Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 207 Ladies and gentlemen, we need large strategic transport aircraft!

The rolling mountains stretch across the Imperial Graveyard, like a majestic fortress guarding this ancient land.

The moonlight shone on the mountain range, making it appear serene and secluded. From above, a rumbling sound, like thunder, began to rumble continuously.
If you look up at the sky, you can see a large number of aircraft flying in. They are huge, with four engines hanging under their wide wings and tall T-shaped tails. Each aircraft is like a giant monster. They roar as they fly towards a plain surrounded by high mountains.

Near the capital of the Imperial Graveyard, at the airport!

When the roaring sound rang out, the airport guards were curious, wondering what was coming. By the time they could see clearly, the plane was already roaring down and still taxiing when the rear cargo door slowly opened. Once it came to a stop, the BTR wheeled infantry fighting vehicle roared out and drove towards the airport guards.

Minutes later, the airport guards fled, and the entire airport fell into Russian hands. Afterward, one Il-76 transport plane after another landed, and a large number of armed troops quickly assembled and then sped towards the capital.

It was only early morning, and the capital was completely silent. The BTR sped along towards a certain mansion...

Behind them, Il-76 transport planes continued to operate in droves.

This night is destined to shock the world once again!
Seattle, USA.

The Boeing 707 slowly landed on the runway. Inside the cabin, everyone yawned and slowly walked off. This trip to the East had taken a long time, but it had also been very fruitful. Not only had they reached an agreement on the development of the supersonic cruiser airliner, but they had even come up with a new tiltrotor aircraft project concept!
Dick Taylor walked wearily toward his office. As a workaholic, he had no intention of going back to rest. He only planned to finish the project report, get it approved by the company, and then ask the military for funding.

He had just sat down when he was drawn to the newspaper on the table. He quickly picked it up and opened it.

Transport planes, carrying a large number of personnel and equipment, flew directly into the capital and took out the number one figure. What a swift and decisive decapitation operation!
Suddenly, Qin Liang's words came to mind.

If they had been bolder, they could have deployed transport planes and taken out the leaders... That's absolutely golden advice! When the US military rescued the hostages, why weren't they so daring? They could have just sent a whole fleet of transport planes over and wiped out those damned bastards!

Now, Russia's success only serves to highlight America's folly!
"That Qin Liang, he's a prophet!" Dick Taylor muttered to himself. This man is amazing; he has a unique vision. The proposal he made to Lockheed is said to have been of great help to them.

So, the supersonic cruiser airliner and the tiltrotor aircraft might actually be a success! Although Boeing cares a lot about its reputation, it also cares about technology, and there's nothing shameful about collaborating with Northwestern Polytechnical University!

East.

The sun was already high in the sky, but Qin Liang remained in bed, reluctant to get up.

"Brother Liangzi, where are we going to have fun today?"

"Where else can I go? I'll sleep a little longer. I'll be taking a plane soon."

"Going? By plane?"

"Yes," Qin Liang said with a helpless expression, "our honeymoon is probably coming to an end here."

Boom boom boom!
Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Comrade Qin Liang, Comrade Qin Liang, there is an urgent telegram from the capital requesting your immediate return! A plane will be landing directly on the runway of our Yunma Factory shortly!"

Sure enough, here it comes!

In fact, Qin Liang also wanted to visit Factory 4433 at Base 083 to see how their manual chip manufacturing was progressing. If they really wanted to develop, they would have to move out and introduce new equipment to set up assembly line production in order to meet the demand.

For now, we can only give up and deal with it later.

The capital city, Princess Tomb, Airplane Building.

"In just one day, the Russians dispatched over a hundred Il-76 transport aircraft, transporting thousands of officers and soldiers and weapons to the graveyard of empires. This is the power of strategic transport aircraft. Although our Eastern strategy is territorial defense, we also need large transport aircraft of the Il-76 class!"

"Comrade Qin Liang, is this your analysis?" Old Lin frowned.

"Yeah, what else could it be?"

