What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 697 The Curtain Falls on an Era

Goose City Armed Forces Base

Inside the old but tidy base, a simple stage was set up with tables and red cloth, and people from all sides were present.

In the presence of 500 trainees dressed in civilian clothes but with the same crew cut and standing ramrod straight, Yan Jian returned their names to Echeng and began retraining them as ordinary people. The militia department then signed a contract with the fishery association, entrusting the latter to conduct practical education activities for these "unqualified trainees".

The Fisheries Association then requested the Maritime Joint Defense Team to undertake the task. After three rounds of transfers, these 500 trainees were tentatively scheduled to become intern crew members of the Maritime Joint Defense Team within six months.

Chen Quanrong, Lin Cunjin, Huang Dongshun and the others beamed with joy when they saw the last seal fall.

These "unqualified trainees" have all received nearly 10 months of training from the Navy. Although they lack practical experience, their discipline and quality are impeccable.

Of course, the ones cultivated by the Greater Bay Area themselves are also quite good, but the number is simply too small to meet demand.

The destinations of the 500 sailors were assigned well in advance, primarily for the fleet on patrol duty this quarter, including:

Kongo-class battlecruiser;

Twin Moon (Lost) light cruiser;
The heavy cruiser Liaoyue (Algeria);

Friendship destroyer;

Civilization destroyer;

New Wind destroyer;

The Notary Public destroyer.

The four destroyers are fine, but the cruisers and battleships have a long-term staffing shortage of more than 600 people. This is only to meet the basic navigation needs and main gun group maintenance. Too few personnel will also pose a great risk to long voyages.

Once the 500 people are absorbed by the three warships, the cruise fleet will have long-term patrol capabilities, and it will be no problem for them to go to the South China Sea for half a year at a time.

However, Yan Jian was unaware of this plan until he saw the joint defense team instructors leading five hundred trainees directly onto the bus, at which point he couldn't help but ask:
"So, they're being sent to the Greater Bay Port to get used to it first, right?"

"Completely correct."

"When will they board the ship and set sail?"

Tang Wen thought for a moment and held up two fingers.

"Two weeks?"

Tang Wen shook his head.

"It can't be just two days, can it? We need to give them time to adjust, and the personnel management system hasn't been finalized yet."

Tang Wen shook his head again, and only spoke after several buses with modified engines roared away:
"In twenty minutes, the Liaoyue and Gongzheng will be at Goose City Port, only a 20-minute drive from here. They need to board immediately to go to Natuna, and then board other ships that are short-staffed. My watch fleet is so short-staffed that we don't even have enough people for shifts. Now we can finally patrol normally."

"..."

Yan Jian was incredibly grateful for the pre-demobilization training plan proposed by the visionary staff officer, but at the same time he realized that these trainees were expected to spend all six months on the ship, which was really... high intensity.

……

Last day of August

Tang Wen was originally preparing to complete his long-delayed trip to Natuna, but an invitation letter from Jiaotong University and Shanghai Aircraft Factory rekindled his interest:

The second Y-10 aircraft made its maiden flight – its first flight in fourteen years.

Although the Y-10 is beyond repair, the Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (SAMC) still maintains its last shred of dignity. Apart from the No. 1 aircraft, which underwent static testing and suffered structural damage, and the No. 3 aircraft, which was in poor condition, the No. 2 aircraft has always been maintained by a dedicated team, even after the massive layoffs of the past two years.

When Tang Wen began negotiating the acquisition in mid-July, he ordered the aircraft to be repaired, providing not only funding but, more importantly, bringing along the veterans from the aviation machinery factory.

Even when the aviation machinery factory was enjoying a good life in Goose City, it did not forget its roots. In addition to developing the GZ20, a domestically produced Chinook, it later assembled two WS-8 turbofan engines using its inventory parts and made some improvements.

Especially after the engine experts acquired in exchange for the F110 arrived, in addition to tidying up the Spey and F110, they also took the time to guide the further upgrade of the WS-8 turbofan engine.

The free funds obtained by the aviation machinery factory were eventually used to build seven improved WS-8A turbofan engines, which completed 5000 hours (cumulative) of long-term testing.

When the WS-8 was terminated, it was still in the prototype stage, while the WS-8A was the complete version that took the final step. With the support of new technologies more than ten years later, its reliability has been greatly increased, its thrust has increased slightly to 90KN, its fuel consumption has been reduced by 20%, and its weight has been reduced by about 7%.

Tang Wen also supported the Aviation Machinery Plant in completing the abandoned WS-8 project. After all, it should be noted that in 1984, when the development of the WS-8 was terminated, another major achievement of domestic aero-engines was overcoming the combustion vibration problem of the WP-6 turbojet engine—the engine of the J-5 and J-6, which took a full 25 years from successful imitation to final perfection.

In contrast, the WS-8 turbofan engine, which was successfully copied independently during difficult times, seemed so advanced. Perfecting the WS-8A was like mastering the Spey engine, helping Geigen to master the entire process from engine design to testing.

