the kind of cheapness achieved through cheating, but rather a genuinely cheapness that was considered from the very beginning of the design.

Earlier this year, Beihang University, which is not far away, built a series of "Bee" series light aircraft with similar parameters to the Qingfeng-1, but the cost reached a huge 83,000 yuan, making it impossible for them to be popularized.

The reason for such a high cost is that the "Bee Series" uses imported Austrian engines, which cost as much as $7000 each. Furthermore, the school did not consider mass production or ease of production, hence the high price.

The Qingfeng-1 is different. First of all, the engine is domestically produced, and the first batch of orders is for 1000 units. The price quoted by the processing plant around the capital is only about 8000 RMB.

Secondly, the body components were designed for portability and easy assembly. Only the parts are sold; users need to assemble them themselves. A complete set for orders of 500 units or more is priced at approximately 12000 yuan.
Finally, there's the landing gear (which, after simplification, only requires one shock absorber), instruments, and cables. Since we're only considering low-altitude flight, there's no need for very high standards; the bulk price is 2000 yuan per set.

All the above prices include the factory's profit, and the total is no more than 2.2 yuan, which is about the price of a decent motorcycle at present.

But the cost-saving design of Qingfeng-1 doesn't stop there; in actual use, there are further compromises possible with DIY solutions:
The engine was designed to be replaced with a salvaged engine from a Changjiang 750 motorcycle. The performance was reduced slightly but still sufficient, and the salvaged parts cost around 2000 yuan.
Apart from the high price of epoxy resin coated fabric, the aluminum tubes and birch wood parts can be replaced by the place of purchase, which can save about 3000 yuan.
Landing gear and cable designs can be replaced by disassembling car and motorcycle parts, but that requires some DIY skills. As for aircraft instruments... the Air Force has so many old J-5, J-6, Y-5, and even La-9, La-11, P-51, and B-25 aircraft. After disassembling them, the quantity would be considerable, and the quality might even be better.

Considering that sports departments across the country are desperately poor at the moment, the DIY solution can save at least 1 yuan!

So don't be fooled by the simplicity of airplanes; they are, like the Barefoot Doctor's Manual, a condensation of the wisdom of aviation elites!

Of course, these parts will require time for repeated testing and confirmation, but it should be completed in one or two months at most.

The third prototype assembled by the Fifth Academy is now in use, and it has almost all the features that were considered in the initial design, except that it has not been fitted with wings.

This simple little plane could be easily loaded onto a truck by just two people and then driven to the suburbs, because prior arrangements had been made with the nearby garrison so that it could be tested directly.

Tang Wen, who was piloting the Qingfeng-1, looked somewhat familiar and asked:

"Chief Engineer Zang, who is that pilot?"

"You mean Xiao Cheng? He applied for the astronaut selection but wasn't approved. He's currently staying in Beijing, so we asked him to come and help out."

"Don't worry, the Qingfeng No. 1 prototype has already flown several times. It's even been tested in a wind tunnel and optimized with computers, so there won't be any problems. Even if the engine explodes, it can still glide to a landing."

Tang Wen had already compared that face to his memory and remembered that the other person must have participated in a space mission later on, but he had forgotten which one it was because there were too many astronauts later.

So... this future astronaut might be piloting the most rudimentary aircraft of his life?
The Qingfeng No. 1 (V3) quickly took off from the smooth dirt road, climbing up in less than 100 meters and circling in the sky. It was no better than a bunch of old World War II planes in the bay, and its speed was visibly slow. It was completely lacking in excitement and was only slightly better than a paraglider.

After flying a few circles, Qingfeng-1 landed safely. It was clear that the pilot had tried very hard to descend, but the descent rate was still not high, and it slowly landed on the grass.

The group rushed forward to inspect the plane and ask him about his experience flying, but he only showed a blank and indifferent expression.

"This little thing can fly with your toes. It's more boring than a simulator and not even as fast as driving. But for a newbie... it's indeed easy to get started. It's just that the difficulty is too low. I'm afraid I won't learn anything. Removing one wing will make it much faster."

However, Qian Lin'an and Tang Wen both smiled upon hearing this, which indicated that the design of Qingfeng-1 was a complete success.

(End of this chapter)