Father of France

Chapter 113 Ava Gardner

Since it was an inspection, a test flight was inevitable. The Bell helicopter took off to demonstrate its performance, kicking up a cloud of dust. It wasn't that Coman or Wiggins didn't believe in the safety and were afraid to get on board.

Well, that's part of the reason, but the main reason is that even the best products from the most advanced helicopter companies in the United States can only seat one person.

In Koeman's eyes, Bell's helicopters didn't even meet police standards, let alone military ones. With their glass shells and steel-tube tails, they were only good for a wealthy person's daily commute. As a Koeman enthusiast, he certainly didn't expect much in terms of safety.

Thinking that a helicopter like this could go to the battlefield to hunt down Algerian guerrillas is pure wishful thinking. The yellow sand of the Sahara Desert is enough to give a Bell helicopter a hard time.

It was precisely because the development of helicopters was not satisfactory that Captain Wiggins came to accompany the inspection; otherwise, it would have been more reasonable for the accompanying American officer to be at least a colonel-level officer.

After half an hour of test flight, Captain Wiggins asked Coleman, "Lieutenant Coleman, how does it feel?"

"It falls far short of the military's requirements." Koeman couldn't bring himself to praise it and spoke the truth. "It seems there's still a long way to go before it can be used as a weapon system on the battlefield."

“Indeed, many friends believe that there is no place for helicopters in the current combat system,” Wiggins sighed. “Even those who share my view cannot explain the application scenarios of helicopters on the battlefield.”

Koeman has also experienced this predicament: acknowledging a new weapon system but being unable to provide concrete evidence to support his claims. He could only stand there anxiously.

When Koeman saw the sixth-generation fighter jet, he felt a complete collapse of his consciousness. He could at least roughly understand the characteristics of the sixth-generation fighter jets from Shenyang Aircraft Corporation and Xi'an Aircraft Corporation, but as for the sixth-generation fighter jet from Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, he had no evidence what mission it was supposed to perform and what the purpose of its design was. He relied entirely on guesswork, and even the things he guessed were only half-understood.

This mentality of "our military is very powerful, but where does this power lie?" was even more evident in the weapons systems displayed at the September 3rd military parade. What exactly do these powerful weapons systems do?

Captain Wiggins was in this situation. He felt that helicopters had potential applications, but where exactly? He couldn't figure it out just by thinking about it.

Koeman also appropriately expressed his confusion about the lack of theoretical support despite his optimism, which quickly brought the two low-ranking officers, who were not even majors, closer together. However, their conversations were rather disheartening, and they often veered off into the topic of feeling underappreciated after only a few sentences.

For this reason, Wiggins and Coleman were very friendly and accompanied Coleman on his inspection tour of the three major American helicopter manufacturers: Sikorsky, Bell, and Piasecki.

Koeman achieved even greater success at Sikorsky, where, as early as the 1920s, Sikorsky drew up the blueprint for the modern helicopter: a single-rotor configuration with a tail rotor. This configuration became the most successful helicopter design in the world, known as the "Sikorsky style."

Don't assume this layout is simple. During his visit to Bell Helicopter, Koeman clearly saw that there is currently no unified market for this helicopter layout.

It must be admitted that the Russians have a deep expertise in the field of helicopters. After test flights and testing, Koeman already had an idea that the XR-4 helicopter had the potential to be an armed helicopter, and all that was missing was the installation of the turboshaft engine.

Moreover, as a company primarily focused on military applications, Sikorsky's helicopters are already in mass production. As the world's first helicopter to enter mass production, it was also the first helicopter to be equipped by the U.S. Army Air Forces, Navy, Coast Guard, and the Royal Air Force.

"We expect to purchase thirty XR-4 helicopters," Koeman told Sikorsky, expressing optimism about the purchase, but also indicating that Sikorsky must offer a discount on the price.

"We will offer the best possible discounts, the same as the Army Air Corps's procurement prices," Sikorsky quickly indicated, showing his eagerness for the order.

Helicopters are not highly valued in the current combat system. Sikorsky has only sold 130 helicopters in several years. Now, with the war coming to an end, he has to face the same problem that many companies face: the special period of war is coming to an end, and the seller's market is coming to an end. This is not something he can stop.

Sikorsky's primary goal right now is to survive; only by surviving can it launch new models and continue to grow and thrive.

Koeman could only marvel at how accurate the assessment of the situation was, given that it was indeed the parent company of the Black Hawk helicopter. The XR-4 helicopter was quite large for its time, much larger than Bell's helicopters.