"We heard that you were at Base 011, talking to the Americans about a transport plane raid?"

"Ahem, I was just saying that casually," Qin Liang said. "Gentlemen, you don't actually think I can command the Russians' actions, do you?"

I really don't have that ability! I was just talking casually back then, and it was useless anyway. The US military was scared after being defeated in the Vietnam War, so they avoided using ground troops if they could, preferring airstrikes that didn't pose a danger. Look at the Russians, they would never talk back if they could take action.

"We came here today to have you participate in a tactical seminar to study the Russians' recent operation," Old Wang said. "If you have any insightful opinions, please feel free to share them."

"Me? I've already mentioned it. It's a transport aircraft. Our air force needs a large strategic transport aircraft with a payload capacity of at least sixty tons to transport advanced main battle tanks..."

The largest transport aircraft in China is the Y-8, with a maximum takeoff weight of only 60 tons, which is far from meeting the needs of the military!
The key to measuring a nation's strategic airlift capability is its transport aircraft! Both the United States and the Soviet Union possessed massive strategic transport aircraft forces!
"Well, our country is still very poor, so it's not the right time to consider large strategic transport aircraft."

"Yes, we have the Y-10 on hand, so we can use it for now."

Later, after relations between the East and the Soviet Union normalized, negotiations began to import the Il-76. After the first batch was delivered, the Air Force was very satisfied and continued to order a second batch. Unfortunately, the Soviet Union had already collapsed, and the Il-76 production plant was no longer in the hands of the Soviet Union! They almost got ripped off by the Soviet Union and lost their deposit, but fortunately, they stopped the loss in time.

As a major power, we cannot be without strategic transport aircraft!
Qin Liang shook his head firmly: "No, no, passenger planes and transport planes are different. If we want to join the ranks of major powers, we must have large strategic transport planes with a takeoff weight of at least two hundred tons. Passenger planes won't do! Can the army drive tanks onto passenger planes?"

Although both are large aircraft, passenger planes and transport planes have different design philosophies.

Passenger aircraft target the civil aviation market, with cost as the top priority. Therefore, the airframe structure of passenger aircraft is not very strong, with a low-wing design and the engines mounted underneath that ground crew can touch directly.

Transport aircraft target the military market, and robustness and reliability are paramount. They have high airframe strength, heavy weight, and high-wing configurations to keep them away from runway debris. In particular, the tail section needs a tail hatch, which, when opened, becomes a perfect unloading platform where vehicles can drive in and out directly.

Passenger planes can be converted into early warning aircraft or aerial refueling tankers, but they are destined to be unable to undertake strategic transport missions! Large vehicles cannot drive onto them!
Despite Qin Liang's explanation, everyone present still shook their heads helplessly.

"If we're only talking about procurement, our Air Force can grit its teeth and squeeze out some funds. But if we're talking about research and development, our Air Force... simply can't afford it!" Old Wang said. "By the way, if your Northwestern Polytechnical University and the Shanghai Aircraft Factory cooperate to develop this transport aircraft, then our Air Force will definitely be able to purchase it, and can even make an advance payment!"

Qin Liang shook his head: "No, when it comes to developing transport aircraft, our 603 Institute in Chang'an has the most experience."

The Shanghai aircraft factory manufactures passenger planes, and it also has projects like the Hypersonic Cruiser coming up. With their technical capabilities, they don't have the spare capacity to develop a completely new transport aircraft. Even though they are all large aircraft, the requirements are different, and they would have to start from scratch.

In China, the institute that is most skilled in developing transport aircraft is the 603 Institute, which is also located in Chang'an. They developed the Y-7 and Y-8 transport aircraft.

When Qin Liang mentioned Institute 603, everyone present had complicated expressions.

"Ahem, Liangzi, you've come back just in time. There's another meeting at the aircraft terminal tomorrow, why don't you come along?"

Was the topic suddenly changed?
Qin Liang stood up: "Okay, if there's nothing else, I'll be going."