The four units that performed best in the tests were immediately loaded onto a ship and transported to Shanghai. When Unit 2 was being overhauled, the old engines were replaced at the same time.

Besides the enthusiastic efforts of the aviation machinery factory in repairing the Y-10, Saab's engineers were also busy. After all, the Y-10 is a real medium-sized passenger aircraft weighing over 100 tons, and Saab had never built such a large passenger aircraft before, so learning from it would be beneficial.

Although the Y-10 is indeed lagging behind mainstream passenger aircraft, how many countries in the world can independently build a passenger aircraft of this level? More than ten years later, when the C919 project was initiated, the Y-10 was still brought out for research and reference.

Whether it was Changbus, the First Aircraft Manufacturing Plant, the Aviation Machinery Plant, or the Shanghai Plant, their enthusiasm for repairing the Y-10 was boundless. The latter even brought Jiaotong University into the project. To date, all the important systems of the No. 2 aircraft have been repaired and maintained, and it has successfully passed the pre-flight acceptance test.

……

Dachang Airport
"Someone, hold him down."

"No, Mr. Tang, you can trust me, the plane is really fine!"

"No means no!"

Tang Wen held onto Chang Busi tightly as he tried to enter the cabin, and the latter could only watch regretfully as the two pilots and two captains closed the cabin door.

Aside from Changbus, who was eagerly anticipating standing in the cabin to participate in the "first flight," the number of spectators at Dachang Airport today was unexpectedly large.

When Tang Wen arrived, he was startled by the dense crowd surrounding the plane on the tarmac. Dachang Airport is the test flight site of the Shanghai Aircraft Factory and also handles the take-off and landing of some military aircraft. Civil aviation has almost stopped operating here, and there are hardly any people on weekdays.

Besides the military, several aircraft manufacturers, local officials from Shanghai, and some elderly people who seemed to be of high status, he also spotted Zhao Hande and Chen Suli among them.

Having finally squeezed his way to Zhao Hande's side, he immediately asked:
"What's going on? My McDonnell Douglas MD-11's maiden flight wasn't this exciting."

"How can that be the same?" Chen Suli interjected from the side.
"The revival of the Y-10—do you know how many people have been hoping for it? Back then, the whole country was focused on Project 708. That's really clever of you; once this plane takes flight, you'll get so much more support!"

Well, it's still the difference between a biological son and an adopted son, not to mention that the bloodline of the adopted son, MD11G, hasn't even been domestically produced yet.

This era sometimes seems contradictory. Later generations believe it was a time when buying was more desirable than making, but Tang Wen felt it was also the time when the desire for domestic production was strongest.

Just then, the elderly people who had been chatting with Zhao Hande also noticed him, came over, gave him a brief greeting, and then got straight to the point:
"Is Geijin going to resume production of Y-10?"

"Uh, no, our current target is the C919."

Which is bigger, the C919 or the Y-10? Which can fly farther?

Tang Wen:......

The design goal of the C919 in this timeline is to be a copy of the 737MAX-10. While there are certainly differences in parameters compared to the Y-10, the level of technology and economy are completely different.

However, Tang Wen believes that this explanation may not work for the elderly people.

"Well... the Y-10 is indeed stronger, but as a passenger aircraft, the C919 is definitely far superior to the Y-10, and the Y-10's production line has long since disappeared."

Sure enough, the other party's attention was entirely focused on "the Y-10 is stronger," and because of these words, he seemed to have become more energetic, speaking with more force. Pointing to the aircraft whose engines were already running and being pushed onto the runway, he asked:
"These four engines are newly manufactured WS-8 turbofan engines, and they are of better quality than the previous ones?"

Since you've managed to master such a crucial technology as the engine, I believe resuming production and even perfecting the Y-10 shouldn't be a problem for you either.

"Ahem, what are you talking about? Someone from Xiao Tang's side is looking for you."

Zhao Hande blinked sharply, and Tang Wen immediately used this as an excuse to slip away to the side. Then he bumped into He Huaide, who should have been in the Northwest, and decisively stood with him.

At this point, the well-prepared No. 2 aircraft had begun taxiing, and the roar of its four low-to-medium bypass ratio engines was sharper than that of a normal passenger plane.

The repainted livery still bears the civil aviation logo, making the aircraft, which has been stored for many years, look brand new.

The maiden flight went very smoothly. Although the aircraft, which had been dormant for nearly 20 years, was old, it was still as sturdy and reliable as it was when it was built. It made eight low-altitude circumnavigations around the airport.

The roar of the engines awakened long-dormant memories. Tang Wen only knew that the applause around him was much more enthusiastic and longer-lasting than that of the MD.11G's maiden flight.

Tang Wen also saw many people who were as excited as they were during the maiden flight, and Changbus was even more red-faced, standing on tiptoe and waving his hat vigorously.