Although it still doesn't meet Koeman's expectations, this is a matter of the times. We should first purchase a batch for deployment in Algeria, and then address other issues as we go. We should work with similar companies in France to quickly manufacture usable armed helicopters.

This contract, which could be worth more than two million dollars, is not up to Koeman to decide. He is only conducting an evaluation. The final decision rests with the military, but it is believed that a certain Army Chief of Staff will not play a negative role in this process.

Wiggins breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Koeman's purchase intention, wondering if he was planning to use this purchase intention as evidence to increase his support for helicopters, implying that outsiders are more capable.

Regardless of his purpose, Wiggins was a great help during this inspection. After Coman confirmed his purchasing intentions, he even invited the French guests to dinner, though they didn't go to a restaurant; Americans prefer to prepare their own food for picnics.

However, Koeman avoided American food and even boiled and cooled his water, which puzzled Wiggins. "Where is this custom from?"

"I have a sensitive stomach." Coman thought to himself, "You're an American, don't you know how polluted America is right now?"

But he still stuffed a chicken leg into his mouth, indicating that it wasn't the food that was the problem.

The United States currently faces food safety issues, and its food safety has always been a weak point among Western countries, especially given the various allergy problems within the country.

Ultimately, isn't it just about excessive pesticide residues that they haven't addressed, and then they blame it on allergies?

Americans are allergic to peanuts, but they eat peanuts in other countries without any allergy problems. Doesn't that mean there's something wrong with American peanuts?

Koeman is pretty sure that Americans will eventually evolve to the point where they treat engine oil like water and lubricant like rations.

Because this is basically how agriculture has developed in the United States, American agricultural companies are constantly focusing on extending shelf life, resulting in fruits becoming increasingly tasteless, with all their skills concentrated on shelf life.

Koman experienced food evolution in his past life. In the 1990s, the watermelons in his hometown were oval-shaped and did not have dark green stripes. Then this variety gradually disappeared and became round-patterned watermelons, but the taste did not deteriorate.

However, it was only watermelons that changed in appearance; many other varieties of apples and oranges did not change in appearance, but their taste did indeed become worse and worse.

The same fruit from China and the US are generally being developed in different directions: one focuses on water content and texture, while the other focuses on shelf life and energy. Although they may not look different, they are now two completely different paths.

Koman tries to avoid eating unfamiliar foods in the US. His favorite food now is seafood, and he absolutely avoids frozen seafood to ensure maximum safety. He doesn't want to suffer a work-related injury on a business trip; it's simply not worth it.

The other members of the inspection team are still traveling all over the United States. The fact that Koman ended the inspection so early is thanks to the fact that there are only three professional helicopter companies in the United States worth inspecting, while there are too many manufacturers of popular weapons.

Having ended his research trip early, Corman now has only one thing left to do: help Picasso organize his art exhibition, make a strong first impression, and pave the way for high-premium French luxury brands to enter the American market.

A week later, Corman returned to Tingtao Manor. Vanderbilt III was also very interested in this art exhibition, mainly because Picasso's reputation gave him confidence.

“I plan to invite some very famous actresses to generate advertising revenue for the art exhibition,” Vanderbilt III said mysteriously to Koeman.

"Really?" Koeman was very skeptical of this. It seemed that Vanderbilt III no longer had the ability at this point in time. He could probably only hire some minor characters like Victoria's Secret models. He probably couldn't even invite real Hollywood A-list stars.

“You’ll find out then,” Vanderbilt III said, but his lack of confidence aroused Koeman’s suspicion.

Two days later, Tingtao Villa welcomed a tall, elegant woman. Vanderbilt III appeared again, seemingly to prove that his words were true. "Ms. Ava Gardner, a well-known Hollywood actress, has caused a sensation by participating in the art exhibition."

Koman then turned his gaze away from Ava Gardner's face and asked seriously, "I wonder what Ms. Ava's weekly wage is?"

“Four hundred dollars.” Ava Gardner said softly, adding that she had also increased her weekly wage by one hundred dollars, making her monthly income equivalent to an American worker’s annual income.

At this time, Ava Gardner was still a contract worker. As the company's "property," she received a fixed weekly salary, rather than negotiating on a film-by-film basis.

However, during his four years in the industry, he increased his weekly salary sixfold, which can be described as a smooth road to stardom with a bright future ahead.

(End of this chapter)