On the way here, Qin Liang felt that he couldn't bring up any strategic significance now. He could talk about joining forces with Barack Obama to make money from the Americans later. He could take this opportunity to help the Air Force solve the problem of large strategic transport aircraft.

The Air Force may be poor, but money is like a woman's cleavage—if you squeeze, you'll always find some!

Now that everyone has changed the subject, I'm happy to have some peace and quiet. I'll go back to the guesthouse and go shopping with my wife. This honeymoon has been... well, let's just say it wasn't great!
"Don't rush off, let's have a meal and a few drinks together later."

Qin Liang walked even faster.

Outside the guesthouse.

Just as Qin Liang saw the guesthouse's large sign, he saw several people sitting on the steps outside throw down their cigarette butts and rush towards him.

"Liangzi, Liangzi!" "Mr. Lu?"

"Hmm, Liangzi, you're really valued by your superiors! You just arrived in the capital and were immediately taken to a meeting. We arrived this morning, but we have to wait until tomorrow to officially attend the meeting. Did your superiors say anything to you at this meeting?"

Qin Liang looked at him with suspicion: "Old Lu, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"That's right, that's right, that's right... Have your superiors asked you for your opinion on our twin-engine Q-6?"

"No, when it comes to military aircraft, the higher-ups only mentioned the 603 briefly..."

The moment those words were spoken, the expressions on the faces of Elder Lu and the others changed instantly.

"As expected, as expected, as expected..."

"No, no, it's impossible..."

"I'm saying, everyone, what are you talking about? I don't understand a word you're saying!"

"Sigh, we came here this time for the bidding. Although we already have a business modifying male cats for Langtuo, which can earn us a living, but... this twin-engine Q6 still hasn't officially received military approval. Tomorrow at this time will be the moment that decides the fate of our twin-engine Q6. Liangzi, you have to support us then..."

Before he could finish speaking, several people rushed out of the guesthouse.

"Old Lu, what you're doing is going too far! We compete based on our own strength! Our H-7 project isn't necessarily worse than your twin-engine Super-6! Your pre-emptive lobbying is just underhanded!"

H-7!

Upon hearing the name, Qin Liang suddenly understood.

So that's what happened!

In 1974, a naval battle made the East realize its deficiency in not having a fighter-bomber for long-range use. As a result, the 603 Institute accepted the task and decided to develop a successor to the H-5, which was named H-7. At the Farnborough Airshow in 1986, it was still called by this name. It was only after its first flight that it was renamed JH-7.

Due to weak technical capabilities, the development project of the H-7 bomber remained at the drawing board for a long time. It was not until the 1980s that the project began to accelerate, and the reason for the acceleration was because of a bidding meeting.

The single-engine Q-6 was cancelled for various reasons, and the Shenyang H-8 was the first to be eliminated. Thus, the H-7 was finally completed and named the JH-7, codenamed Flying Leopard.

However, the overall design of the JH-7 was not advanced and it lacked first-class low-altitude flight capabilities, which led to the deaths of many air force pilots. Therefore, only 280 JH-7s were produced until the end of production. In comparison, the total production of the J-16 was close to 400!
In that special era, the JH-7 became the Navy's best long-range anti-ship missile carrier, and even the Air Force revisited it. But now... with the twin-engine Q-6 so close to success, does the JH-7 still have a market?
With mixed feelings, Qin Liang looked at the person in front of him. The person was thin, with deep-set eyes, and looked somewhat agitated.

Mr. Chen was an aerospace engineer of the same era as Mr. Lu!

Born in 1930, he graduated from the Department of Aeronautics at Tsinghua University in 1952 and was assigned to Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Plant. In 1964, he was transferred to the 603 Research Institute in Chang'an, where he dedicated his life to his work.

His greatest achievement was as the chief designer of the JH-7, which led the aircraft into the air and eventually into service with the armed forces!