At this moment, He Huaide gently patted his shoulder:

"An era has finally come to a perfect end, Mr. Tang. Our E2 has already started development, but the Air Force still wants a large aircraft. We need to purchase two McDonnell Douglas MD-11Gs."

"Why wait for the C919? Early warning aircraft don't need a very large airframe, and a smaller one is more convenient to use."

"A twin-engine configuration is too difficult; a three-engine configuration would be more reliable... In fact, if the Y-10 is successful, we would prefer a four-engine configuration, since fuel consumption is not a problem for the military."

The platform for developing early warning aircraft must be established from the very beginning; otherwise, it will be very difficult to modify it later.

"May I inquire about the plan?"

"It's not confirmed yet, but... we won't use the E2's mechanical scanning to directly target the AESA active phased array, otherwise it would be a real waste of such a large aircraft."

What He Huaide wanted to say was that the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 was actually beyond the Air Force's specifications. Compared to the E-3, the MD-11's maximum takeoff weight was almost double.

The downside is that it requires higher standards for takeoff and landing maintenance and is more expensive, but the upside is... As the possible world's largest early warning aircraft platform, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11's fuel capacity and power generation capabilities are unmatched by any similar aircraft in the world. It can not only support high-power AESA radar, but also provides an ultra-long loiter time of 12 to 15 hours.

Compared to transport aircraft like the Il-76, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is more stable, quieter, and more comfortable, ensuring that the crew in the AWACS can stay comfortable for more than ten hours and command a major battle without getting tired.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is a 6-meter wide-body behemoth that can carry up to 400 passengers, while an early warning aircraft only carries 20 people. Even with the addition of various equipment in the cabin, the remaining space can still guarantee that each crew member has a small bedroom—of course, if this were done, it might be nicknamed "McDonnell Douglas Hotel" or "Airborne Early Warning Hotel".

……

[The Y-10 is reborn, and domestically produced passenger aircraft embarks on a new journey]

The day after the second prototype's test flight, Renren Daily published an incredibly long template article, but what was interesting was the cover illustration:

On the far left is the MD.11G assembled in Guangzhou for its first test flight; in the middle is the Y-10 No. 2 aircraft that took to the skies again; and on the right is the C919, which only exists as an artist's rendering.

评论员从704工程到麦道82到麦道90，再到AE100、麦道11和C919，将近几十年的客机发展过程详细论述一遍，然后下结论：
Despite some unexpected events and setbacks along the way, China's passenger aircraft industry is still making steady progress, and the future is bright!
Gaijin was repeatedly mentioned, and as the only private heavy industry/cutting-edge technology enterprise, it received great praise. Tang Wen himself also gained several more titles.

This article and the maiden flight of the second Y-10 have generated a huge response in China. The revival of the Y-10 has been widely praised domestically. Many media outlets have speculated that Tang Wen may restart the Y-10 project in order to win national support, and have reasoned that he will use McDonnell Douglas MD-11 technology to modify the Y-10.
Initially, the aviation industry did not believe the rumors. However, when the Shanghai Daily reported on the third day that the second aircraft used the newly manufactured WS-8A turbofan engine from Gaijin Heavy Industry, the situation changed.

……

"No, why doesn't anyone believe my debunking?"

Tang Wen looked at Levi's fawning face and vigorously rubbed his head.

He really never thought about resuming production of the Y-10!

However, he was wrong this time. The reason Levi's came to his door was actually because of the headline on Renren Daily.

To outsiders, this headline actually elevates Gaijin to an extremely high level, signifying the start of vigorous development of domestically produced passenger aircraft.

After that newspaper was published, the first thing the outside world noticed was that the Civil Aviation Administration of China canceled many intended orders for Airbus, citing insufficient funds and the fact that the domestic aviation market was almost saturated.

But if you think about it, you'll realize that this is paving the way for domestically produced passenger aircraft, and it's an intervention at the administrative level.

This leads to an extremely bad possibility: in the next few years, at least until the localization of the C919 and McDonnell Douglas MD-11G shows a clear trend of failure, China will proactively reduce its orders for foreign passenger aircraft to support Gaikin.

The passenger market, which had just begun to recover, immediately began to decline again due to this incident. If foreign passenger aircraft manufacturers want to continue to profit, participating in the development of domestically produced passenger aircraft has become the only way out.

Boeing and Airbus, which came before, launched a continuous offensive in China, whether by making private promises or exchanging technology for commitments, all in an effort to participate in the domestic production plan.

Of course, whether this is genuine or just an attempt to cause trouble remains to be seen.

McDonnell Douglas is a special case, since even when the Empire tried to interfere with the MD11 deal, McDonnell Douglas and the interest groups behind it still ensured that the deal continued, so it had to be taken more seriously.

而这次李维斯来是带着一种新客机“MG-200”计划，意在开发一种200吨级定位类似于A330的宽体双发远洋客机，刚好可以填补MD11和C919之间的市场空白。

(End of this chapter)