Everyone knows that Institute 611 suffered greatly, and it wasn't until the J-10 fighter jet that they were able to successfully emerge from the crisis. In fact, Institute 603 wasn't much better off. They researched many projects, such as the H-8 bomber and the Y-9 transport aircraft, but they all failed to make it through! It wasn't until the JH-7 fighter-bomber was finally completed.

Wait, Yun-9!
This Y-9 is not a modified version of the Y-8, but a transport aircraft similar to the Il-76!

I was in the airport terminal just now, how come I didn't think of this?
In 1969, the Air Force put forward mission requirements, asking the 603 Institute to come up with a design for a four-engine strategic transport aircraft, named Y-9, with a maximum takeoff weight of 228 tons, a maximum payload of 42 tons, a maximum range of 8,000 kilometers, and equipped with four 910 engines.

After research, Institute 603 decided to adopt a high-wing T-tail configuration, which is very similar to the Il-76. Unfortunately, given the level of China's aviation industry at that time, it was simply impossible to produce it. Two years later, after the feasibility study, the project was cancelled!
"Old Chen, don't say that. We're not trying to curry favor. We're just having a chat with Qin Liang. You know, he's the one who gave us the guidance on our project! Besides, he's just a student at Northwestern Polytechnical University, not an Air Force leader. He has no decision-making power. How can this be called taking crooked paths?"

The people who rushed out all looked very grim.

Yes, the twin-engine Q-6 project was proposed by Qin Liang, so he will definitely support it! From a technical standpoint, the twin-engine Q-6 is also superior to the H-7, so will our H-7 project really be cancelled?

Thinking about this, they felt very sad, after all, no one wants to see their project canceled.

"Old Chen? I've heard of you before. There's a genius like you in 603, but I've never had the time to visit." Just then, Qin Liang spoke up: "Now that we've met in the capital, we need to have a good chat!"

The people on Old Lu's side were stunned.

Yes, they're from the same place! In this day and age, the concept of being from the same hometown is very important!

"Okay, let's go inside and talk!"

Watching Qin Liang and Old Chen go up, Old Lu sighed: "Alas, if only I had known... Qin Liang is a good comrade. He would have stuck to his principles and at most remained neutral. He would never have openly supported his fellow villagers!"

"That's right!"

inside the room.

"Mr. Chen, I'd like to know, does our 603rd Research Institute have any development plans for large transport aircraft? Something like the Il-76?"

"Yes, we did preliminary research on the Y-9 transport aircraft back then, but unfortunately our industrial base was weak at the time, and it ultimately failed."

"Hmm, what was the problem back then?"

"First, there is a lack of large-scale die forging presses."

"We have all the parts in Shanghai that need forging; let them produce them!"

"We don't have advanced avionics."

"That's no problem either, we already have it! We just need to transplant the passenger plane, and the radar and other equipment are also fine!"

"The key is still the engine!"

"That's no problem either. Our Spey can have its bypass ratio further increased, and the power will eventually increase to thirteen or fourteen tons, which should be possible."

When the British engineers modified the Spey, they left behind a lot of information. With their precedent of modification, we can make further improvements. It's just a matter of adding a power turbine and increasing the diameter of the fan blades. The bypass ratio of 2.4 is not enough. We can further increase it to over 5. Conservatively speaking, the thrust can reach thirteen or fourteen tons, which is enough to propel a two-hundred-ton transport plane!
"anymore question?"

The group looked at each other, and then realized something.

"Comrade Qin Liang, are you suggesting that we develop a large transport aircraft?"

"Ahem, I didn't say anything, but everyone can hurry up and come up with a project plan for a large transport aircraft. If the time is right tomorrow, we can show it to the leaders."

"it is good!"

"By the way, if the Air Force still doesn't approve, you can also provide a modification plan. This transport plane can be easily converted into a bomber with a little modification..."

"Good, good, good!"

When Qin Liang came out of Chen Lao and the others' room, it was already dark outside. Before he knew it, another day had passed!
　PS: The top is a three-view drawing of the Y-9 transport aircraft, and the bottom is the H-8 bomber, which has two designs: four-engine and six-engine.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)